TRAI may fine telcos ₹50L for failing to resolve complaints
What's the story
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed a new mechanism to handle customer complaints. The draft regulation, titled Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Fourth Amendment) Regulation, 2026, mandates telecom operators to provide an easy-to-use complaint registration facility on their web portals, apps, and chatbots. If these guidelines are not followed by the service providers, they could be fined up to ₹50 lakh per quarter.
Penalty details
Financial disincentives for improper dismissal
The draft regulation states that if a complaint is improperly dismissed or disposed of unsatisfactorily during an audit, the service provider will face a financial disincentive of ₹1,000 per improper dismissal/disposal. For improper dismissal/disposal of an appeal by the service provider, the fine would be ₹5,000 for each offense. However, the total financial disincentive payable by a service provider cannot exceed ₹50 lakh per quarter for their licensed/authorized service area.
Registration process
Easy registration of complaints
The draft regulation also calls for every service provider to allow consumers to register complaints or appeals and raise requests or queries through their web portal, website, and mobile applications. Telecom operators will have to give subscribers the option to select the category of their communication, be it a complaint, appeal, service request, or query.
Information sharing
Updates on complaint status
The draft regulation also proposes that if a consumer wants to provide additional information or if suitable options are not available, the app/portal should give an option for the complainant to share details of their issue by typing text or using a voice note. It also suggests mandatory updates and information to consumers about status, actions taken, and expected resolution timelines for their complaints through the application interface until final resolution.
Website requirement
Consumer corner on website
TRAI has also suggested that all telecom operators should have a 'Consumer Corner' on their website, prominently displayed on the homepage. This section should contain information and statistics related to the complaint center, appellate authority, report of consumer satisfaction surveys, and quarterly performance reports. The regulator has set June 5 as the deadline for comments on this draft regulation.