Full Text
REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99
The Gazette of India
CG-DL-E-18022025-261096
EXTRAORDINARY
PART III—Section 4
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 111]
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025/MAGHA 23, 1946
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 12th February, 2025
TELECOM COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE (SECOND
AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2025
(1 of 2025)
No. RG-25/(25)/2023-QoS.— 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. Short title, extent and commencement.
(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.
2. 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;".
3. 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.".
4. 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.".
5. 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 it
for 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.".
6. 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.".
7. 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.".
8. 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 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 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 pre-
checks 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 Practice(s), 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 action
taken 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 Calls
made 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 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 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 the 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 the 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.".
9. 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.".
10. 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 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 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 of representing.
(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 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.".
11. 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 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 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 representing.
(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 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.".
12. 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.".
13. 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.".
14. 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.".
15. 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;".
16. 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.
17. 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);
(1) 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, whitelisted data uploaded by the Senders:
Provided that the Sender has submitted an undertaking to the effect that the whitelisted 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.
18. 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 | IVRS: Call to 1909 and | SMS: Send SMS to 1909 | USSD: Dial USSD |
| | blocked or opted out | press at prompt to block | following text | String |
+=====+===========================================+===========================+==============================+====================+
| | All CC Categories (to be blocked) except | 0 | FULLY BLOCK | *1909*0# |
| | transactional and service type of | | | |
| | Commercial Communications with Inferred | | | |
| | Consent and Government Communication. | | | |
+-----+-------------------------------------------+---------------------------+------------------------------+--------------------+
| | All CC Categories (to be blocked) except | 50 | BLOCK PROMO | *1909*50# |
| | transactional and service type of | | | |
| | Commercial Communications and Government | | | |
| | Communication. | | | |
+-----+-------------------------------------------+---------------------------+------------------------------+--------------------+
| (i) | Banking/Insurance/Financial products/ | 1 | BLOCK 1 | *1909*1# |
| | credit cards, | | | |
+-----+-------------------------------------------+---------------------------+------------------------------+--------------------+
| (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 / | 6 | BLOCK 6 | *1909*6# |
| | Entertainment/IT, | | | |
+-----+-------------------------------------------+---------------------------+------------------------------+--------------------+
| (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.".
19. 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.”.
20. 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
SMS 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.".
21. In Schedule-V of the principal regulations,
(a) in item 1, after sub-item (1), 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 (1), 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.".
ATUL KUMAR CHAUDHARY, Secretary, TRAI
[ADVT.-III/4/Exty./968/2024-25]
Note 1: The principal Regulations were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the
19th July, 2018 vide notification No. 311-04/2017-QoS.
Note 2: The principal regulations were amended by the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference
(Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (10 of 2018) published vide notification No. 15-01/2016-F&EA in the Gazette of
India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, dated 31st January, 2018.
Note 3: The Explanatory Memorandum explains the objects and reasons of the Telecom Commercial
Communications Customer Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (... of 2025)
Disclaimer: In case of any discrepancy between English version and Hindi version of these regulations, the
English version shall prevail.
Explanatory Memorandum
I. Background
1. To curb the menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), TRAI issued the Telecom Commercial
Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (hereinafter referred as 'TCCCPR 2018" or "the
Regulations") on 19th July 2018, which put in place a framework for regulating Commercial Communications.
The Regulations came into force w.e.f. 28.02.2019. TCCCPR 2018 superseded Telecom Commercial
Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR-2010) which were notified on 1st December 2010.
2. Adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has been mandated under the Regulations to ensure
regulatory compliance while allowing innovation in the market. DLT is being used for recording preferences,
acquiring and verification of customer consent, complaint handling, registration of entities and registration of
content templates.
3. The Regulations are based on a co-regulatory approach and only broad level regulatory objectives are defined.
Detailed procedures are part of Codes of Practice (CoPs) and are described by the Access Providers.
II. Key regulatory requirements of TCCCPR-2018
4. Key regulatory requirements of TCCCPR-2018 are given below-
(i) Registration of Senders and Telemarketers- Sender/Principal Entities (PEs) are the business or legal entity that
sends commercial communication eg SBI. The entities that facilitate Senders to connect with Access Providers
and execute functionalities as provided under the Regulations are called Registered Telemarketers (RTMs).
TCCCPR-2018 requires that both Senders and RTMs need to register with any Access Providers. Senders can
send their commercial communications to the Access Providers directly or through the Registered Telemarketers
(RTM).
(ii) Registration of Headers- As per the regulatory framework, any commercial communication can only take place
using registered Headers assigned to the Senders for the purpose of commercial communications.
(iii) Registration of Content template- Before sending commercial messages, Senders are required to get content
templates registered with the Access Providers. These templates typically have fixed and variable components.
Any commercial communication from Sender is subjected to scrubbing against the content template registered
by the Access Provider and, if it fails, then it is not allowed to go forward.
(iv) Registration of preferences- The facility has been provided by the respective Access Providers to its customers
for registering preferences for Commercial Communication. The Preference Register keeps the records of
preferences of the customers about category of Sender (like real estate, health, education etc.), time bands and
weekdays. Access Providers are required to make available Customer Preference Registration Facility (CPRF) to
the customers throughout the year on 24 hours x 7 days basis.
(v) Registration of subscribers' consent- TCCCPR-2018 provides for deployment of a Digital Consent Acquisition
(DCA) facility. DCA facility enables acquisition of the consent of the customer to receive commercial
communication from a Sender for a particular product or service and its recording on DLT platform by the
Access Provider after verification from the subscriber through OTP. It also provides a mechanism for revocation
of consent by the customer.
