Mumbai, May 29 (IANS): To protect consumer interests, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Monday said it has introduced an "independent review process" for complaints.

According to the advertising industry's self-regulatory organisation, the procedure facilitates an independent mechanism to review the recommendations made by Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) if either the advertiser or the complainant is dissatisfied with such recommendations.

Justice Mukul Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, has been appointed by the self-regulatory organisation as the Chairman for all independent review process cases.

Besides, C.B.S. Venkataramana, IAS (retd) has been appointed as the Chief Complaints Officer (CCO), who will play a vital role in driving efficient complaint redressal and 360 degree stakeholder interactions.

"ASCI is constantly evolving and seeking effective measures to enable self-regulation in advertising and compliance to ASCI codes. The inclusion of the Independent Review Process mechanism creates transparency for both advertiser and complainant in further facilitating fair judgement of complaints," said Srinivasan K. Swamy, chairman, ASCI.

The independent review process is applicable where the CCC recommendations are made after considering the response received from the advertiser and on fulfilling certain conditions by the party seeking review, such as a written application in the prescribed form, accompanied by a non-refundable prescribed fee plus applicable taxes.

The ASCI has been rapidly progressing on various initiatives for upholding self-regulation in advertising, safeguarding consumers' interest and partnering with various government bodies in restraining misleading advertisements.