What are the legal restrictions and guidelines applicable generally to advertisements relating to consumer products?

Indian laws prescribe both general and product-specific restrictions and guidelines on advertisements. Any advertisement containing false or misleading representations concerning standards, quality, grade, composition, usefulness, warranty, guarantee, efficacy of product life without adequate tests, sales price or seeking to disparage products of another person may amount to "unfair trade practice" under the MRTP Act as well as the Consumer Protection Act and should be avoided. Further, advertisements should not carry any exaggerated, misleading or inadequate impression regarding quantity of the product in the package or violate trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person.

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Depending on the nature of the consumer product, advertisements may also need to comply with requirements of applicable laws and regulations. To state a few, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act restricts advertisements of food products that claim the product as being a substitute for any food, imply that the food product is recommended by a medical practitioner or claim to cure any disease or disorder. Unless permitted by the Government in public interest, the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act also prohibits advertisements that claim to cure certain diseases including obesity, arthritis, epilepsy, or to procure miscarriage, etc. Further, advertisements of tobacco and alcohol in the print media should contain statutory warnings, while direct or surrogate advertisements of these products are prohibited on air.

As a general rule (enumerated by various statutes), an advertisement should not deride any religion, race, caste, creed, colour and nationality, present criminality as desirable, subvert the government, exploit the national emblem or personality of a national leader or a state dignitary, exploit social evils like dowry and child marriage or depict in any manner the figure or body of a woman that is derogatory to women or may corrupt public morality.

I am an Indian national permanently relocating to India after living in the UK for two-and-a-half years. What customs duty concessions will be available on import into India of my household items that I took to UK from India as well as the ones I acquired during my stay in UK?

The Baggage Rules, 1998, permit you to import free of duty all used personal and household items, whether taken out from India or acquired in the UK, and jewellery upto Rs. 10,000 by every male member and Rs 20,000 by every female member of your family. Import of specified electronic items, including computers, laptops, televisions, DVDs, music systems and microwaves are not exempt from import duty on transfer of residence, however, one unit of each such electronic item can be imported on a concessional ad valorem duty of 30 per cent provided the total value of such imported items does not exceed Rs 500,000. You can import duty free alcoholic liquor and wines upto one litre each, upto 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or tobacco upto 250 grams.

These exemptions are available to you only if: (i) during the immediate preceding two years of your date of arrival in India, your stay in India in short visits does not exceed six months, and (ii) you have not availed customs concessions on transfer of residence in preceding three years.

In addition to the limits prescribed for duty exemption on transfer of residence, electronic and jewellery items taken out of India by you earlier will also be exempt from customs duty on import. However, you will need to satisfy the Customs Department that these items were taken out of India by you earlier. Items not falling under any of the exemptions discussed above may be subject to customs duty at applicable rates after availing general exemptions.

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