(vi) Complaint Handling- The commercial communications received by a customer without its preference or consent
are termed as Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC). The customer can make a complaint against
UCC with its Access Provider. Various modes of registration of the complaint such as sending SMS to short
code 1909, calling on 1909 and mobile App has been prescribed in the Regulation. Access Providers are required
to make the Customer Complaint Registration Facility (CCRF) available on 24 hours x 7 days basis throughout
the year.
(vii) Complaints against Registered Telemarketers (RTMs)/ Senders- Regarding complaints registered against
Registered Telemarketers (RTMs) or Senders, Originating Access Providers (OAPs) are responsible for taking
appropriate remedial action, as provided for in the Codes of Practice, for the compliance with TCCCPR 2018. As
per TCCCPR 2018, the Authority may impose financial disincentives on any Access Provider, if it fails to curb
UCC through its network.
(viii) Complaints against Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs)- Any Sender of commercial communication who is not
registered for sending the commercial communications with the Access Provider is called Unregistered
Telemarketer (UTM). In case of UTMs, Access Providers are required to act against specific UTMs by giving
warnings, putting them under Usage Cap or disconnecting in case of repeated violations. Usage Cap means a
limit put on a telephone number for making a maximum of twenty outgoing voice calls per day and a maximum
of twenty outgoing messages per day. The following provisions are made in the Regulations for action against
UTMs-
• On the first instance of violation- Warning shall be issued.
• On second instance of violation- Usage Cap shall be put for a period of six months.
• On third and subsequent instances of violations- All Telecom resources of the Sender shall be disconnected for
a period up to two years and Originating Access Provider (OAP) shall put the Sender under blacklist category
and communicate to all the Access Providers, during which period no new telecom resource shall be provided
by any other service provider.
III. Consultation Process for the review of TCCCPR-2018 regulations-
5. During implementation of the regulatory frameworks, certain issues have been observed. A Consultation Paper
was issued on ‘Review of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018'
on 28th August 2024 to bring forward issues observed during implementation. The broad category of issues
raised in the Consultation Paper includes (a) Definitions of Commercial Communications, (b) Provisions related
to the Complaint Redressal, (c) UCC Detect System and action thereof, (d) Provisions related to Financial
Disincentives, (e) Provisions related to Senders and Telemarketers and (f) Differential Tariff for voice calls and
SMS.
6. The written comments and counter-comments on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper were invited from
the stakeholders by 25th September 2024 and 9th October 2024 respectively. However, on the requests received
from the stakeholders, the Authority decided to extend the last date for submission of written comments and
counter-comments upto 9th October 2024 and 16th October 2024 respectively.
7. In response to the consultation paper, comments from 28 stakeholders and counter comments from 8
stakeholders, including Access Providers, Associations, Telemarketers, Solution Providers and consumer
organizations were received. An Open House Discussion (OHD) was held with the stakeholders, through virtual
mode, on 11 December 2024.
8. After analysing the inputs received from stakeholders on Consultation Paper, during the consultation process and
its own analysis, the Authority has finalised these amendments to the regulations.
IV. Key issues addressed through the Amendment to the TCCCPR-2018
A. Revised categorisation of the commercial communications
9. The present bifurcation of commercial communication into Transactional, Service Messages or Voice Calls
based on Inferred Consent and service Messages or Voice Calls based on Explicit Consent requires better clarity
and should be without any scope of ambiguity. The scope of transactional messages shall be limited to messages
triggered within thirty minutes of the transactions initiated by the customer whereas any such messages are sent
beyond this timeline such as delivery notification, flight rescheduling information should be treated as service
Message or Voice Call.
10. It has been seen that the Service Messages or Voice Calls based on the pretext of having Explicit Consents are
often misused to send promotional contents. The definition of Service Messages or Voice Calls has been
amended to limit it to the communications by Senders with the existing customers or subscribers based on the
inferred consents to provide information relating to any product or service such as, to provide product/warranty
information, product recall information, software upgrade alerts, safety or security information for the
commercial product or service used or purchased by the customer, periodic balance alerts, information regarding
delivery of goods or services; or to 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. To prevent the misuse of explicit consent, thus acquired, its validity shall be
limited to a maximum of seven days or as directed by the Authority from time to time." Hence, it has been
prescribed that content of Service messages should not be promotional in nature.
11. The promotional messages or voice calls to prospective customers have been included under the definition of
promotional messages or promotional voice call. If promotional messages or voice calls are sent after obtaining
explicit consents, they will be delivered irrespective of the status of preferences registered by the recipient. Each
promotional Message to the sender shall give an option to the recipient, in the same message, to opt out or block
such messages. Also, if any promotional content is mixed with any other type of commercial communication
then that Message or Voice Call shall be treated as a promotional communication. Accordingly, the definition of
promotional messages and voice calls has been amended.
12. The need has been felt to categorise Government messages or calls separately as these cannot be clubbed with
any other category of commercial communications. Therefore, it has been defined as a separate category of
commercial communications.
13. As transactional and service communication with inferred consent as well as government communication are in
the interest of the customers, it is not desirable to allow the customers to block or opt-out from such
communication. Allowing recipients to block or opt out from such communication may result in loss of critical
and important information for the recipient. Whereas blocking of only 'service communication with explicit
consent' may be allowed through preference registration. Accordingly, the definition of FULLY BLOCK has
been amended.
14. Inferred Consent is any permission that can be reasonably inferred from the Customer's conduct or the
Relationship between the Recipient and the Sender and some relations including banking and finance usually
extend beyond 12 months and seeking consent for communication for such relation may result in loss of
information for the customer. Hence, the Inferred Consent should be deemed valid for the duration/ discharge of
the contract between the sender and the customer. However, it is crucial that this inferred consent be clearly and
reasonably inferable from the content of the message template itself, ensuring transparency and avoiding any
ambiguity regarding the purpose of the communication. Accordingly, the definition of Inferred Consent has been
amended.
