Guidelines 5 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Guidelines 5, 6 and 7 deal with three common marketing tricks: advertising a low price that cannot be honoured, advertising a restricted product under cover of another, and describing something as available without charge when the consumer still has to pay. Each has specific conditions that an advertiser can test its campaign against.
The guidelines were issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on 9 June 2022 under section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. This article takes them as amended up to 3 October 2026 (no amendment listed by the CCPA). Later amendments should be checked on the CCPA website. Consequences follow under the Act; see section 21 and sections 88 and 89. This article quotes no penalty.
A bait advertisement must not entice consumers without a reasonable prospect of selling at the price offered, must have adequate supply for foreseeable demand, and must say if stock is limited or if it only tests demand. A surrogate advertisement for goods whose advertising is restricted by law is prohibited, though mere use of a brand name or company name is not surrogate advertising if the advertisement is not otherwise objectionable. Guideline 7 sets five conditions for advertisements that claim goods or services come at no charge, including that no unavoidable cost beyond response and delivery may be put on the consumer.
Advertisers and agencies who plan low-price promotions, brand extensions or no-charge offers can ask for compliance advisory support before they publish.
Guideline 5: bait advertisements
A bait advertisement is defined in guideline 2(d) as one in which goods or services are offered at a low price to attract consumers. Guideline 5 says it "shall fulfil the following conditions".
| Clause | Condition |
|---|---|
| (a) | Not seek to entice consumers to purchase without a reasonable prospect of selling the advertised goods, products or services at the price offered |
| (b) | The advertiser ensures adequate supply to meet foreseeable demand generated by the advertisement |
| (c) | State the reasonable grounds the advertiser has for believing that it might not be able to supply within a reasonable period and in reasonable quantities, and in particular: (i) if estimated demand exceeds supply, make clear that stock is limited; (ii) if the purpose is to assess potential demand, state this clearly; (iii) not omit restrictions, including geographic restrictions and age-limit on availability |
| (d) | Not mislead consumers about market conditions or the lack of availability in order to induce purchase on conditions less favourable than normal market conditions |
Clause (c) is the most operational. If the advertiser knows stock may run out, the advertisement must say so. If the "offer" is only a test of demand, the advertisement must say that. And restrictions, for example that an offer is limited to one city or to adults, must appear.
An invented example: Metro Mobiles advertises a phone at a very low price in the whole country but has stock for only twenty units in one city. The advertisement fails clause (b), as it has no adequate supply for foreseeable demand, and clause (c)(i) and (iii), because it does not say stock is limited or that the offer is geographic. The same advertisement would be closer to compliance if it said "limited stock, one city only", although clause (a) still asks whether there is a reasonable prospect of selling at that price.
Guideline 6: surrogate advertising
The prohibition: guideline 6(1)
"No surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement shall be made for goods or services whose advertising is otherwise prohibited or restricted by law, by circumventing such prohibition or restriction and portraying it to be an advertisement for other goods or services, the advertising of which is not prohibited or restricted by law."
The two tests: guideline 6(2)
An advertisement "shall be considered to be a surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement, if":
- (a) it indicates or suggests directly or indirectly to consumers that it is an advertisement for the goods, product or service whose advertising is prohibited or restricted by law; or
- (b) it uses any brand name, logo, colour, layout and presentation associated with such goods, product or services whose advertisement is prohibited or restricted.
The proviso: brand names
The proviso says that "mere use of a brand name or company name which may also be applied to goods, product or service whose advertising is prohibited or restricted shall not be considered to be surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement, if such advertisement is not otherwise objectionable as per the provisions set out in these guidelines".
So a company that sells a restricted product and an unrestricted product under the same brand does not automatically commit surrogate advertising when it advertises the unrestricted product under that brand. The protection is lost if the advertisement is otherwise objectionable, for example if it uses the logo, colour, layout and presentation of the restricted product, as in clause (b), or suggests that it is promoting the restricted product, as in clause (a). Which goods are restricted is a matter for other laws, and the guideline names none.
An invented example: a company known for a restricted product launches a sports drink under the same company name. A plain advertisement for the drink using the company name, without the restricted product's distinctive colours and layout, falls within the proviso. An advertisement that reuses the restricted product's colour scheme and presentation falls within clause (b).
Guideline 7: advertisements that claim goods or services come at no charge
Guideline 7 governs advertisements that describe goods, products or services as available without charge, called "no-charge claims" in this article. It has five clauses.
- Clause (a): an advertisement must not describe goods, products or services as being without charge, or use such other terms, if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the advertisement and of collecting or paying for the delivery of the item.
- Clause (b): it must make clear the extent of commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of the no-charge offer.
- Clause (c): it must not describe a thing as available without charge if (i) the consumer has to pay for packing, packaging, handling or administration; (ii) the cost of response, including the price of goods the consumer must buy to take advantage of the offer, has been increased, except where the increase results from factors unrelated to the cost of promotion; or (iii) the quality or quantity of the goods the consumer must buy to take advantage of the offer has been reduced.
- Clause (d): it must not describe an element of a package as available without charge if that element is included in the package price.
- Clause (e): it must not use the term "trial at no charge" to describe a "satisfaction or your money back" offer or an offer for which a non-refundable purchase is required.
The principle is simple: a no-charge claim must be literally true. If the consumer pays for packing, if the main product's price has been raised to fund the offer or if the main product has been made smaller or poorer, the claim is misleading. An invented example: a shop advertises a bag "at no charge" with a purchase of shoes but has raised the shoe price by the value of the bag. Clause (c)(ii) applies unless the increase results from factors unrelated to the cost of promotion.
The same ideas appear in the dark patterns guidelines on hidden costs and subscription traps; see the article on items 5 to 8 of the Dark Patterns Annexure.
How guidelines 5 to 7 fit together
All three guidelines require advertisers to be honest about what they can supply, what they are really promoting and what the consumer must pay. The general validity conditions are in the article on guideline 4, and the definitions of bait and surrogate advertisement are in the article on guidelines 1 to 3. The children-targeted rules and disclaimer rules follow in the article on guidelines 8 to 11. The dark patterns guidelines also address bait and switch; see the article on items 5 to 8.
Need help with a promotion or brand extension?
Low-price promotions, brand extensions into restricted categories and no-charge offers are the first places a complaint arises. Our compliance advisory team can review the copy, the stock position and the terms before launch.
Key takeaways
- A bait advertisement needs a reasonable prospect of selling at the price, adequate supply and a clear statement of limited stock, demand testing or restrictions.
- Surrogate advertising for goods whose advertising is restricted or prohibited by law is banned.
- Mere use of a brand or company name is not surrogate advertising if the advertisement is not otherwise objectionable.
- A no-charge claim must be literally true: no cost beyond response and delivery, no raised price or reduced quality or quantity to fund it, no element already in the package price.
- A "satisfaction or your money back" offer cannot be called a trial at no charge.
- Consequences are under the Act.
Read next
- Guideline 4: conditions for a valid non-misleading advertisement
- Guidelines 8–11: children-targeted advertisements, prohibited advertisements and disclaimers
- Dark patterns Annexure items 5–8: subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing
- Misleading advertisements under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Disclaimer: Based on the rules, regulations and guidelines named above as published in the Gazette of India or on the CCPA website, with the amending notifications the article names (consulted on 3 October 2026). Later amendments, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provisions referred to, State rules and CCPA advisories should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.