Compliance of Standard Operating Procedure for Restoration of Telecom Resources

भारतीय दूरसंचार विनियामक प्राधिकरण TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA भारत सरकार / Government of India Dated: 07th April, 2025

DIRECTION

Subject: Direction under section 13, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) regarding compliance of Standard Operating Procedure for restoration of telecom resources disconnected under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018)

F. No. G/(48)/2024-QoS (E-14607)- Whereas the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (hereinafter referred to as the "Authority"), established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) (hereinafter referred to as the "TRAI Act"), has been entrusted with the discharge of certain functions, inter alia, to regulate the telecommunication services; ensure technical compatibility and effective interconnection between different service providers; lay down standards of quality of service to be provided by service providers and conduct the periodical survey of such services provided by the service providers so as to protect interest of the consumers of telecommunication service;

2. And whereas the Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 36, read with sub-clause (v) of clause (b) and clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the TRAI Act, made the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018) dated the 19th July 2018 (hereinafter referred to as the "regulations"), to curb unsolicited commercial communications;

3. And whereas regulation 29 of the regulations provides for representation by Senders against the action taken by Access Providers and the said regulation reads as under:-

"29. Representation by Senders against the action taken by Access Providers.— (1) The Authority may on receipt of a complaint from the Sender, within sixty days of action taken against it by the Access Provider under the regulations 25, if it considers expedient to do so, call for the relevant details from the Sender and Access Providers, and upon examination, for reasons to be recorded,-

(a) if the Authority finds that conclusion of investigation by the Access Provider lacks adequate evidence against the Sender, -

(i) it may direct the Access Providers to restore all telecom resources of the Sender and delete the name and address of such Sender from the blacklist;

(ii) it may issue warning to the Access Provider for not exercising due diligence in deciding such cases;

(b) if the Authority finds that conclusion of the investigation conducted by the Access Provider is based on evidence but the Sender satisfies the Authority that it has taken reasonable steps to prevent the recurrence of such contravention, the Authority may by order direct the Access Providers to restore the telecom resources of the sender, partially or fully; and delete the name and address of such Sender from the blacklist, as the case may be, on payment of a restoration charge of five thousand rupees per resource to the Authority for restoration of all such telecom resources, subject to the condition that the total amount payable by the Sender shall not exceed five lakh rupees:

Provided that in the case of PRI or SIP trunks, each DID number shall be treated as a separate telecom resource:

Provided further that the amount payable under the clause (b) of this sub-regulation may be reduced or waived off by the Authority where it finds merit in the response furnished by the Sender:

Provided also that Authority may specify from time to time Standard Operating Procedures or issue directions or instructions detailing exact steps to be taken to decide such cases.";

4. And whereas the Authority has, in accordance with the provisions contained in regulation 29 of the regulations, decided to formulate Standard Operating Procedure (hereinafter referred to as "SoP") for restoration of telecom resources disconnected by the Access Provider for alleged sending of unsolicited commercial communications;

5. And whereas the Authority formulated and circulated a draft SoP among all Access Providers for their feedback and, after deliberations, has finalized the SoP to process representations received under regulation 29 for restoring telecom resources disconnected by the Access Providers for sending unsolicited commercial communications;

6. Now, therefore, the Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 13, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) and the provisions of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018), hereby directs all Access Providers to -

(a) follow the SoP contained in Annexure-I to this Direction to process all cases related to the restoration of telecom resources of the senders disconnected for sending unsolicited commercial communications;

(b) ensure that the SoP is implemented effectively to safeguard against recurrence of violations while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements;

(c) bring this Direction to the notice of all relevant stakeholders, including Registered Telemarketers and Senders;

(d) furnish to the Authority, within fifteen days from the date of issue of this Direction, updated status on actions taken, including updates to Codes of Practice, if any.

(Deepak Sharma) Advisor (QoS-II)

To: All Access Providers

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Annexure-I

Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for restoration of telecom resources disconnected for sending Unsolicited Commercial Communications

1. Objective: This SoP outlines the process for restoring disconnected telecom resources in accordance with regulation 29 of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018) (hereinafter referred to as the "regulations") dated 19th July 2018-.

2. Submission of a Complaint/Appeal: a) The complainant/appellant i.e the Sender whose telecom resource has been disconnected for alleged sending of unsolicited commercial communications, must submit a formal request to the Authority within sixty (60) days of action taken against it by the Access Provider under regulation 25 of the TCCCPR 2018, for restoration of telecom resources and/or removal from the blacklist. b) The request must include adequate supporting documents and undertakings to demonstrate the intent of the complainant/appellant to prevent recurrence of the violation, if any.

3. Documentation Requirements: I. If complainant/appellant accepts that the commercial communication, in contravention of the provisions of the regulations, has been made by the complainant/appellant and wishes to continue commercial communications activities in accordance with the provisions of the regulations, the following documents and declarations must be included with the application:-

i. Details of Requested Resources: The complainant/appellant shall specify the quantity of telecommunication resources separately for 140XXX promotional calls, 1600XX transactional / service calls, message headers etc. to be provisioned after removal from blacklist. ii. Corrective Measures: The complainant/appellant shall outline steps taken / contemplated to prevent recurrence of contravention of the provisions of regulations, including establishment of an audit mechanism to monitor compliance. Further, it shall be established with reasonable certainty by the complainant/appellant that appropriate action (FIR lodged against the person/ company, disciplinary/ administrative/ vigilance action, etc.) is taken against the defaulting unit which might be a person or a company. iii. Acknowledgements and Declarations:- The applicant/complainant- (a) agrees that restored resources may be subject to enhanced monitoring by Access Providers; (b) agrees to provide any report to the Authority as the Authority may require; (c) accepts that the Authority reserves the right to recall restoration decisions if violations persist.