Celebrity endorsers will now have to be careful before signing the contract for any advertisement. The Parliament Committee has recommended a punishment for misleading advertisements.
If the recommendations are incorporated in the Consumer Protection Bill, brand ambassadors will have to face maximum five year jail and Rs 50 lakh fine. Sources of TOI has said, the panel has recommended the punishment be fixed at three years and to add two more years to the jail and a steep financial penalty.
“Since they promote the sale of a product making false claims, there was a strong view that such persons must be made to pay along with the manufacturer or promoter,” A Government official was quoted by TNN as saying.
The parliamentary committee led by Telugu Desam Party MP J C Divakar Reddy has advocated a penalty for the advertisements, which mislead customers to increase sale. Many celebrities are under fire for such endorsements as they might have to cough up a good amount of penalty.
As per various sources, the first time offense penalty would be Rs 10 lakh fine or imprisonment up to two years or both. The second offense would be Rs 50 lakh fine and imprisonment of five years.
