ASCI Influencer Guidelines: #Ad Labels, CCPA Rules and Penalties

The ASCI influencer guidelines require you to disclose every “material connection” with a brand (payment, free products, trips, discounts, or a family or employment link) using one of seven labels: #Advertisement, #Ad, #Sponsored, #Collaboration, #Partnership, #Employee or #Free gift. The label must be upfront, not buried in hashtags. Separately, the government’s “Endorsement Know-hows!” (20 January 2023) and Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 let the CCPA penalise an endorser of a misleading ad up to ₹10 lakh, and ₹50 lakh for repeat contraventions.

When the ASCI influencer guidelines require disclosure

You must disclose whenever there is a material connection between you and the brand. Money is only one form. It includes affiliate commission, free products (even unsolicited ones), discounts, hotel stays and trips, event invitations, media barters and awards, and family, personal or employment relationships. Saying “this review is unbiased” does not remove the need. You do not need a label only when you bought the product yourself and have no link with the brand.

ASCI (the Advertising Standards Council of India) is the industry’s self-regulatory body, not a court. But brands and platforms follow its code, its decisions are published, and the government’s rules follow the same approach.

#ad rules India: where and how long to show the label

• Posts with captions: the label must be upfront, visible without clicking “more”, and not lost among hashtags.
• Pictures or stories without text: superimpose the label on the image.
• Videos with a caption: put the label in the caption, hard to miss.
• Videos without a caption: 3 seconds minimum for 15 seconds or less; one-third of the length for over 15 seconds and under 2 minutes; the whole brand segment for 2 minutes or more.
• Live streams: at the beginning and the end. Audio and podcasts: clearly at the start and the end.
• Language: English or the language of the post. Platform tools like “Paid partnership” are in addition to your own label.

Labels that fail: #sp, #spon, #collab, #thanks, #gifted, #partner. Example: Aditi, a Kochi beauty creator, posted a free serum kit with #gifted at the end of a long caption. It was flagged. She edited it to begin with “#Free gift” and added an on-screen label.

CCPA endorsement guidelines for influencers

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is law, and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) enforces it. Two documents matter:

1. Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 (notified 9 June 2022): endorsements must reflect the endorser’s genuine, reasonably current opinion based on adequate information or experience; material connections must be disclosed; endorsers must do due diligence.
2. “Endorsement Know-hows!” (Department of Consumer Affairs, 20 January 2023) for celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers: disclose prominently using simple terms such as “advertisement”, “sponsored” or “paid promotion”; put it in the endorsement itself, superimposed on pictures; in videos, in both audio and visual form, not just in the description; in live streams, continuously and prominently; and do not endorse a product you have not personally used or experienced.

Penalties under Section 21: the CCPA can order an ad to be discontinued or modified, impose a penalty on a manufacturer or endorser up to ₹10 lakh (up to ₹50 lakh for every subsequent contravention), and bar an endorser from endorsing for up to one year (up to three years for subsequent contraventions). Under Section 21(5), an endorser who exercised due diligence to verify the claims is not liable to these penalties. Keep the brand’s written substantiation for every claim in your script.

Finance, health and gaming: extra rules

• Health and finance qualifications (ASCI, 28 April 2025 update): influencers in banking, financial services, insurance, and health and nutrition must hold and disclose relevant qualifications when they give technical information or advice. Generic promotions and public service messages are exempt.
• SEBI: stock tips and investment advice need SEBI registration. From 29 August 2024, SEBI-registered entities cannot associate with unregistered persons giving securities advice or claiming returns. Registered advisers should display their registration number.
• Online money games: the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, in force with its Rules from 1 May 2026, bans advertisements promoting online money games. No sponsored betting, fantasy cash or casino content.
• Virtual influencers must tell consumers they are not interacting with a real human being, and no influencer should use filters that exaggerate a product’s effect.

Influencer ad disclosure India: a pre-post checklist

1. Is there any material connection? If yes, pick one of the seven ASCI labels.
2. Is the label in the first line or on screen for the required time, in audio and visual for videos?
3. Have you used the product yourself?
4. Has the brand given written proof for every claim (“clinically proven”, “No. 1”)?
5. Is the product legally sold and advertised (food, cosmetic, drug, financial licences)?
6. Does the contract ask you to hide the ad? Refuse, and put compliance and an indemnity in the contract.

Frequently asked questions

What are the ASCI influencer guidelines in simple words?

If a brand gives you money, free products, trips or any other benefit, or you have a personal link with it, label the post with #Advertisement, #Ad, #Sponsored, #Collaboration, #Partnership, #Employee or #Free gift. The label must be upfront and, in videos, on screen for the required time.

Is #gifted or #collab enough for a free product?

No. ASCI permits only its seven listed labels. For a free product use “#Free gift”, placed upfront.

Can the government fine an influencer for a misleading ad?

Yes. Under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the CCPA can fine an endorser up to ₹10 lakh, or up to ₹50 lakh for repeat contraventions, and bar them from endorsing for up to one or three years. Due diligence on the claims is a defence.

Do I need a disclosure if I bought the product myself?

No, if you paid for it and have no connection with the brand. Any payment, gift, discount or relationship creates a material connection that must be disclosed.

Quick quiz

To apply the ASCI influencer guidelines to every deal, see the Law for Content Creators and Influencers certificate course.

Sources

• ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media (2021, as updated, including 28 April 2025)
• Consumer Protection Act, 2019: s.21
• CCPA Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022
• Department of Consumer Affairs, “Endorsement Know-hows!” (20 January 2023)
• Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 and Rules, 2026

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.