B. Action for misusing telecom resources to deceive customers
15. A significant number of frauds are being carried out using telecom resources, whether acquired legally or
illegally. With fraudsters constantly adapting their tactics, distinguishing between spam and fraudulent activities
has become increasingly challenging. However, in both cases, telecom resources are misused to deceive
unsuspecting customers. To address this issue, the definition of Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC),
as defined In the sub-regulation (bw) of regulation 2, has been broadened to include those communications that
are made to deceive or attempt to deceive the customers. However, regulation's role remains limited to regulating
telecom resources by allowing customers to file complaints against such senders as UCC. Other aspects, such as
investigating fraudsters, filing FIRs, or recovering financial losses, fall outside the scope of these regulations.
C. Mandatory Use of designated series for Commercial Communication
16. To enhance transparency and accountability in commercial communication, Access Providers must ensure that
all commercial calls originate only from designated series allotted by DoT/Authority specifically for this
purpose. Entities engaged in sending commercial communication using undesignated number resources will face
suspension or disconnection of their telecom resources under the new regulatory provisions. This measure aims
to curb unauthorized and fraudulent activities while ensuring that all commercial communications can be traced
back to their legitimate sources. Accordingly, regulation 3 of the Principal Regulations stands amended
D. Prohibition on Blocking Designated Number Series by Call Management Applications
17. Certain call management applications indiscriminately block or label designated government and commercial
numbers as spam, potentially disrupting essential communications. The amended regulations prohibit such
applications from blocking or filtering messages and calls originating from designated number series. Any non-
compliant application will be considered as ‘in violation of telecom regulations' and may face action under the
law of the land. However, customers will retain the right to manage their individual call preferences while
ensuring that critical service communications remain accessible. Accordingly, clause (34) in Chapter VII of the
Principal Regulations has been inserted.
E. Regulating the Use of Auto Dialer or Robo-Calls
18. Many entities have started resorting to the use of Auto dialer or Robo calls for commercial communications.
Such calls are creating annoyance to many recipients and often deceive customers by obtaining their personal
information. Stakeholders were asked to submit their suggestions on the possible measures to curb the misuse of
Auto-dialer or Robo calls without the consent of the recipients.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
47. Many stakeholders submitted that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have already deployed the Digital Consent
Acquisition (DCA) platforms. The same should be used for promotional Auto-dialer/Robo-calls. Further, all such
calls will only be pre-recorded/Auto-dialer/Robo-calls should be permitted through 140-series numbers only.
This will ensure that these calls can then be scrubbed for 'DND Preference on mode of call'. The only exceptions
to this rule should be critical services like OTP-delivery, important government/disaster related communication,
etc.
48. A few stakeholders suggested that many legitimate services rely on robocalls for time-sensitive notifications.
These include emergency alerts, transaction notifications, and real-time service updates (such as flight delays or
credit card fraud alerts). Therefore, service or transactional robo-calls should not be subject to any restrictions.
One stakeholder was of the view that the imposition of an opt-in requirement for all promotional
communications could severely impact legitimate businesses. Instead, a well-designed opt-out option would give
subscribers the flexibility to avoid unwanted messages while enabling legitimate businesses to operate without
undue constraints.
49. A few stakeholders submitted that they agree with the suggestion that robo-calls should require prior consent of
the subscriber for receiving promotional communications through Auto-dialers or Robo-calls. One of these
stakeholders suggested that pre-recorded content of the robocall should be stored on the DLT network and
should be scrubbed. Another stakeholder suggested that in case of Robo calls, a pre-recorded message can play
in the beginning providing an option to take or reject the call and seeking consent on whether the call receiver
wants to further listen to the Robo call.
Analysis and conclusion
50. Auto-dialers or Robo-calls are being used for making transactional and service calls as well as for promotional
purposes. Therefore, such calls may be permitted only through the numbers allotted from special series assigned
from time to time for such purposes. For example, as on date, promotional call should be permitted through 140-
series numbers only. As far as transactional and service calls are concerned, earlier no special series numbers
have been mandated for making such calls. However, DoT has recently allotted 1600 series numbers for making
transactional and service calls. Besides, provisions for blocking auto-dialers and robocalls through preference
registration already exists.
51. On the issue of possibility of scrubbing the contents of pre-recorded calls, some stakeholders submitted that the
Scrubbing the content on a real time basis is not practical in case of voice calls and should not be mandated.
Therefore, no such complicated, costly and challenging regulatory requirements should be imposed on TSPs.
52. Therefore, keeping in view the recent development, there does not seem to be a need presently for any separate
regulation for the Auto-dialers or Robo-calls. However, the Sender should pre-declare the use of Auto-dialers or
Robo-calls along with intended objectives of such calls, to the concerned Access Providers so that these calls can
be scrubbed against the preference of the customers and block such calls if the customer has blocked such calls.
