To further strengthen consumer protection, the government has warned to impose a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh on telecom service providers if he fails to implement unwanted commercial communication (UCC) and SMS -dealing amended rules.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has amended Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, aims to deal with emerging ways of misuse of telecom resources and promote more transparent commercial communication ecosystem for consumers and promote more transparent commercial communication ecosystem for consumers .

TRAI said, “In the case of wrong reporting of UCC counting, Rs 2 lakh in the first case of violation of access providers, Rs 5 lakh in second case of violation and financial discouragement of Rs 10 lakh in cases after violation (FD) Will be installed. “

These FDs will be placed separately for registered and unregistered sectors. In addition, these FD will be in addition to FDs imposed on access providers against the illegal closure of complaints and not fulfilling their obligations regarding the registration of messages and material templates, said the telecom regulator. The aim of the amendments is that legitimate commercial communication is through registered institutions, which is based on customers' preference and consent, so that consumer's interests can be balanced with the need to support legitimate economic activities in the country, According to the Ministry of Telecommunications. Consumers will now be able to complain against the spam (UCC) calls and messages sent by unregistered sectors without registering their priorities to block or receive commercial communication.

According to the revised criteria, “To make the complaint process simple and more effective, it has been made mandatory that if the number of sectors receiving spam/UCC in the complaint made by the customer has been made mandatory. If we get spam and included brief information about UCC Voice Call/Message, the complaint will be considered a valid complaint. ” In addition, customers can now make complaints about spam/UCC within 7 days of receiving spam, while earlier this time frame was 3 days.

TRAI said, “The deadline for taking action against UCC from unregistered sectors has been reduced from 30 days to 5 days. To ensure quick action against those sending UCC, the criteria to take action against them have been revised and made more rigid. ” To initiate the first action, it has been amended as “there are 5 complaints against the sender in the last 10 days” as compared to the criteria of 'having 10 complaints against the sender in the last 7 days'. According to the regulator, it will be possible to take rapid action and at the same time, a large number of spammer can be covered. The revised rules will enable TRAI to protect consumer interests by promoting more secure and reliable digital communication environment.