According to the directions issued by the Supreme Court last month, self-declaration will be mandatory for all new print, digital, television and radio advertisements.
The government has asked all advertisers and advertising agencies to submit a Self-Declaration Certificate, which will make it clear that no misleading claims have been made in the advertisement. Apart from this, it has to be told that this advertisement follows the regulatory guidelines. According to the instructions issued by the Supreme Court last month, it will be necessary to give self-declaration for all new print, digital, television and radio advertisements.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection and responsible advertising behavior. Experts say that this is a very good step. This will save consumers from fraud and enable them to buy the right products.
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The new rule will come into effect from June 18
The self-declaration certificate must be uploaded on the ‘Broadcast Services’ portal in case of TV and radio advertisements and on the Press Council of India website for print, digital and internet advertisements. This self-declaration certificate must also be signed by the advertiser or an authorized representative of the advertising agency.
Not needed right now
However, advertisements currently being aired or published do not require self-certification. The document must certify that the advertisement does not make misleading claims and complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines. This includes Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and the Press Council of India’s norms of journalistic conduct.
The advertiser must provide proof of uploading the self-declaration certificate to the concerned broadcaster, printer, publisher or electronic media platform for their records. As per the Supreme Court directive, no advertisement will be allowed to run on television, print media or the internet without a valid self-declaration certificate.
