Telecom regulator revises tax rules, orders firms to offer voice, SMS recharge plans

In a major move in favor of telecom subscribers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)—the country’s telecom regulator—on Monday authorized telecom companies to provide special price vouchers for voice calls and SMS. These special vouchers are intended to give consumers the opportunity to pay only for the services they need in general, and keep in mind certain consumer segments, especially the elderly and those living in rural areas of the country.

TRAI has also increased the validity period of special price vouchers to 365 days from the current 90 days.

Issuing the Telecom Consumer Protection (12th Amendment) Regulations, 2024 and the Telecommunication Tariff (17th Amendment) Order—also known as the TTO, the regulator said the maintenance of the Rs 10 denomination and its duplication in higher vouchers has been done. away from it. TRAI has retained the mandate for at least one additional voucher of the denomination provided by the TTO (50th Amendment) order 2012.

Earlier, TRAI had issued a consultation paper in July 2024 to review the Telecom Consumer Projection Rules 2012 (TCPR), which specifically addressed issues such as tax availability, voucher validity, color coding and religion.