TRAI amends consumer redressal framework with fine up to ₹20 lakh per quarter

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The amended regulations will apply to ISPs having more than 10,000 subscribers as of the last day of the preceding financial year

By BL New Delhi Bureau

Updated - November 02, 2026 at 09:45 PM.

The amended rules came nearly a decade after the rules were last changed | Photo Credit: KRISHNAN VV

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday has amended the Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal framework, thereby tightening the rules for consumer grievance redressal, under which telecom or Internet service providers (ISPs) may be penalised up to ₹20 lakh per quarter per service area, for improperly handling consumer complaints.

“Consumer support through Complaint Centres will be available round the clock on all days of the week, instead of the existing 16-hour arrangement. Such support may be provided through human representatives, automated systems, AI agents, other customer-centric technological solutions, or a combination thereof,” TRAI said.

Human assistance

It also said that human assistance should be available for at least 16 hours daily and technology-based solutions should function with appropriate human oversight to ensure ease and convenience to consumers while also giving flexibility to service providers in staffing the complaint centres.

The amended regulations will apply to ISPs having more than 10,000 subscribers as of the last day of the preceding financial year. The existing alternative criterion based on annual financial turnover exceeding ₹5 crore has been dispensed with, thus simplifying the applicability clause, it said.

Amended rules

The amended rules came nearly a decade after the rules were last changed. The upgrade comes after the Authority released a consultation paper on the Draft Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, on May 7, 2026, inviting comments and counter-comments from the stakeholders by June 19. A total of 32 comments and 24 counter-comments were received from stakeholders, and an online Open House Discussion was also held on July 17, 2026, TRAI mentioned.

The regulator also noted that although it does not have the mandate to handle individual complaints, the number of complaints received from the telecom subscribers has shown an increasing trend over the years.

Despite the mechanism that was first introduced in 2012 and amended twice subsequently, the number of complaints has risen only over the last few years. For instance, in financial year 2025-26 (FY26), the number of complaints rose to 73,081 from 55,978 complaints registered in FY25 and 44,733 in FY24.

Periodic reviews

“This has been done to ensure suitable review and oversight of the disposal of complaints and appeals by the service providers at the highest level,” TRAI said, adding that it may also conduct periodic reviews of the functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism of the service providers.

In case the regulator finds contravention in complaint disposal, then a penalty of ₹1,000 will be levied per violation, and ₹5,000 per instance by the appellate authority, but the total amount will not exceed ₹20 lakh per quarter per authorised service area, which has been reduced from ₹50 lakh, proposed earlier by the regulator in May.

TRAI can also impose a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh for failure to submit the quarterly performance report as per the amended rules.

Published on November 2, 2026

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