C. Header Identifier in different category of commercial communications
53. To minimize the inconvenience to the customers, it is desirable that before sending commercial communications,
a clear distinction is made about its category and the purpose for which it is sent. A possible solution could be to
label the messages with the associated category of communication. Currently, the headers are displayed as XY-
<Header of maximum six-character>; X represents the originating Access Provider and Y-represents the
originating LSA. Various possible options for Header Identifier were discussed in the Consultation paper and the
stakeholders were requested to submit their comments on these options or any other possible option for header
identifier in different category of commercial communications.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
54. Many stakeholders submitted that the current system of adding P, S, T suffix, under implementation, suffices to
meet the requirements and is easily identifiable for the customers and should be persisted with. These
stakeholders further submitted that ‘-G' may be suffixed for government messages. One stakeholder suggested
that suffixing of SMS headers with character 'P', 'T' and 'G' should not be mandated as it will take away the
ability of TSPs to utilise more characters and make the SMS header more enriching and valuable for both PEs
and customers. A few stakeholders were of the view that the name of PE be displayed on the customer's mobile
number so she can make an informed decision to accept or reject the call. One suggestion received was that
initial few characters of a registered message template should contain relevant metadata, such as the message
type, in a standardised form and structure. This would free up the entire 11-character header space for Senders.
Analysis and conclusion
55. It is necessary that before sending commercial communications, a clear distinction is made about its category and
the purpose for which it is sent. Header can be structured in such a way that apart from the identity of Sender of
Commercial Communication, it also indicates the type of commercial communication being sent through it. This
will avoid the inconvenience faced by customers to identify the type of message. Various options were
considered for this implementation as below:
a. Mentioning the type of commercial communication in the message body: As each SMS has a limit of 160
characters, mentioning the type of commercial communication in the message body of the message would
further reduce the number of characters for content in a message. Removal from existing regulation
b. Prefixing the message identifier to the structure of headers: Currently, the billing system of the Access
Providers utilises first 2 characters of the header for billing settlement process between TSPs/different
service areas of the same TSP. Further, the DLT system is designed to route the complaint to OAP on the
basis of this prefix only. Hence, prefixing the message identifier to the structure of headers would require
large changes in network and billing systems which will result in high cost of implementation as well as
delay in implementation.
с. Suffixing the message identifier to the structure of headers: A message header can have length of 11-
alphanumeric character strings out of which currently, only 9 characters are being used. Hence, suffixing "-
P", "-S", "-T", and "-G" to the structure of headers for promotional, service, transactional, and government
messages, respectively is a feasible option as implementing this solution would not require development on
the billing system of the Access Providers keeping high cost of implementation lower.
Hence, Access Provide should suffix "-P", "-S", "-T", and "-G" to Header structure for promotional, service,
transactional, and government messages, respectively for identification of type of commercial communication.
D. Review of provisions related to Complaint Redressal
(1) Complaint Mechanism
56. Regulation 25 of TCCCPR 2018 prescribes functions of the Access Providers and processes to resolve the
customers' complaints with remedial action against the Senders. The Authority analysed the Periodic Monitoring
Reports (PMR) submitted by the Access Providers and observed delays in the complaint redressal process. These
delays need to be rectified. Furthermore, the Authority observed that a significant portion of complaints is being
declared invalid citing improper format of such complaints. It was also noted that the communication sent to
customers regarding the closure of complaints is inadequate. Regarding Unsolicited Commercial Communication
(UCC) from unregistered senders/Unsolicited Telemarketing Messages (UTMs), the Authority observed that
sufficient strict actions are not in place to curb them. For example, the implementation of usage caps has been
found to be unfeasible and difficult to monitor by the regulator. Hence, stricter provisions are required to curb
UCC from UTMs. As DoT has recently allotted the 1600xx series for service and transactional voice calls, it is
crucial to prescribe sufficient actions for violations from this series. Since the calls made using 1600 series
numbers are expected to enjoy a high level of customer trust, stringent measures are necessary to strengthen
customers' trust as well as protect their interests. The stakeholders were requested to submit their suggestions on
the possible provisions for improving the effectiveness of the complaint handling processes. A number of
possible measures were discussed in the Consultation Paper.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
57. Some stakeholders submitted that TSPs alone should not be responsible because TSPs are merely carriers and
the PEs and TMs that are originators of the content. Therefore, financial disincentives and legal actions
should be applicable directly on these entities. A few stakeholders submitted that the new framework should
bring the Telemarketer-Delivery (TM-D) under the regulatory framework and the complaint redressal should
become the responsibility of TM-D. TM-D should take action against the responsible Telemarketer-
Aggregator (TM-As) and PEs and any financial disincentive or penalty should be directly applicable to the
licensed TM-D.
58. One stakeholder submitted that the measures proposed in the consultation paper would lead to increased
efficiency and promptness of actions to address customer complaints. Another stakeholder was of the view
that the existing process for handling complaints is effective, but the priority should be on financial penalties
rather than resource disconnection.
59. Some stakeholders pointed out that telecom resources are provided to licensed VNOs, who in turn are serving
their customers by providing end services. Therefore, all norms related to commercial communications
should also apply to them, both as originating service provider and terminating service provider.
60. The definition of the Access Providers, as provided in the regulation 2(b), includes the Basic Telephone
Service Provider, Cellular Mobile Telephone Service Provider, Unified Access Service Provider, Universal
Access Service Provider and Virtual Network Operator (VNO) as defined in the respective licenses issued by
Department of Telecommunications (DoT). A few stakeholders requested to the Authority that the norms
related to commercial communications should also apply to Unified License with Authorization for Audio
Conferencing Service (ACS)/Audiotex/Voice Mail Service (VMS) because these licensees also take
resources from Access Service Providers and acquire customers to provide conferencing services. This issue
can be revisited once the rules for Service Authorisation regime under the Telecommunications Act 2023 are
notified.
61. Some stakeholders submitted that the proposal to check the occurrence of any call/message from CDR within
2 hours is technically not feasible; instead, one business day or 24 hours should be given for this purpose. On
the issue of sending intimation of receipt of each complaint to the registered/unregistered senders, a few
stakeholders have submitted that auto-trigger is currently not available and may require major development
and should be avoided.
