The Centre has approved the recommendations of a parliamentary panel to hold celebrities liable for endorsing products and to penalise them for appearing in misleading advertisements. According to the proposal, celebrities will have to pay Rs 50-lakh fine and may also have to serve a jail term of up to five years if the products they endorse make false claims.
The Law Ministry has already begun work on making this amendment to the Bill. The Cabinet is likely to pass the amendments in an upcoming meeting, reported The Indian Express.
Besides this, a new executive agency called the Central Consumer Protection Authority will be set up, whose complaints filed will be considered by the court to prosecute celebrities in such cases. CCPA may also be entrusted with the task of making regulations for e-commerce, direct selling and multi-level marketing.
The parliamentary panel, headed by JC Divakar Reddy of the Telugu Desam Party, had suggested that there should be a clear definition of the term “endorsement” in the new law. The committee had submitted its report in April. Following this, the Law Ministry has redefined the term “endorsement” and also “endorser”.
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