DOT Imposes Penalty of Rs 1733.44 Crores on TSPs against Non-Compliance to Instructions on Customer Identity Verification

New Delhi: Milind Deora, the Minister of State, Communication and Information Technology told Lok Sabha that, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued instructions to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to verify the identity of the customer before providing any telephone connection.

Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells (field units of DoT) are carrying out sample Audit of Customer Application Forms (CAFs) on monthly basis to monitor the compliance of these instructions, he stated.

During Audit it has been found that some of the subscribers have been enrolled by mobile service providers without proper verification of identity, Deora added.

He further stated that, Total penalty of Rs 1733.44 crores have been imposed on TSPs against non-compliant cases found in monthly CAF audit in respect of last three years ( 2009,2010,2011) and the current year.

Wherever it is found that the mobile connection has been issued on fake documents, complaints are lodged with the police, said the Minister.