Telecom Companies Fined Rs 2,513 Crore for Customer Verification Norm Violations

New Delhi: Information Technology and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that a penalty of Rs 2,513.44 crore had been imposed on various telecom operators for violation of customer verification norms as on September 30 this year.

"As on September 30, 2015, a total penalty imposed on various telecom service providers (TSPs) for violation of customer acquisition form (CAF) verification norms is approximately Rs 2,513.44 crore," the minister said

The random sample customer acquisition form (CAF) verification process, carried out by TERM Cells on a monthly basis of each TSP, is in operations since April 2007.

The telecom operators have been mandated by the Department of Telecom (DoT) to carry out an adequate verification process for all customers by verifying their identity through identity and address proof before enrolling them as subscribers.

The minister said the subscriber verification process has evolved with the passage of time and consequently, the DoT issued various guidelines to telecom operators for strengthening the whole process.

"The existing instructions on subscriber verification dated August 9, 2012, have been issued by DoT in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs," he added.

To ensure adherence to these DoT instructions by all operators, the Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells carry out a sample verification of the CAF and related documents of the customers by all operators on a monthly basis, by generating random samples of 0.1 per cent of
customer base at the end of each month and cross-verifying the same against entries in the database submitted by telecom companies.

The sample size for Jammu & Kashmir, North East and Assam circle is 0.2 per cent on a quarterly basis.

"This verification process by TERM Cells brings out non-compliant cases where DoT guidelines were violated by TSPs in acquiring the customer which may include cases where identities of subscribers are not properly verified," the minister said. He added the random sample CAF verification process
carried out by TERM Cells on a monthly basis of each TSP has been done since April 2007.