[12th
February 2025] In exercise of the powers conferred
upon it by section 36, read with sub-clause (v) of clause (b) and clause (c) of
sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act
1997 (24 of 1997), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereby makes the
following regulations further to amend the Telecom Commercial Communications
Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018), namely:- (1)
These regulations may be called the Telecom
Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations,
2025 (1 of 2025). (2)
These regulations shall apply throughout the
territory of India. (3) These
shall come into force after thirty days from the date of their publication in
the Official Gazette except regulation 8, regulation 17; sub-clauses (a) and
(b) of regulation 20; and sub-clause (b) of regulation 21, which shall come
into force after sixty days of publication of these regulations in the Official
Gazette. In regulation 2 of the Telecom
Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018)
(hereinafter referred to as the principal regulations), (a) for
clause (z), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:- "(z)
"Fully blocked" means stoppage of all types of commercial
communication requiring explicit consent except commercial communication sent
under inferred consent and Government Message or Government Voice Call;"; (b) after
clause (z), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(za)
"Government Message or Government Voice Call" means any message sent
or voice call made on the directions of - (a)
the Central Government or the State
Government or any body established under the Constitution; or (b)
the Authority or by an agency expressly
authorized for the purpose by the Authority: Provided that such messages are sent or
voice calls are made through the DLT platform. Explanation: There shall not be any
requirement of seeking Consent for receipt of these communications nor shall
there be any option in the Preference Register to block such
communications;"; (c) after
clause (ah), the following provisos shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided that such consent shall
not extend beyond duration / discharge of the contract between the Sender and
the Recipient: Provided further that in case of
commercial messages, such Consent may be clearly and reasonably inferred from
the registered Content Template;"; (d) for
clause (au), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:- "(au)
"Promotional Message" means the commercial communication containing
promotional material or advertisement of a product or service: Provided that the Sender shall give an
opt-out mechanism to the Recipient in the same Message, as may be specified by
the Authority: Provided further that if promotional
content is mixed with any type of Transactional or Service Message, such
Message shall be treated as a Promotional Message. Explanation: These Messages shall only
be delivered to Subscribers who have not blocked their preference under the
applicable category in the Preference Register or have given their Consent in
the Consent Register, as applicable. If the Sender has acquired explicit
digital consent, as provided under the regulations, from the intended
Recipient, then such Promotional Messages with explicit consent shall be
delivered to the Recipients irrespective of their preferences registered, under
the applicable category, in the Preference Register;"; (e) for
clause (av), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:- "(av)
"Promotional Voice Call" means commercial communication any voice
Commercial Communication containing promotional material or advertisement of a
product or service: Provided that if promotional content is
mixed with any type of commercial Voice Call, such voice call shall be treated
as a Promotional Voice Call. Explanation: These calls shall only be
delivered to Subscribers who have not blocked their preference, under the
applicable category, in the Preference Register or have given their Consent in
the Consent Register, as applicable. If the Sender has acquired explicit
digital consent, as provided under these regulations, from the intended
Recipient, such Promotional calls with Explicit Consent of the Recipient shall
be delivered to the Recipients irrespective of their preferences registered,
under the applicable category, in the Preference Register."; (f) for
clause (bh), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:- "(bh)
"Service Message or Service Voice Call" means a message sent or voice
call made by a Sender to - (i)
its Customer or Subscriber to provide
information pertaining to any product or service, its warranty, product recall,
software upgrade alerts, safety or security of the product used or purchased by
the Customer, periodic balance alerts, information regarding delivery of goods
or services, and such Messages are not promotional in nature and do not require
Explicit Consent; or (ii)
a Recipient to facilitate or complete a
commercial transaction involving the ongoing purchase or the use by the
Recipient of the product or services offered by the Sender after obtaining
Explicit Consent from the Recipient and such Messages are not promotional in
nature: Provided that such Explicit Consent
shall be for seven days or as directed by the Authority from time to time: Provided further that a transactional
Message or transactional Voice Call containing information pertaining to service
shall be treated as a Service Message or Service Voice Call;"; (g) for
clause (bt), the following clause shall be substituted, namely: - "(bt)
"Transactional Message or Transactional Voice Call" means a Message
sent or Voice Call made by a Sender to its Customer or Subscriber in response
to Customer initiated transaction within thirty minutes of the transaction
relating to any product or service such as OTP from banks, non-bank-entities
like e-commerce, apps login etc., transaction alerts and confirmations, balance
alerts post completion of a transaction, refund information, etc. and such
Messages or calls are not promotional in nature and does not require Explicit
Consent;"; (h)
clause (bu) shall be deleted; (i) for
clause (bw), the following clause shall be substituted , namely:- "(bw)
"Unsolicited Commercial Communication or UCC" means any commercial
communication that is neither as per the consent nor the registered preferences
of the Recipient and does not include:- (i)
any transactional message or transactional voice
call; (ii)
any service message or service voice call; (iii)
any message or voice calls transmitted on the
directions of the Central Government or the State Government or bodies
established under the Constitution, when such communication is in public
interest; (iv)
any message or voice calls transmitted by or
on the direction of the Authority or by any agency expressly authorized for the
purpose by the Authority: Provided that any commercial
communication made by a Sender which is not registered with any Access. Provider for the purpose of sending
commercial communication shall be treated as an Unsolicited Commercial
Communication: Provided further that any message sent
or voice call made, in the guise of commercial communication or otherwise, to
deceive the recipient or to attempt to deceive the recipient shall be treated
as an unsolicited commercial communication under these regulations so far as
the misutilization of telecom resources by the sender is concerned;". For regulation 3 of the principal regulations,
the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "3.