62. On the issue of defining separate criteria to initiate action against individual subscriber and enterprise
subscribers for UTM complaints, some stakeholders have submitted that they agree with the suggestion;
however, the criteria suggested in the Consultation Paper, has been made very stringent and may also be
prone to misuse and impact genuine customers also. For individual category, the count of valid complaints
should be ten or more unique complainants in a calendar month, post which, the outgoing services of the
Sender are to be suspended. In case of enterprise customers, the threshold limit can be 20/25 complaints by
unique recipients. One stakeholder suggested that instead of setting a flat threshold of ten complaints, the
trigger for action should be linked to the percentage of total calls made by the telemarketer.
63. In response of action against senders of UCC, one stakeholder submitted that it does not support such drastic
action at first instance of the complaint and submit that disconnection of all resources and blacklisting should
come in at 3rd instance of violation. Another stakeholder suggested that for Enterprise category, for the first
office, all the outgoing resources of Sender at that particular location should be suspended. However, action
should be taken only after giving 5 working days' time to the entity to revert with consent if any. For the next
offence, all the outgoing resources of the Sender should be suspended by the OAP for a period of 15 or 30
days and details are updated on the DLT and exchanged in between TSPs. For the third offence, the Sender
should be blacklisted across TSPs and all existing outgoing resources by all TSPs have to be suspended and
no new resources for outgoing commercial communications for a period of 1 year. The stakeholder also
submitted that for 160xxx series, this criterion should be applied only when 160xx series has been launched
for all the sectors and a reasonable time of 6 months have been given for PEs/TMs to migrate on the new
structure.
Analysis and Conclusion-
64. As per existing regulation 25 (1), 25(2) and 25(3), role of TAP is to record the complaint on DL-Complaints,
notify its details in real time to OAP and check the occurrence of complained communication between the
complainant and the reported telephone number or header and update the finding on DL-Complaints within one
business day. It has been observed that instead of notifying complaint detail to OAP in real-time, a considerable
amount of time is taken by TAP particularly for checking the occurrence of communication between the
complainant and the reported telephone number or header against which the compliant is generated. It delays the
action on the complaint by the OAP. Further, there may be instances such as non-availability of the reported
telephone number or header in the complaint registered, when it won't be possible for TAP to find out the OAP.
In that case, the complaint would have to be closed at TAP end only.
In view of the above, the regulations 25 (1) and 25(2) have been amended. As per the amended regulations, the
TAP shall record the complaint on DL-Complaints and, barring such cases where it is not possible to identify the
OAP from the complaint registered, the TAP shall notify the details in real time to OAP. The complaint can be
closed by TAP only when (i) there is non-availability of the reported telephone number or header in the
complaint registered or (ii) the complaint is reported by the customer after seven days of receipt of UCC
communications. In such cases, the TAP shall communicate to the customer about the closure of his complaint
and appropriately change the status of the complaint in DL-Complaints.
65. In view of the above, it is felt that as OAP has to check the occurrence of complained communication between
the complainant and the sender, TAP need not check the occurrence of the complained communication, and
transfer the complaint to OAP which shall check the same during investigation. This will avoid duplicity of
efforts and help in expediting the complaint redressal, The TAP may close the complaints invalid only when:
(i) there is non-availability of the reported telephone number or header in the complaint registered or
(ii) the complaint is reported by the customer after seven days of receipt of UCC communications.
In such cases, the TAP shall communicate to the customer about the closure of his complaint as prescribed in
CoP-complaints or in a manner as directed by the Authority and change the status of the complaint in DL-
Complaints.
66. In the existing regulations, the OAP was given a time period of 2 days to check the occurrence of the complained
communication. However, based on comments received from stakeholders, it has been established that the CDRS
can be fetched and matched with the details provided in the complaint within 1 business day. Therefore, for
prompt redressal of complaints, OAP should check the occurrence of the complained communication between
the complainant and the reported telephone number or header within 1 business day so as to expedite the process.
67. Examination of all the regulatory pre-checks is an automated process and should be completed in near real time
basis by leveraging the capabilities of the DLT system. Hence, in case of non-compliance with the regulations,
the OAP shall be able to take action within two business days from the date of receipt of complaint.
68. In the existing regulations, to initiate an action against a UTM complaint, it is examined that if the number of
complaints against the sender are from ten or more than ten recipients over a period of last ten days. However,
the Authority has observed that a very small proportion of customers register complaints against received UCCs,
making it difficult to reach this threshold and consequently, no action is taken against many offending senders.
To address this issue, the OAP will now initiate action as per provision 25(6) if the number of complaints and/or
reports against the Sender are received from five or more unique recipients in last ten days. This revised
threshold will ensure that an investigation is initiated by the OAP whenever the number of complaints against a
sender exceeds the pre-defined limit, thereby enabling more effective enforcement against those who persistently
send unsolicited commercial communications. However, considering the dynamic nature of the eco-system, it
should be possible for the Authority to prescribe such threshold from time.
69. The existing provisions regarding action against UTMs/unregistered Senders do not provide desired level of
deterrence. Immediate restrictions are not put on the on the suspected spammers even after complaints are
received beyond the defined thresholds. Further, such senders quickly shift to other access providers and get new
telecom resources from them, thereby, keep on sending unsolicited communications. As illustrated in Table-I, it
can be observed that RTM complaints are declining, whereas UTM complaints are increasing and have become a
significant concern requiring stricter provisions for control.
