Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has emphasized that broadcasters and advertisers must obtain a self-declaration certificate (SDC) before releasing any new advertisements. Starting from 18 June, all new ads can only be aired if they have the SDC, as required by the Supreme Court and notified by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), and the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) have collectively requested that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) delay the implementation of the SDC mandate to allow the industry sufficient time to comply with the new regulatory requirements.

In a letter to the MIB, the INS suggested that the SDC mechanism should be restricted to medical advertisements since the SC case specifically addresses misleading medical ads. Advertisers will be required to generate SDCs via the Broadcast Seva portal for TV and radio ads and through the Press Council of India (PCI) portal for print and digital ads.

The ISA has also called for a postponement of the SDC mechanism, citing concerns over asset confidentiality as ad materials uploaded on the Broadcast Seva and PCI websites will be publicly accessible. Additionally, both websites frequently experience technical issues, potentially causing delays in generating the SDCs.

Despite these concerns, the MIB reiterated during a stakeholder meeting on 11 June that the SDC mandate for all new advertisements across TV, digital, print, and radio will come into effect on 18 June, in accordance with the Supreme Court directive.

ASCI has requested its members to report any difficulties they encounter in implementing the SDC mandate, so it can compile these issues and present them to the MIB for further consideration.