Commercial communications through network of Access Providers.- (1)
Every Access Provider shall ensure that any
commercial communication using its network takes place only using registered
headers or the number resources allotted to the Senders from special series
assigned for the purpose of commercial communication. (2)
No Sender, who is not registered with any
Access Provider for the purpose of sending commercial communications under
these regulations, shall make any commercial communication, and in case, any
such Sender sends commercial communication, all the telecom resources of such
Sender may be put under suspension or may also be disconnected as provided
under these regulations.". For regulation 4 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "4.
Intimation regarding use of Auto Dialer or Robo-Calls.- Every Sender shall notify the
Originating Access Provider, in advance, about the use of Auto Dialer or
Robo-Calls as well as the intended objective of such calls in writing.". For regulation 22 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "22.
Other obligations of Access Providers. - (1)
Every Access Provider shall, - (a)
in case of misuse of Headers and Content
Templates- (i)
ensure that traffic from the concerned Sender
shall be suspended by all the Access Providers immediately till such time, the
Sender files a complaint with the law enforcement agencies under the relevant
laws, and Sender reviews all its Headers and Content Templates and takes
corrective measures as per the regulations to prevent misuse of its Headers,
Content Templates and other relevant credentials: Provided that no action shall be taken
by Access Provider unless the concerned Sender has been given a reasonable
opportunity of representation; (ii)
ensure that, if Delivery TM is complicit in
misuse of Headers or Content Templates, the Sender shall file a complaint
against Delivery TM with the law enforcement agencies under relevant laws; (b)
ensure that whenever a Sender or Telemarketer
is suspended or blacklisted by any Access Provider and its status is updated by
it on DLT platform, other Access Providers shall stop traffic from such
entities immediately, but not later than twenty-four hours from the time of
suspension or blacklisting, and shall not allow re-registration of these
entities during the period of suspension or blacklisting; (c)
develop a mechanism for the registered
Senders and RTMs to self-certify annually: - (i)
their registration details so as to ensure
availability of their up-to-date details with the Access Providers; (ii)
all of their registered headers, content
templates and Consent Templates: Provided that any failure on the part
of the registered Sender or RTM to certify their registration details,
registered headers, Content Template and Consent Templates shall lead to
automatic suspension of such Senders and RTMs or their registered headers,
content templates and Consent Templates, as the case may be: Provided further that Access Providers
shall incorporate suitable provisions in its agreement with the Sender or RTM
to ensure compliance of the provision; (d)
ensure that the transmission of the
Commercial Communication is authenticated by the Senders on whose name the
Headers or number resources from special series for making commercial
communication are issued, in such manner as may be specified by the Authority
from time to time; (e)
maintain proper traceability of Messages from
Senders to the Recipients and accountability of each entity in the chain and to
allow sufficient flexibility in the ecosystem and ensure that- (i)
there shall not be more than two
Telemarketers i.e. one Telemarketer with Aggregator Function and one
Telemarketer with Delivery Function, or as directed by the Authority from time
to time; (ii)
RTMs are mandated to use digital platforms
that record the trace when the messages pass through them by making necessary
provisions for such usage shall be incorporated in the agreement between Access
Provider and RTM; (iii)
the functions of the Telemarketer for
Delivery Function shall include ensuring that the commercial communication
handled by them is traceable and necessary provisions for such function shall
be incorporated shall be made in the agreement between Access Provider and the
Telemarketer for Delivery Function; (f)
at its discretion, specify the fee for
registration of Senders and RTMs and for other activities as provided under
these regulations such as registration of Headers, Content Template, etc. and
may also prescribe security deposits to safeguard against UCC: Provided that the Authority may specify
the fee for registration of Headers, Content Template, etc. or any other
activity provided under these regulations, or it may direct the Access
Providers to specify such fee; (g) at
its discretion, impose financial disincentives on registered Senders and
Telemarketers or forfeit their security deposit, and also suspend or blacklist
them, in case violation of the regulations can be attributed to the failure of
such entities to discharge the functions assigned to them: Provided that if the Authority has reason
to believe that measures specified by the Access Providers against the
registered Senders and Telemarketers are not effective, it may direct the
Access Providers to take appropriate measures; (h)
ensure to make provision for registration of
grievances by RTMs and Senders and their redressal; (i)
enter into agreements with the registered
Senders, the Telemarketers with Delivery Functions and the Telemarketers with
Aggregator Functions and ensure that- (i)
the agreement with registered Senders shall
include, - (A)
the roles and responsibilities of the Sender
under the provisions of these regulations and the actions that can be taken
against them in case of non-compliances. The agreement shall clearly stipulate
that it shall be the sole responsibility of the Sender to ensure that only
registered Headers or the number resources allotted to such Sender from the
special series assigned for the purpose of making service and transactional
calls, are used by itfor making such calls and no promotional content shall be
mixed in it; (B)
the provision for legal action by the
registered Sender against the Telemarketer in case of misuse of Headers or
Content Templates by the Telemarketer; (C)
the responsibility of the Sender to ensure
availability of their up-to-date information with the Access Providers by
self-certifying, on annual basis, their registration details and all registered
Headers, Content Templates and Consent Templates, failing which the Senders or
the uncertified Headers and templates, as the case may be, shall be automatically
suspended; (ii)
the agreement with registered Telemarketers
shall include - (A)
the roles and responsibilities of
Telemarketers specified under these regulations and the actions that can be
taken against them in case of non-compliances; (B)
responsibility of Telemarketer to ensure
availability of their up-to-date information with the Access Providers by
self-certifying, on annual basis, their registration details and all registered
Headers, Content Templates and Consent Templates, failing which the Telemarketer
or the uncertified Headers and templates, as the case may be, shall be
automatically suspended.". In regulation 23 of the principal
regulations, - (a) in
sub-regulation (1), for item (a), the following item shall be substituted,
namely:- "(a)
to make complaint by its Customer against
Sender of Unsolicited Commercial Communication in violation of the regulations
provided that to register the complaint against- (i)
RTMs or registered Senders, Customer should
have registered his preferences; (ii)
UTMs or unregistered Senders, there shall not
be any pre-requisite of registration of Preferences by the Customer."; (b)
in sub-regulation (2),- (i)
for the item (f) the following item shall be
substituted, namely: - "(f)
sending e-mail to a designated e-mail id
of the Access Provider in the specified format."; (ii) after