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
| Calendar Year | UTM Complaints | RTM Complaints |
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
| 2021 | 855771 | 428290 |
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
| 2022 | 904359 | 178690 |
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
| 2023 | 1222946 | 139986 |
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
| 2024 | 1747327 | 191430 |
+---------------+----------------+----------------+
70. Through these amendments, stricter provisions need to be made against the unregistered Senders for violations.
Whenever a complaint is received against a sender, the OAP shall intimate the receipt of the complaint to the
Sender immediately so that besides intimation, it serve as an alert or warning to the sender. If it is found that
sender is engaged in sending the unsolicited commercial communications as per the criteria laid under
regulations, then for the first instance of violation, outgoing services of all telecom resources of the Sender
including PRI/SIs trunks shall be barred across all the access providers for a period of 15 days so that it serves
as a strong deterrent since now the sender will not be able to get telecom resources from any access provider. For
the second and subsequent instances of violations, all telecom resources of the Sender including PRI/SIP trunks
need to be disconnected by all the Access Providers for one year. and the Sender should be placed under the
blacklist category so that no new telecom resources will be provided by any Access Provider to such Sender
during this period. Besides, all the devices used for making UCC should also be blocked across all the Access
Providers for a period of one year. Only one telephone number may be allowed to be retained by such Sender. In
case of a UTM, one telephone that has been allowed should further be barred outgoing services during this
period. However, emergency calls should be allowed on such an outgoing service barred number. Entity shall
get an opportunity to represent to the Access Providers for action against it for engaging in sending UCC.
Subsequently, it also gets an opportunity to represent to the Authority.
71. Recently, 1600 series have been allotted exclusively for service and transactional calls. It is crucial to establish
stringent penalties for violations originating using numbers of this series i.e. if the numbers are misused for
making promotional communications, as customers would place a high level of trust in this series, and, therefore,
its misuse must be severely addressed. Hence, OAP should initiate action against such violators if the number of
complaints against the Sender are received from five or more unique recipients within the last ten days. For the
first instance of violation, outgoing services of all telecom resources of the Sender including PRI/SIP trunks,
shall be barred across all the access providers for a period of 15 days. For the second and subsequent instances of
violations, all telecom resources of the Sender, including PRI/SIP trunks, shall be disconnected by all Access
Providers for one year. 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. All devices used for making UCC
shall also be blocked across all the Access Providers for a period of one year. Only one telephone number may be
allowed to be retained by such Sender during this period. The entity shall be given an opportunity to represent to
the Access Providers regarding the action taken against it for UCC violation. Subsequently, it also has the right
to file a complaint with the Authority.
72. The registered/unregistered Sender should be informed about whenever any UCC complaint is received against
it. This intimation should be made by OAP immediately after receipt of compliant so that the Sender is alerted
and provided with sufficient time to take corrective actions.
(2) Customer Complaint Registration Facility (CCRF)
73. As per regulation 23, every Access Provider is required to establish Customer Complaint Registration Facility
(CCRF) and make necessary arrangements to facilitate its customers on 24 hours X 7 days basis throughout the
year. The stakeholders were requested to make suggestions on possible measures to make facilities extended by
the Service providers through Apps, Website and Call Centres for handling UCC complaints accessible and
customer-friendly, Stakeholders were also asked about what additional modes of complaints registration,
preference registration and consents registration can be implemented.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
74. Some stakeholders agreed with the suggestion made in the Consultation paper that Customer Complaint
Registration Facility (CCRF) should be possible through email also. One Access provider submitted that it has
already implemented email as a mode for lodging the UCC related complaints, however, it may be noted that this
is not a preferred mode for UCC complaints, going by the volumes. Some stakeholders submitted that the
responsibility for ensuring that facilities provided for handling UCC complaints through apps, websites, and call
centers are accessible and user-friendly should largely be left to the discretion of the TSPs. These stakeholders
submitted that TSPs possess the technical expertise, customer insights, and operational understanding necessary
to determine the best practices suited for their unique customer bases.
75. A few stakeholders suggested that social media channels may be extended for complaints, where TSP can define
mandatory inputs to be filled by customers. One stakeholder was of the view that TRAI should consider formally
integrating third-party applications as part of the UCC reporting and complaint-handling framework. One
stakeholder suggested that Customers can use chatbot registration or voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant,
or Alexa to register complaints, preferences, or consents verbally. A few stakeholders were of the view that the
current process is good enough.
76. On the issue of making Access Providers' App and Web portal more user-friendly for the registration of UCC
complaints, one stakeholder submitted that the mobile application of the TSPs serve other purposes including
dissemination of information pertaining to the customer account, tariff plan and other services. The stakeholder
further submitted that while we can explore the possibility of making it more user friendly, TRAI should not
micromanage this aspect and leave it to the TSPs. On the issue of auto capture call logs, SMS details along with
its contents after obtaining permission from the subscriber and extract necessary details through it for complaint
registration, one stakeholder submitted that this requirement is dependent on device as well as OS capabilities
and cannot be mandated as a generic condition. Therefore, it should be subject to technical feasibility, Device
and OS support.
77. To avoid complaints being declared invalid citing incomplete UCC description provided by the complainant as
the reason, it was suggested in the Consultation Paper that If the complaints against unsolicited commercial
communication through voice calls, contains Sender's number, complainant's number and date of UCC, it shall
be treated as a valid complaint. However, Access Provider can collect additional information to support
investigation. On this issue, one Access provider submitted that the existing process of registering customer
complaints should continue and accordingly the customer should share complete details of the UCC for the TSP
to address the concern and take action accordingly. Another Access provider was of the view that content needs
to be validated for both Calls and SMS. Otherwise, it could also lead to non-genuine complaints and would
eventually mean that validation of CDR becomes the only check to ascertain whether it was UCC or not.
78. In the Consultation Paper, it was suggested that the Mobile App and Web portal should have the option of
uploading screenshot of call log and SMS content and extract necessary details through it for complaint
registration. On this suggestion, some stakeholders submitted that this is not a technically feasible solution.
