New Delhi, Dec. 30 -- New Delhi: India's rollout of surrogate advertising guidelines is likely to be delayed further, as the government struggles to find clear legal authority under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, two people familiar with the matter said. This complicates efforts to rein in indirect promotion of alcohol and indirect promotion ofbrands while prolonging regulatory uncertainty for companies operating under existing advertising restrictions.

There is little clarity yet on a timeline for the guidelines even after one-and-a-half years of a government panel first meeting to fix these gaps from which surrogate promotions scrape through

The consumer law does not define surrogate advertising or treat indirect promotion of proh...