the item (f), the following item shall be inserted, namely: - "(g)
any other means as may be notified by the
Authority from time to time."; (iii) for
the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely: - "Provided that every such
complaint shall be made by a subscriber or recipient within seven days of
receipt of the unsolicited commercial communication:"; (c) for
sub-regulation (5), the following sub-regulation shall be substituted, namely:
- "(5)
to provide details of format and
procedure to the Customer, as given in the appropriate Codes of Practice, when
a complaint is treated as invalid by the Access Provider on the grounds of
incomplete information or improper format: Provided that - (a) if
the complaints against Unsolicited Commercial Communication, made through Voice
Calls or Message, contain the mobile number of the Sender, the mobile number of
the complainant, the date of UCC and a brief about of UCC Voice Call or
Message, it shall be treated as a valid complaint and for the guidance of the
complainant regarding manner of description of UCC, a template shall be
provided in mobile app and web portal of the Access. Providers who may collect additional
information to support the investigation, if available with or provided by the
complainant. The mandatory fields, if displayed, shall be marked with an
asterisk (*); (b) the
name of business or legal entity on whose behalf Unsolicited Commercial
Communication was made and purpose of Commercial Communications shall be
captured; however, these shall not be treated as mandatory fields for complaint
registration or investigation.". In regulation 24 of the principal
regulations, - (a) in
sub-regulation (2), for clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted,
namely:- "(c)
Referred telephone number(s) (RTN),
referred entity or brand name and purpose of call if provided in
complaint;"; (b) after
sub-regulation (4), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided that for UTM or
unregistered Sender, the details of the Sender such as name of the Sender,
category of the Sender as a telecom Customer (individual or enterprise),
address and other relevant details to uniquely identify the Sender shall be
recorded.". For regulation 25 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "25.
Complaint Mechanism.- Every Access Provider shall establish
systems, functions and processes to resolve complaints made by the Customers
and to take remedial action against Senders as provided hereunder:- (1)
Terminating Access Provider shall record the
complaint and report on DL-Complaints in non-repudiable and immutable manner
and shall notify, in real time, the details of the complaint to the concerned
Originating Access Provider (OAP) except when it is not possible to do so as
stipulated in sub-clause (2); (2)
in instances where there is non-availability
of complete telephone number of the Sender or Header in the complaint
registered, TAP shall communicate to the Customer about the closure of his
complaint with the reason and educate the Customer about the correct manner of
registering a complaint: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (3) the
Terminating Access Provider shall also verify if the date of receipt of
complaint is within seven days of receiving Commercial Communication and in
case the complaint is reported by the Customer after seven days, it shall
communicate to the Customer about the closure of his complaint along with
reasons in accordance with the Codes of Practice for Complaint Handling and
change status of the complaint on DL-Complaint as a report instead of a
complaint: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (4)
in case the complaint is related to
Registered Telemarketer or registered Sender, OAP shall- (a)
notify the receipt of the complaint to the
Sender immediately with such details which help the Sender to start the
investigation immediately; (b)
examine communication detail records, within
one business day from the date of receipt of compliant by OAP to check the
occurrence of complained communication between the complainant and the reported
telephone number or Header from which Unsolicited Commercial Communication was
received; (c)
in case of non-occurrence of complained
communications under sub-regulation (4)(b), shall communicate to TAP to inform
the complainant about the closure of complaint along with reasons in a manner
specified in the Codes of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (d)
in case of occurrence of SMS-related
complained communications under sub-regulation (4)(b), OAP shall further
examine, within one business day from the date of receipt of complaint, whether
all regulatory prechecks were carried out in the reported case before delivering
Unsolicited Commercial Communications; and (i)
if all regulatory pre-checks were carried out
and delivery of Commercial Communication to the Recipient was in conformity of
the provisions of the regulations and Codes of Practice, OAP shall communicate to
TAP to inform complainant about the closure of complaint along with reasons as
provided for in the Codes of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (ii) in
case of non-compliance with the regulations, within two business days from the
date of receipt of complaint, take action against the defaulting entity and
communicate to TAP to inform the complainant about the action taken against his
complaint as provided for in these regulations and Codes of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (iii)
take appropriate remedial action, as provided
for in the Regulations and in the Code of Practices, to control Unsolicited
Commercial Communications so as to ensure compliance with these regulations; (e)
in case of occurrence of complained
communication related to Voice Call from the series assigned for promotional
call under sub-regulation (4)(b), further examine, within one business day from
the date of receipt of complaint, whether all regulatory pre-checks were
carried out in the reported case before delivering Unsolicited Commercial
Communications; and - (i)
in case, all regulatory pre-checks were
carried out and delivery of Commercial Communication to the Recipient was in
confirmation to the provisions in the regulations and Code(s) of Practice,
communicate to TAP to inform complainant about the closure of complaint along
with reasons as provided for in the Code(s) of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (ii) in
case of non-compliance with the regulations, within two business days from the
date of receipt of complaint, take action against the defaulting entity and
communicate to TAP to inform the complainant about the actiontaken against his
complaint as provided for in the Regulations and Code(s) of Practice: Provided that Authority may, if it so
desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (iii)
take appropriate remedial action, as provided
for in the Regulations and in the Code of Practice(s), to control Unsolicited
Commercial Communications from such Senders so as to ensure compliance with
these Regulations; (f)
in case of occurrence of complained
communications under clause (4)(b) related to promotional Voice Callsmade using
the number resource(s) allotted from series assigned for transactional and
service calls, examine within a maximum time of two business hours, whether
there are similar complaints or reports against the same Sender; (i)
if it is found that the number of complaints
against the Sender are from five or more than five unique Recipients during the
last ten days, suspend the outgoing services of all the telecom resources of
the Sender which were utilized for sending UCC and initiate investigation byby
issuing a notice to the Sender, under sub-regulation (5)(d)(i) to give
opportunity to represent the case; investigate within five business days from
the date of receipt of representation from the Sender and record the reasons of
