Surrogate ad rules stuck in a grey zone

India's rollout of surrogate advertising guidelines is likely to be delayed further, as the government struggles to find clear legal authority under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, two people familiar with the matter said.

- Dhirendra Kumar

Consumer law doesn't define surrogate ads of products such as alcohol-tobacco as a standalone offence.

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This complicates efforts to rein in indirect promotion of alcohol and indirect promotion of brands while prolonging regulatory uncertainty for firms operating under existing advertising restrictions.

There is little clarity yet on a timeline for the guidelines even after one-and-a-half years of a government panel first meeting to fix these gaps from which surrogate promotions scrape through

Consumer law doesn't define surrogate ads of products such as alcohol-tobacco, which are barred for promotions, as a standalone offence, limiting the executive’s ability to issue binding rules.