Centre puts off tough law on celebrity endorsements

Group of ministers (GoM) headed by Finance minister Arun Jaitley on draft Consumer Protection Bill on Tuesday decided that global practices needed to be first studied before deciding on stringent punishment, including imprisonment, for celebrities endorsing misleading advertisements.

The proposed draft law prescribes a jail term of up to 5 years and a fine of Rs 50 lakh for celebrities endorsing misleading advertisements.

In order to check the menace of adulteration, consumer affairs ministry has proposed 'penal offence' and imprisonment at par with celebrities for violation. It has also proposed a provision for suspension and cancellation of licence.

On the issue of punishment for adulteration also, GoM decided that a study should be done as to what are the provisions prevailing in other countries.

It is expected that a study on laws prevailing in other countries on the issue will be completed within one month.

“We had a lengthy discussion. Today, it (draft bill) was not finalised. We decided to study the laws of other countries for celebrities endorsing misleading ads and those involved in adulteration. We will study and keep that information in the next meeting,” Consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said after the GoM meeting.

The bill will definitely be placed before Parliament in the Winter Session.