its findings and if the conclusion of is that the Sender was engaged in sending
the Unsolicited Commercial Communications, it shall act against such Sender as
under- (A)
for the first instance of violation, outgoing
services of all the telecom resources of the Sender including PRI/SIP trunks
etc shall be barred by all the Access Providers for a period of fifteen days,
irrespective of whether such resources other than the misused resource have
been used for sending UCC or not; (B)
for the second and subsequent instances of
violations- (I)
all telecom resources of the Sender across
all the access providers including PRI/SIP trunks etc. shall be disconnected by
all the Access Providers for one year, irrespective of whether such resources
other than the misused resource have been used for sending UCC or not; (II)
OAP shall put the Sender under the blacklist
category and no new telecom resources shall be provided by any Access Provider
to such Sender during this period; (III)
all the devices used for making UCC shall
also be blocked across all the Access Providers for a period of one year: Provided that one telephone number may
be allowed to be retained by such Sender during this period: Provided further that Sender can
represent to OAP against action due to first or subsequent instance of
violation; OAP shall decide the representation
within a maximum period of seven business days and shall record its findings. Provided also that Sender may make a
representation to the Authority against such decision of OAP, as provided under
regulation 29; (ii) in
case, number of complaints against the Sender are from less than five unique
Recipients during the last ten days, OAP shall communicate to TAP to inform the
complainant about the closure of complaint along with reasons in a manner
prescribed in the Code(s) of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant: Provided further that the Authority may
specify different criteria for initiating action under sub-clauses (i) and (ii)
above from time to time; (5)
in case, the complaint is related to an
Unregistered Telemarketer, (a)
OAP shall intimate the receipt of the
complaint to the Sender immediately; (b)
OAP shall examine communication detail
records (CDRs), within one business day from the date of receipt of compliant
by OAP, to check the occurrence of complained communication between the
complainant and the reported telephone number from which Unsolicited Commercial
Communication was received; (c)
In case of non- occurrence of complained
communications under sub-regulation (5)(b), OAP shall communicate to TAP to
inform the complainant about the closure of complaint along with reasons in a
manner prescribed in the Codes of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant; (d)
in case of occurrence of complained
communications under clause (5)(b), OAP shall further examine within a maximum
time of two business hours, whether there are similar complaints or reports
against the same Sender; and (i)
if it is found that number of complaints
against the Sender are from five or more than five unique Recipients during
last ten days, OAP shall suspend the outgoing services of all the telecom
resources of the Sender irrespective of whether those telecom resources were
actually used or not in making such communications and initiate an
investigation as provided for in the sub-regulation (6); (ii)
in case, it is found that the number of
complaints against the Sender are from less than five unique Recipients during
the during the last ten days, OAP shall communicate to TAP to inform the
complainant about the closure of complaint along with reasons in a manner
specified in the Codes of Practice: Provided that the Authority may, if it
so desires, by direction, specify the content and method of making such
communication to the complainant: Provided further that the Authority may
specify different criteria for initiating action under sub-clauses (i) and (ii)
above from time to time; (6)
in case of occurrence of complained
communications under sub regulations (5)(d)(i) above, OAP shall issue a notice
to the Sender to give opportunity to represent the case; shall investigate
within five business days from the date of receipt of representation from the
Sender and record the reasons of its findings and if the conclusion of OAP is
that the Sender or its TM was engaged in sending the Unsolicited Commercial
Communications, OAP shall take action against such Sender as under- (a)
for the first instance of violation, outgoing
services of all telecom resources allotted to the Sender including PRI/SIP
trunks, SIMs etc. shall be barred by all the Access Providers for a period of
fifteen days, irrespective of whether those telecom resources were actually
used or not in making such communications; (b)
for the second and subsequent instances of
violations, - (i)
all telecom resources of the Sender including
PRI/SIP trunks, SIMs etc. shall be disconnected by all the Access Providers for
one year, irrespective of whether those telecom resources were actually used or
not in making such communications; (ii)
OAP shall put the Sender under the blacklist
category and no new telecom resources shall be provided by any Access Provider
to such Sender during this period; (iii)
all the devices used for making UCC shall
also be blocked across all the Access Providers for a period of one year: Provided that one telephone number with
outgoing services barred may be allowed to be retained by such Sender during
this period and notified emergency services should be allowed despite such
outgoing service barring on the permitted telephone number: Provided further that Sender can
represent to OAP against action due to first or subsequent instance of
violation and OAP shall decide the representation within a maximum period of
seven business days and shall record its findings: Provided also that OAP shall file the
details of all the representation decided by it to the Authority for regulatory
review as per the format and periodicity defined by the Authority from time to
time: Provided also that Sender can file an
appeal against such decision of OAP before the Authority, as per regulation
29.". In regulation 26 of the principal
regulations, - (a) for
sub-regulation (4), the following sub-regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "(4)
The Authority may, from time to time, through audit conducted either by its
officers or employees or through agency appointed by it, verify and assess the process
followed by the Access Provider for registration and resolution of complaints,
examination and investigation of the complaints and reporting to the Authority,
implementation of UCC_Detect System and action taken thereof, different
registration processes such as Sender registration, Telemarketer registration,
Header registration, Content Template registration and other processes
including preference registration process, scrubbing processes, Consent
acquisition process and other processes followed by the Access Providers as per
the relevant provisions of these regulations."; (b) after
sub-regulation (4), the following sub-regulations shall be inserted, namely:- "(5)
The Access Providers shall provide
real-time access to the Authority to various processes and databases related to
the activities being performed under these regulations and the directions
issued by the Authority from time to time. (6)
The Access Providers shall publish the
following information, in searchable format, on their websites, in the formats
specified by the Authority - (a)
complete list of Message Headers along with
the details of associated Senders across all the Access Providers; (b)
monthly summary about the UCC complaints
received and action taken thereon; (c)
any other information, as may be specified by
the Authority, from time to time: Provided that the Authority may issue
directions regarding manner and format for publishing the information.". For regulation 27 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "27.
