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TRAI, the body that oversees the telecom industry in India, has ordered Reliance Jio to stop some of its tariff plans. TRAI says that these practices violate transparency rules and create a situation of discrimination against customers. The issue came to light when Jio discontinued some of its entry-level prepaid plans that offered users 1GB of data per day. The special thing is that these plans were available only at Jio’s retail stores, due to which they were not accessible to all users.

TRAI instructions

TRAI, after its investigation, has given clear instructions to Reliance Jio to end such tariff practices which are not uniform and transparent for all customers. TRAI has also set a deadline for this, according to which Jio will have to implement these changes by 14 April 2026.

Some plans were limited to Jio Store and MyJio app.

TRAI’s investigation revealed that some special tariff vouchers (STVs) of Reliance Jio were not equally available to all users. For example, the ₹249 and ₹199 plans were available only on the Jio Store, while the ₹209 plan could only be purchased through the MyJio app. This discrimination was due to limiting the plans according to different platforms and devices.

TRAI also found it unfair to have different tariff plans for JioPhone and JioBharat users. The regulator believes that this is against the rules of ‘non-discrimination’. TRAI has directed Reliance Jio to make all offers equally available on every device and platform, so that all users can get equal benefits.

Jio’s statement

Reliance Jio has said in its response to this matter that its tariff plans are made according to a prescribed system and there is no discrimination in them. The company also said that the 2020 directive is only to publishing the plans, but does not tell about the method of selling it. Jio also clarified that it is not practical to make certain plans available on all platforms.

TRAI rejects Jio’s argument

In response to Jio’s claim, TRAI said that the availability of tariff plans is linked to each other and cannot be viewed separately. TRAI also said that if all plans are not available everywhere, customers will have to visit different shops, which is against the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999.

the way forward

If Reliance Jio wants to avoid legal action under the TRAI Act, 1997, it will have to display all its tariff plans and special vouchers equally on every platform, such as website, app or retail store. If Jio does not comply with these rules within April 2026, it may have to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh initially, and if this mistake is repeated, this fine may increase to ₹2 lakh. Additionally, separate fines can also be imposed per day for non-compliance of rules.