The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released draft amendments to the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999 and the Reporting System on Accounting Separation Regulations, 2016, introducing key measures aimed at enhancing regulatory compliance and transparency across the telecom sector.

According to an ANI report, the proposed amendments — titled The Telecommunication Tariff (Seventy Second Amendment) Order, 2025 and The Reporting System on Accounting Separation (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 — seek to ensure that telecom service providers (TSPs) report their financial and operational data to TRAI on a consistent and accurate basis.

The telecom regulator said the draft amendments include provisions for graded financial disincentives, a revised ceiling amount on such disincentives, and the imposition of interest on delayed or non-payment of penalties. “The proposed amendments contain provisions for imposing the financial disincentives (i) in a graded manner to ensure compliance with regulatory provisions; (ii) revision in amount of financial disincentive prescribing a ceiling on the total financial disincentive amount; (iii) imposition of interest on delayed/non-payments of financial disincentives,” TRAI said in a statement.

Importantly, TRAI has clarified that no financial disincentive will be levied without giving the concerned telecom operator an opportunity to present its case. “No order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive under this regulation shall be made by the Authority, unless the service provider has been given a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulations observed by the Authority,” the draft notes.

The proposed framework also empowers the regulator to exercise discretion in imposing penalties. “The Authority reserves the right not to impose any financial disincentive, or to impose a lower amount of financial disincentive than the amount payable under the provisions of this regulation, where it finds merit in the reasons furnished by the service provider or in the interest of regulatory compliance,” TRAI said.

The draft amendments have been uploaded on TRAI’s official website — www.trai.gov.in — for public consultation. Stakeholders and industry participants have been invited to submit their written comments and suggestions by October 31, 2025, via email at fa@trai.gov.in.