Consequences for failure to curb the Unsolicited Commercial Communications from
registered Senders or RTMs - (1)
If an Access Provider fails to curb
Unsolicited Commercial Communications from registered Senders or RTMs, the Authority
may impose financial disincentives on such Access Providers in each Licensed
Service Area for each calendar month as under:- (a)
without prejudice to any penalty which may be
imposed under its licence or under any Act for the time being in force, OAP
shall be liable to pay, by way of financial disincentive, an amount of one
thousand rupees per count of valid complaint that is declared invalid: Provided that where UCC has originated
due to Headers and Content Templates registered by another Access Provider in
violation of the regulation thereon and OAP has taken action against such UCC
as per regulation 25 of these regulations, the financial disincentive as above
shall be imposed on the Access Provider that has registered such Headers and
Content Templates, instead of OAP; (b)
if the Access Provider has not fulfilled its
obligations as envisaged in the regulations in respect of Header registration
function and Content Templates registration function, it shall, without
prejudice to any penalty which may be imposed under the terms and conditions of
its licence or under any Act for the time being in force, be liable to pay, by
way of financial disincentive, an amount of five thousand rupees per count of
registration found not to be in accordance with these regulations. (c)
if the Access Provider is found to have
incorrectly decided the representation made by the Sender against the action
taken by the access provider as per regulation 25 of these regulations, the
access provider shall be held liable as follows:- (i)
for first such instance of incorrectly
deciding the representation made by the sender, the Authority may issue warning
to the Access Provider for not exercising due diligence in deciding such cases; (ii)
for second or subsequent instances of
incorrectly deciding the representation made by the same sender, the Access
Provider shall, without prejudice to any penalty which may be imposed under the
terms and conditions of its licence or under any Act for the time being in
force or any other provisions under these regulations, be liable to pay, by way
of financial disincentive, an amount of ten thousand rupees per instance. (d)
if the Access Provider is found to have
misreported the count of UCC for RTMs, it shall, without prejudice to any
penalty which may be imposed under the terms and conditions of its licence or
any other provisions under these regulations, be liable to pay, by way of
financial disincentive, an amount of two lakhs rupees: Provided that if the Access Provider is
found to have misreported the count of UCC for RTMs consecutively in two or
more subsequent months, the Access Provider shall be liable to pay, by way of
financial disincentives, an amount of five lakhs rupees for the second
consecutive misreporting and ten lakhs rupees for each consecutive misreporting
occurring thereafter: Provided further that no order for
payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive shall be made by the
Authority, unless the concerned Access Provider has been given a reasonable
opportunity to represent. (2)
The amount payable by way of financial
disincentives under these regulations shall be remitted to such head of account
as may be specified by the Authority. (3)
The Authority may impose no financial
disincentive or a lower amount of financial disincentive than the amount
payable as per the provisions in sub-regulation (1) of this regulation, or
review the financial disincentives imposed, where it finds merit in the reasons
furnished by the Access Provider.". For regulation 28 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "28.
Consequences for failure to curb the
Unsolicited Commercial Communications from unregistered Senders or UTMs. - (1)
If an Access Provider fails to take action
against unregistered Senders or UTMs, as provided under these regulations, the
Authority shall impose financial disincentives on such Access Providers in each
Licensed Service Area per calendar month as under:- (a)
if the Access Provider fails to take action
against the unregistered Senders in accordance with provisions in regulation 25
of these regulations, it shall, without prejudice to any penalty which may be
imposed under the terms and conditions of its licence or under any Act for the
time being in force, be liable to pay, by way of financial disincentive, an
amount of five thousand rupees per instance; (b)
the Access Provider shall, without prejudice
to any penalty which may be imposed under the terms and conditions of its
licence or under any Act for the time being in force, be liable to pay, by way
of financial disincentive, an amount of one thousand rupees per count of
complaint that is declared invalid on unjustifiable grounds; (c)
if the Access Provider is found to have
incorrectly decided the representation made by the Sender against the action
taken by the access provider as per regulation 25 of these regulations, the
access provider shall be held liable as follows:- (i)
for first such instance of incorrectly
deciding the representation made by the sender, the Authority may issue warning
to the Access Provider for not exercising due diligence in deciding such cases; (ii)
for second or subsequent instances of
incorrectly deciding the representation made by the same sender, the access
provider shall, without prejudice to any penalty which may be imposed under the
terms and conditions of its licence or under any Act for the time being in
force or any other provisions under these regulations, be liable to pay, by way
of financial disincentive, an amount of Rupees ten thousand per instance; (d)
if the Access Provider is found to have
misreported the count of UCC for UTMs, it shall, without prejudice to any
penalty which may be imposed under the terms and conditions of its licence or
any other provisions under these regulations, be liable to pay, by way of financial
disincentive, an amount of two lakhs rupees: Provided that if the Access Provider is
found to have misreported the count of UCC for UTMs consecutively in two or
more subsequent months, the Access Provider shall be liable to pay, by way of
financial disincentives, an amount of five lakhs rupees for the second
consecutive misreporting and ten lakhs rupees for each consecutive misreporting
occurring thereafter: Provided further that no order for
payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive shall be made by the
