The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has modified its mandate, originally effective from June 18, which required a ‘self-declaration certificate‘ (SDC) for every advertisement across TV, print, radio, and digital platforms. In its latest advisory, the MIB has restricted the requirement for SDC solely to food and health advertisements.
Brands are required to upload an annual SDC on the designated portals and provide proof of this upload to concerned media stakeholders, including TV channels, newspapers, and entities involved in publishing of advertisements on the internet, etc. for the records.
The advisory stated, the concerned stakeholders are informed that the facility for uploading the SDC by the advertisers/advertising agencies has been made available on the Broadcast Seva Portal for TV/Radio Advertisements and on the portal of the Press Council of India (PCI) for advertisements on print media/internet.
“It is clarified that it shall be the responsibility of the advertisers/advertising agencies to ensure that every advertisement being issued by them is in adherence to the applicable Indian laws, rules and regulations in letter and spirit,” the advisory stated.