There can be errors in capturing information from screenshots that can lead to other issues.
Analysis and conclusion
79. Action against spam is based on identification of spammers which in turn relies on the effectiveness of the
complaint mechanism. More the number of complaints received from a wider base of customers, faster the
identification of the spammer and quicker can be the action against the spammer. However, it has been observed
that it is not easy to locate the UCC compliant registration and Preference registration in the Access Providers'
Apps and web-site. Moreover, the complainant has to fill all the entries manually which not only discourages the
customers to register UCC complaints but, at times, leads to incorrect or incomplete entries by the customers
which are declared invalid by the Access Providers. The Authority is of the view that the UCC compliant
registration and Preference registration should be very simple and easily accessible to the customers.
80. The Authority had issued a Direction on 24th June 2024 to the Access Providers that the mobile App and Web
portal should display the options/hyperlinks for registration of UCC complaints and registration/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/Home page. Further, the Access Provider' mobile App should auto capture call logs, 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. TRAI's DND App has all these features.
81. The existing Regulation 23(1)(a) does not explicitly allow customers who have not registered preferences to file
complaints. However, Unsolicited Telemarketing Messages (UTMs) are entities that send commercial
communications without being registered with Access Providers for telemarketing purposes. As such, they are
prohibited from making such communications. Therefore, lodging a complaint against an UTM should not
necessitate prior preference registration by the customer, as preference registration primarily serves to block
commercial communications from registered senders.
82. The complaint should not be declared invalid on frivolous grounds. Complete text of the SMS as part of UCC
complaint cannot be a mandatory requirement. If the complaint contains Sender's number, complainant's
number, date of UCC and a brief about of UCC call/message, it shall be treated as a valid complaint. However,
Access Provider can collect additional information to support investigation.
83. Access Providers should make available a feature for blocking spam messages/calls and register a complaint for
the same in the Mobile App of the Access Providers subject to technical feasibility, this simplifies the user
experience by allowing subscribers to easily block spam directly within their mobile app. Instead of switching
between different apps, users can now conveniently report and block spam within the same interface. This
streamlined process encourages more users to report spam, making it easier for them to combat unwanted calls
and messages. By making it simpler for users to report spam, this feature empowers subscribers to take control
and improves the overall effectiveness of spam prevention efforts. Moreover, Access Providers should
implement uploading of screenshot of call log and SMS content through app/ web portal such that it should be
possible for the complainant to edit such extracted information before submission. The suggestion by some
Access providers that extraction of information through screenshots may give rise to errors is not acceptable as
the same is already being used in DoT's Chakshu Platform to register complaints.
84. Further, the registration of UCC complaint should be possible through various modes. Access providers should
find out ways to register complaints through social media and other means as suggested by some stakeholders.
However, the options of registration of UCC complaints (i) through email and (ii) through the uploading of
screenshot of call log and SMS content and extract necessary details through has been made through these
amendments.
(3) Record Keeping and reporting-
85. In the consultation paper, amendment to the regulation 26 was discussed to (i) allow the Authority to conduct the
comprehensive audit of various processes established under the framework of TCCCPR (ii) to allow the
Authority to have real-time access to various processes and databases and (iii) to make available the header
information and other relevant information to the public.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
86. In response, some stakeholders have agreed to the amendments discussed in the Consultation paper. A few
stakeholders have suggested that These details are already available on DLT system in live environment and
there is no need to add the same in offline mode.
Analysis
87. The stakeholders have, in general, agreed with the proposed amendments. A few stakeholders, who were not in
favour of putting the header information and other relevant information to public did not present any plausible
arguments in support of their views.
88. Existing provisions lacks details necessary for unique identification of UTM/unregistered senders which
prohibits prompt actions against such defaulting entities. Therefore, it is necessary that Access Providers record
details such as name of the Sender, category of Sender as a telecom customer (individual/ Enterprise), address
and other relevant details to uniquely identify the Sender. This will help in analysing the data about spammers
which besides providing unique identification of the spammer, will provide various insights about spams.
89. In addition to complaints, many other aspects of DLT such as implementation of UCC_Detect System and action
taken thereon, different registration processes such as Sender registration, telemarketer registration, header
registration, content template registration and other processes including preference registration process,
scrubbing processes, Consent process etc are critical for effective curbing of UCC, and these aspects should be
accessible and may be verified under the Audit conducted either by TRAI officers or employees or through
agency appointed by TRAI.
90. For better transparency and effective monitoring by Authority as well as for the availability of information to
customers, the Access Providers should:
provide real-time access to the Authority to various processes and databases related to processes being
performed as per relevant provisions of the regulation and other Directions as prescribed by the Authority from
time to time.
publish the following in searchable format on their websites, in the formats prescribed by the Authority.
Authority if so desires, may issue Directions(s) regarding the presentation methods of such information
i. Complete List of Message Headers along with the details of associated Senders across all the Access Providers.
ii. Monthly summary about the UCC complaints received and action taken thereon.
iii. Any other information as prescribed by the Authority from time to time.
maintain Sender-wise records of complaints in the format prescribed by the Authority from time to time and shall
make it available to the authority, as and when directed by the Authority.
91. Therefore, the Authority decided to amend the regulation 26 as proposed in the Consultation paper.
(4) Regulation 29 - Examination of telecom resources disconnected by Access Provider on receipt of
complaints as provided for under Regulation 25
92. Regulations 29 provides for the examination of telecom resources by the Authority put under outgoing Usage
Cap or having been disconnected under regulation 25 by the Access Provider, when Sender makes a complaint or
represent to the Authority against such action taken by the Access Provider. As per the amendments made to the
regulation 25, in place of usage cap, outgoing facility shall be suspended on receipt on the complaints beyond a
threshold level. Provisions for action against misuse of series assigned for service and translational calls have
also been made. In view of these changes suggested in the regulation 25, the changes in regulations 29 were
discussed in the Consultation Paper.