Authority, unless the concerned Access Provider has been given a reasonable
opportunity of representinmg. (2)
The amount payable by way of financial
disincentive under these regulations shall be remitted to such head of account
as may be specified by the Authority. (3)
The Authority may impose no financial
disincentive or a lower amount of financial disincentive than the amount
payable as per the provisions of this regulation, or review the financial
disincentives, where it finds merit in the reasons furnished by the Access
Provider.". After regulation 28 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be inserted, namely: - "28A.Maximum
amount of financial disincentives. - The total amount payable as financial disincentives
under regulation 27 and regulation 28 together shall not exceed fifty lakhs
rupees per calendar month per LSA.". For regulation 29 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "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.". For regulation 33 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be substituted, namely:- "33.Power
to order or direct action against Senders or Telemarketers.- (1)
Where the Authority has reason to believe
that any registered or unregistered Sender of Commercial Communications has
contravened the provisions of these regulations and the Access Provider has not
taken action against such Sender as provided under these regulations, the
Authority may order or direct the Access Provider to take action against such
Sender as per the provisions of the regulations. (2)
Where the Authority has reason to believe
that any registered or unregistered Telemarketer has contravened the provisions
of these regulations and the Access Provider has not taken action against such
Telemarketer as provided under these regulations, the Authority may order or
direct the Access Providers to take action against such Telemarketer as per the
provisions of the regulations: Provided that the Authority, before
issuing such an order or direction, shall give a reasonable opportunity of
representation to the Access Provider as to why action has not been taken by
the Access Provider against such sender or telemarketer: Provided further that the Sender or
Telemarketer, as the case may be, may submit a representation to the Authority
under regulation 29 against the action taken by the Access Provider.". In regulation 35 of the principal
regulations, after sub-regulation (2), the following sub-regulation shall be
inserted, namely:- "(3)
Upto Rs. 0.05 (five paisa only) for each Transactional SMS;". After regulation 34 of the principal
regulations, the following regulation shall be inserted, namely:- 34A.
Prohibition on blocking designated number series by Call Management
Applications.- (1)
No Call Management Application or similar
services shall tag, block, filter, or restrict incoming calls or messages
originating from the designated number series assigned for commercial
communications as well as communication sent by the Government. (2)
Any Call Management Application that
facilitates blanket blocking of such designated number series or tag it as spam
shall be deemed non-compliant with these regulations: Provided that the consumers shall have
the right to individually manage their own call preferences through such Call
Management Applications: Provided further that Authority may
take appropriate enforcement measures, against non-compliant Call Management
Applications in coordination with relevant authorities, if required. In Schedule-I of the principal
regulations, (a) in
item 1, after sub-item (3), the following sub-item shall be inserted, namely:- "(4)
The registration process of Sender and the Telemarketers by Access Providers
shall include- (a)
physical verification of the entity; (b)
biometric authentication of the authorized
person of the entity; (c)
linking of the entity with a unique mobile
number: Provided that the Authority may, from
time to time, specify the manner of carrying out registration of such
entities.". (b) in
item 2, for sub-item (1), the following sub-item and proviso thereto shall be
substituted, namely:- "(1)
SMS Header for sending Transactional SMS, Service SMS, Promotional SMS and
Government SMS from 11- character alphanumeric string, or as directed by the
Authority, which are not allocated or assigned by DoT for other purposes: Provided that the type of Commercial
Communication can be identified by Recipients from the Header structure or its
format by suffixing "-P", "-S", "-T", and
"-G" for Promotional, Service, Transactional, and Government Messages,
respectively."; (c)
in item 4, - (i)
in sub-item (1), after entry (f), the
following entries shall be inserted, namely:- "(g)
designate a separate executive specially
for the purpose of carrying out approval of Header registration, after carrying
out additional checks and scrutiny of the justification given by the registered
Sender and recording it on the basis of the following parameters:- (i)
Number of Headers already allotted to the
sender; (ii)
Number of Headers of the sender blacklisted
by the Access Providers: Provided that the Authority may specify
any other parameters for this purpose from time to time; (h)
temporarily deactivate unused Headers
i.e., Headers which have not been used to send Messages through any Access
Provider for a period of ninety days, or such period as may be specified by the
Authority, through an automated process and reactivate such Headers upon
request of the Senders; (i)
immediately suspend the traffic from a
Sender, when a Header is blacklisted by the OAP for sending commercial
communications, in violation of the regulations. Traffic should be resumed only
after review of all the registered Headers and registered Content Templates of
the registered Sender by the respective registrars and findings are recorded,
or seven days from suspension, whichever is earlier. Repeat violations shall
result in blacklisting of the Sender across all the Access Providers for a
minimum period of one year;" (ii) in
sub-item (2), after entry (f), the following entries and proviso thereto shall
be inserted, namely:- "(g)
allow a customer who has revoked his
consent to opt-in again at his own will. However, the Sender shall be allowed
to re-acquire consent of such customer only after ninety (90) days from the
date of revoking consent or opting-out; (h)
ensure that short code 127xxx, or any other
code as prescribed by the Authority, shall be used by all Access Providers for
sending consent seeking message; (i)
develop a SMS/IVR/Online facility to
