New advertising code on cards, govt studying rules in UK and US: Report

Representative image

The government is working on a code to curb misleading advertisements, which will force companies to substantiate statements made while promoting products.

The government is studying rules in the UK, the US and New Zealand to frame the advertisement code in India, according to a report by The Times of India.

"A draft discussion paper will be uploaded on our website for stakeholder consultation. There is a need to have a code for the benefit of consumers and also to help identify quickly which fall under misleading category, otherwise there will be a sea of complaints about misleading advertisements," an official told the paper.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

"There is a need to bring the proposed regulation for their effective compliance. Simple guidelines won’t have the desired impact," a source told The Times of India.

The Advertising Standards Council of India has a framework called the Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising, but is not legally binding on companies.