Section V. COUNTER-ADVERTISING AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPROPER ADVERTISING

Article 29. Counter-Advertising

1. If the fact of a violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising has been established, then the offender must produce a counter-advertisement within the time period determined by the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that made the ruling in regard to the counter-advertisement. The expenses incurred for the counter-advertisement shall be the sole responsibility of the offender.

2. In the event the offender does not produce a counter-advertisement within the specified time period, then the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that made the ruling in regard to the counter-advertisement shall have the right to make a decision on the full or partial suspension of the offender's advertisements until the day the offender finishes distributing the counter-advertisement.

In addition, the agency that made the ruling to suspend the offender's advertisements in full or in part must notify all parties of this fact who are under contract with the offender to produce, place and distribute its advertisements immediately.

3. The dissemination of a counter-advertisement shall be handled in the same manner and for the same duration, space, placement and in the same order as the refuted advertisement. The content of the counter-advertisement shall be agreed upon with the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that established the fact of the violation and made an appropriate decision regarding its rectification.

In specific cases, in respect to the decision made by the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) which made the ruling on the counter-advertisement, substitutions may be made regarding the means of dissemination, duration, space, place and order for implementing the counter-advertisements.

Article 30. Responsibility of the Advertiser, Advertisement Producer and Advertisement Distributor

The advertiser bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the contents of the information submitted for the creation of an advertisement, unless it is proved that the violation occurred at the fault of the advertisement producer or the advertisement distributor.

The advertisement producer bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the execution, production, and preparation of the advertisement.

The advertising distributor bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the duration, place and the means of placing the advertisement.

Article 31. Responsibility for Violating the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Advertising

1. Legal entities or persons (advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors) bear civil responsibility in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation for the violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising.

Persons whose rights and interests are violated as a result of improper advertisements have the right to turn to the courts or the arbitration courts in the established procedure with claims, including claims for the reimbursement of losses, lost profits, damage caused to health and property, compensation for moral damage, and public retraction of inappropriate advertisements.

Persons with claims seeking compensation for damages to health, property, dignity, honour and business reputation caused by improper advertisement shall be exempt from the payment of state duties.

2. Improper advertisement, or refusal to counter-advertise, or non-submission of information in the determined time period at the request of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall result in administrative responsibility in the form of a warning or a penalty in an amount of up to 200 times the minimum wage, as determined by federal law.

Improper advertisement, repeated within a year of the imposition of administrative deductions and penalties for the same activity, shall be considered a criminal offense in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Knowingly false advertising, produced for the purpose of receiving profits (earnings), that causes considerable harm to the state or the public interest or to the rights and interests of persons regulated by law shall be considered a criminal offense in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

3. The federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall have the right to impose fines on advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors in the amount of 5,000 times the minimal wage established by federal law for failure to stop within the determined time period violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising and decisions on producing counter-advertisements.

The amount of fines payable by advertisers, advertisement producers or advertisement disseminators in accordance with this Federal Law shall be entered into the appropriate budgets as follows:

40 percent - to the federal budget;

60 percent - to the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the territory where the legal entity or individual entrepreneur (the advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement distributor) is registered.

Penalty amounts shall be withheld by the courts if the payments are not made voluntarily.

The payment of a fine shall not relieve an advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement distributor from fulfilling a court order to stop violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising or from a ruling on producing a counter-advertisement.

4. The advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement disseminator has the right to turn to the courts or arbitration courts with an application to recognise as fully or partially invalid the decision of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Filing such an appeal shall not excuse the filer from fulfilling the demands of the order or the decision of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency), unless the courts or arbitration courts make a decision to suspend the fulfilment of such order or decision.

Russian Media Law Sources | On Advertising