Inputs of the Stakeholders
93. A few stakeholders submitted that TRAI is not having adjudicatory power under the TRAI Act. Further, as per
The Telecommunication Act, 2023, any Appeal can be filed before the DoT appointed adjudicating officer/
Designated Appeals committee (Please refer Chapter VIII of The Telecommunication Act, 2023). One
stakeholder submitted that it may not be legally tenable for TRAI to deal with the appeals related to action taken
by a TSP against a Sender (who is actually a customer of TSP), and ideally the Sender should have to approach
suitable court under the law of land.
Analysis and Conclusion
94. Exercise under Regulation 25(6), 29 & 33(2) is in the nature of administrative review and does not impinge
either upon the jurisdiction of TDSAT as per Section 14 of the Act nor does it seek to overtake new adjudicatory
powers of the Government under the Telecommunications Act 2023.
95. A sender should be able to appeal against the action taken by access providers under regulation 25. This is to
ensure that action taken by the Access providers is as per the regulation and that due diligence has been exercised
by the access provider before deciding the action taken against the senders.
E. UCC Detect System
96. Unsolicited Commercial calls from Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) is a major nuisance to the public. As
per the provisions of TCCCPR 2018, Access Providers are mandated to put a UCC_Detect System to detect the
possible unregistered senders/UTMs who are sending bulk commercial communications without complying with
the Regulations. However, steps taken by the Access Providers have not been found effective. To strengthen the
regulatory measures for detection and action against the suspected spammers, some possible measures were
discussed in the Consultation Paper have been prescribed through these amendments.
97. To significantly enhance the effectiveness of UTM detection, the incorporation of advanced AI/ML techniques is
crucial. The UCC_Detect System should leverage these technologies to analyze various data sources, including
sending information (SI) from reports, inputs from Honeypots, information shared by Signature Solutions of
other access providers, and data from network elements like HLR and miss call alerts.
AI/ML algorithms can be employed to identify evolving patterns and signatures, detect anomalies and outliers,
improve accuracy and reduce false positives, analyze multiple factors, including complaint history, customer
profiles, and reputation-based analysis (considering factors like subscription age, authentication methods, and
address verification), to prioritize investigations and focus on the most harmful spammers.
98. Furthermore, the system should maintain confidentiality, support pattern matching and facilitate information
exchange. By incorporating these AI/ML enhancements and implementing robust data analysis techniques, the
UCC_Detect System can become a powerful tool in combating unsolicited commercial communications and
protecting consumers from the disruptions caused by UTMs.
99. Stakeholders were requested to submit their comments on possible measures required for pro-active detection of
spam messages and calls, and possible action on suspected spammers. Various possible measures suggested in
the Consultation Paper and comments of the stakeholders are discussed below-"
(1) Identifying of spammers basis triggers of calls/SMS-
Inputs of the Stakeholders
100. Some stakeholders submitted that the entire section should be dropped as it is neither feasible nor practical to
implement. One stakeholder was of the view that this provision is not required post strict implementation of
various direction issued by TRAI. Further, once the TM-D is brought under licensing framework, controls can be
implemented at TM, PE level and such granular monitoring of customers will not be required. A few
stakeholders have submitted that UCC Detect systems are already in place, however, suitable change should be
made for involving TM-D in process. One stakeholder suggested that TSPs are already taking proactive actions
needed to stop further communication of messages or calls identified as spam and the same shall be left to the
TSPs. One stakeholder submitted that it will be difficult to identify such B party numbers who have not answered
the calls because record of such incidences (missed calls) is not maintained in the network. However, other
criteria as proposed may be kept.
Analysis and conclusions
101. UCC Detect System is meant to detect UTMs who send Unsolicited Commercial Communications in bulk and
not complying with the provisions of the regulations. Schedule-IV of TCCCPR-2018 gives broad guidelines
regarding the features of the UCC_Detect system. It inter alia states that the system should be capable of
identifying senders on the basis of signatures. However, Access Providers have not put in place any effective
UCC Detect system. Considering the increasing trend of UTM complaints, there is a necessity to put in place
effective mechanisms which can augment the efforts being made against spam. It, therefore, has become
necessary to make specific guidelines for the establishment of UCC Detect system. These guidelines would work
as the minimum measures that an Access provider would be mandated to take to establish UCC Detect system.
However, Access Providers can evolve more signals or intelligence to detect the suspected spammer.
Considering the inputs suggested by the stakeholders, signal linked with the unanswered calls has not been
included in the amendments.
(2) Feedback from the recipients of heavy calls/SMS-
Inputs of the Stakeholders
102. One stakeholder suggested that the proposed feedback mechanism may not yield any result as the same is purely
subject to the input given by the customer in the form of Y or N. There are very high chances of customers
ignoring such communication leave aside responding to such a communication. Another stakeholder submitted
that the suggested measures are quite subjective, requiring significant development, huge costs and manual
efforts and would not yield commensurate benefits. The stakeholder further submitted that the CDRs are
available in the database only after 24-36 hours, hence, it will be impossible to build any solution which is
based on checking CDRs prior to such window. Such steps would also cause huge inconvenience to the
recipients and may become spam by itself. Therefore, these provisions should be dropped. One stakeholder
submitted that by using a short code 1909, OAP can send and receive SMS to/from its own customer only as the
feedback cannot be taken from the customers of other TSPs using
Login to read full text