register the unwillingness of the customers to receive any consent seeking
message initiated by any Principal Entity and that no consent seeking message
shall be delivered to such customers; (j)
ensure that the scope and the name of
the Principal Entity/brand is mentioned clearly in the consent seeking message
sent through the short code; (k)
ensure that the consent acquisition
confirmation message to the customers shall also have information related to
revocation of consent: Provided that the Authority may specify
any other manner of consent registration or revocation from time to
time."; (iii) in
sub-item (3), after entry (g), the following entries shall be inserted,
namely:- "(h)
designate a separate executive specially for the purpose of carrying out
approval of Content Template registration, after carrying out additional checks
and scrutiny of the justification given by the registered Sender and recording
it on the basis of the following parameters:- (i)
number of Content Templates already allotted
to the sender; (ii)
number of Content Templates of the sender
blacklisted by the Access Providers: Provided that the Authority may specify
any other parameters for this purpose from time to time; (i)
temporarily deactivate unused Content
Templates i.e., Content Templates which may not have been used to send messages
through any Access Provider for a period of ninety days, or such period as may
be specified by the Authority, through an automated process and reactivate such
Content Templates upon request of the Senders; (j)
allow, in special circumstances and on
requisition with reasons and proper justification from Principal Entity, more
than three variables in the Content Templates, with the condition that - (i)
after examining the sample message, reasons
and proper justification for more variables shall be recorded by the competent
authority designated by the Access Provider for this purpose and such authority
shall be different from the Authority designated for the approval of Content
Templates; (ii)
each variable in the message template should
be pre-tagged for the purpose it is proposed to be used and no information
other than those defined in pre-tagging shall be included in the variables; (iii)
minimum thirty percent characters in the
Content Template shall be fixed content; (k)
allow, where it is not possible to put
the contents of a variable within the limit of thirty characters, more than one
contiguous variable of the same type, after proper examination and
justifications supported by sample message by the competent authority mention
at clause j(i); (l)
to ensure that one Content Template is
not linked with more than one Header.". (iv) in
sub-item (4), after entry (e), the following entry and proviso thereto shall be
inserted, namely:- "(f)
process scrubbing of messages containing
URLs/ APKs/ OTT links/ call back numbers, in a secure and safe manner, using,
transparentlisted data uploaded by the Senders: Provided that the Sender has submitted
an undertaking to the effect that the transparentlisted URLs/ APKs/ OTT links are not
malicious."; (d) in
item 5, in sub-item (2), after entry (h), the following proviso shall be
inserted, namely:- "Provided that the Authority may
specify any other roles for Consent Registrar functions from time to
time."; (e) in
item 6, in sub-item (1), entry (c) and sub-entries thereto shall be deleted. In Schedule-II of the principal
regulations, --- (a) in
item 1, for sub-item (1), the following sub-item shall be substituted, namely:- "(1)
Customer can opt-out of any or all of following Commercial Communications
Content category(ies) of content: Commercial Communications Category to be blocked or
opted out IVRS: Call to 1909 and press at prompt to block SMS: Send SMS to 1909 following text USSD: Dial USSD String All CC Categories (to be blocked) except transactional
and service type of Commercial Communications with Inferred Consent and
Government Communication. 0 FULLY BLOCK *1909*0# All CC Categories (to be blocked) except
transactional and service type of Commercial Communications and Government
Communication 50 BLOCK PROMO *1909*50# (i) Banking/Insurance/Financial products/
credit cards, 1 BLOCK 1 *1909*1# (ii) Real Estate, 2 BLOCK 2 *1909*2# (iii) Education, 3 BLOCK 3 *1909*3# (iv) Health, 4 BLOCK 4 *1909*4# (v) Consumer goods and automobiles 5 BLOCK 5 *1909*5# (vi) Communication/Broadcasting /
Entertainment/IT, 6 BLOCK 6 *1909*6# (vii) Tourism and Leisure, 7 BLOCK 7 *1909*7# (viii) Food and Beverages; 8 BLOCK 8 *1909*8# Note-1:
In case of communication with Customer executive of Customer Care Center of
Access Provider, preference to opt-out may be communicated; Note-2:
Customer to be communicated with confirmation and final status along with
options to unblock; Note-3:
FULLY BLOCK option shall put the Customer in Fully Blocked state and block
service types of Commercial Communications requiring Explicit Consent as well
as promotional types of Commercial Communications for all categories of
content, mode, time band and day types; Note-4:
BLOCK PROMO option shall block only promotional types of Commercial
Communications for all categories of content, mode, time band and day types
except service and transaction type of Commercial Communications and Government
Communication.; Provided
that the Authority may, from time to time, add or remove number of category, or
sub category for content;"; (b) in
item 6, after sub-item (4), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided
that whenever a telecom resource is surrendered or closed, all the preferences
registered against that telecom resource shall be set to default on the DL-
Preference."; (c) in
item 8, after sub-item (6), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided
that whenever a telecom resource is surrendered or closed, all the Consents
registered against that telecom resource shall be revoked on the DL-
Consent.". In
Schedule-III of the principal regulations, in item 2, - (a)
in sub-item (3), after entry (e), the
following entries shall be inserted, namely:- "(f) the
mobile app should display the options or hyperlinks for registration of UCC
complaints and registration or modification of preferences and consents by
customers such that it is easily visible at a prominent location without
scrolling on the first view of Main or Home page; (g) the
mobile app, wherever technically feasible, shall auto capture call logs and SMS
details, along with its contents, after obtaining permission from the
Subscriber and extract necessary details through it for complaint registration.
