On 18th March, 2015, the DoCA
appointed ASCI to monitor the web portal www.gama.gov.in aimed at
addressing misleading advertisements and arresting unfair trade
practices. GAMA stands for grievances against misleading advertisements.
“The need for government and
self-regulatory body like ASCI to work together to provide effective and
timely grievance redressal to consumers is key to tackle the issue,”
commented C. Viswanath, Secretary, DoCA.
GAMA has received more than 1,000
complaints from individuals and consumer organisations like Consumer
Education and Research Centre (CERC) which were processed by the ASCI.
“ASCI was entrusted with the
responsibility of GAMA complaints processing. This co-regulation
initiative between the government and ASCI has further enhanced
effectiveness of protecting consumers,” said Benoy Roychowdhury,
Chairman, ASCI.
Misleading publicity against products
and services ranging across telecom, banking, consumer durables,
e-commerce and others sectors emanating from TV, print, online and other
digital medium were complained upon.
The ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council
(CCC) upheld complaints against some leading brands forcing them to
withdraw the publicity material or modify it appropriately within the
stipulate period.
The complaints are handled through a
three-tier system. First, the complaints get processed by ASCI, the
second level escalates non-compliance to a sub-committee headed by the
joint secretary DoCA under the Inter Ministerial Monitoring Committee
(IMMC), while at the final stage, the empowered regulator will act
against persistent offenders, the statement added.