If the Subscriber denies permission, the option to fill relevant details
manually should be provided; (h) the
mobile app should have the option of uploading screenshot of call log and SMS
content and registering complaint by extracting necessary details from it and
it should be possible for the complainant to edit such extracted information
before submission."; (b)
in sub-item (4), after entry (d), the
following entries shall be inserted, namely:- "(e) the
web portal should display the options or hyperlinks for registration of UCC
complaints and registration or modification of preferences and consents by
customers such that it is easily visible at a prominent location without
scrolling on the first view of Main or Home page; (f) the
web portal should have the option of uploading screenshot of call log and SMS
content and registering complaint by extracting necessary details from it and
it should be possible for the complainant to edit such extracted information
before submission."; (c)
after sub-item (4), the following sub-item
shall be inserted, namely:- "(5) Complaint registration through
e-mail (a)
procedure for the customer to make complaints
by sending an e-mail to the designated e-mail Id of the Access Provider; (b)
format for making complaints pertaining to
receipt of Unsolicited Commercial Communication; (c)
details to be provided by the complainant
e.g., Unsolicited Commercial Communications with date on which it was received,
content of received message or brief of content of communication; (d)
procedure for providing complaint in
prescribed format immediately to the complainant through return mail if the
complainant has not submitted the complaint as per the prescribed
format.". In
Schedule-IV of the principal regulations, --- (a)
in item 1, in sub-item (1), for entry (d),
the following entry shall be substituted, namely:- "(d) real-time
sharing of UCC_Detect data and insights with other Access Providers over DLT,
or as specified by the Authority, thereby, fostering industry-wide
collaboration to enhance collective ability of the industry to detect, curb and
prevent UCC;"; (b)
in item 1, in sub-item (1), after entry (f),
the following entries shall be inserted, namely:- "(g) Identifying Senders based on the
following signals or triggers parameters and treat such Senders as suspected
UTMs:- (i)
any Sender exceeding prescribed threshold
number of calls, shall be observed for any of the following signals or triggers
parameters as specified by the Authority from time to time:- (A)
Call Recipient diversity (diversity in
B-numbers) exceeding the prescribed threshold in a day; Explanation:
Diversity in B-numbers here refers to the distinct or unique call Recipients
(called party numbers) associated with the outgoing calls of the Sender; (B)
average call duration to call Recipients in a
day is less than the prescribed duration; (C)
ratio of incoming calls to outgoing calls in
a day is less than the prescribed ratio; (D)
any other signals or triggers parameters
specified by the Authority from time to time; (ii)
any Sender exceeding prescribed threshold
number of outgoing SMS in a day, shall be observed for any of the following
signals/triggers parameters as specified by the Authority from time to time:- (a)
SMS Recipient diversity exceeding the
prescribed threshold in a day; Explanation:
SMS Recipient diversity refers to the number of distinct SMS Recipients
associated with the outgoing SmMS of the Sender; (b)
ratio of incoming to outgoing SMS in a day is
less than the prescribed ratio; (c)
any other signals/triggers parameters
specified by the Authority from time to time; (iii) all
mobile numbers (MSISDN) associated with a device on which 4 or more mobile
numbers, or any such number as specified by the Authority from time to time,
have been used within a month; (h) deploying
methods to detect the misuse of robotic calls, auto dialer calls or
pre-recorded announcements, SIM Farm/SIM box type usage, etc.; (i) use
of advanced and reliable Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
based technological solutions for proactive UCC detection, prevention and
monitoring."; (c)
in item 1, after sub-item (2), the following
sub-items shall be inserted, namely: - "(3) every
Access Provider shall deploy one honeypot in a Licensed Service Area for every
five hundred (500) complaints registered in the previous calendar year subject
to a minimum of ten (10) honeypots in each Licensed Service Area, or any such
numbers as may be specified by the Authority from time to time, for logging the
spam messages and recording voice calls. The Access Provider shall analyse the
messages and calls recorded/logged by such honeypots once in every month,
covering all such messages and calls recorded/logged since the date of last
analysis done and prepare the list of suspected UTMs; (4) Access
Providers shall make available a feature for blocking spam messages/voice calls
by the Recipient in the Mobile App of the Access Providers subject to technical
feasibility and shall prompt the Recipient to register a complaint in the DLT
system as a spam in accordance with the established procedure."; (d)
after item 3, the following item shall be
inserted, namely:- "(4) each
Access Provider shall, in order to ensure the security and integrity of
UCC_Detect data, -- (i)
ensure that the data generated through these
systems and platforms shall only be used for the purposes provided under these
regulations and the directions issued thereunder, and it shall not be possible
to download or share the data generated through these systems and platforms or
process it through any other platforms/ devices; (ii)
ensure that strict access control shall be
adhered wherein only authorized person/agencies, after obtaining prior approval
from the Government, or TRAI, or any entity empowered by the Government or TRAI
in this behalf, shall be permitted to access the system, and logs in respect of
access shall be maintained; (iii) ensure
that the activity logs and system trails shall be maintained online for a
minimum period of two years or as prescribed by the Government, or specified by
TRAI, from time to time; (iv)
create a trusted execution environment for
development of their platforms and systems with necessary requisite security
features as may be notified by the Government, or TRAI, or entity empowered by
the Government or TRAI in that behalf, from time to time; (v)
ensure compliance with the necessary
certification process as provided by the Government, or TRAI, through a
security auditor empanelled or appointed by the Government, or TRAI, or its
designated agencies such as CERT-IN/ Ministry of Electronics & Information
Technology; (vi)
facilitate regular system audit by the
Government or TRAI, or any entity empowered by the Government or TRAI,
including agencies authorized by the Government or TRAI or the entities
empowered by the Government in this behalf; (vii) put
in place adequate and effective internal checks to ensure that unauthorized use
of AI/ML systems does not take place and utmost care and precaution is taken in
the use of these systems to ensure the safety and security of the Subscriber
data as per the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 or the Telecommunications Act or any
other Act for the time being in force.". In
Schedule-V of the principal regulations, --- (a)
in item 1, after sub-item (l), the following
sub-item shall be inserted, namely: - "(m) maintain Sender-wise record of
complaints in the format specified by the Authority from time to time and make
it available to the Authority, as and when directed by the Authority."; (b)
in item 2, for sub-item (i), the following
sub-item shall be substituted, namely: - "(i) total
number of Senders out of reported Senders under clause (h) against whom action
has been taken under regulation 25;"; (c)
in item 2, for sub-item (j), the following
sub-item shall be substituted, namely: - "(j) breakup
of total number of Senders out of reported Senders under clause (h) against
whom action has been taken under regulation 25 for different time-periods, in
the manner and format specified by the Authority from time to time;"; (d)
in item 2, after sub-item (l), the following
sub-item shall be inserted, namely: - "(m) record of Senders for all the
complaints such as, name of Sender, category of Sender (individual/ Enterprise),
address and other relevant details to uniquely identify the Sender.".Telecom Commercial Communications Customer
Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025
PREAMBLE