New Delhi: Telecom and internet companies must run complaint centres round the clock, offer a human representative for at least 16 hours a day and decide consumer appeals within 15 days, under new regulations notified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday.
The Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 also bring financial penalties for companies that wrongly dispose of complaints or appeals, and require complaint data to go to each company’s chief executive or board every quarter.
The rules apply to access and internet service providers. Internet providers with up to 10,000 subscribers are exempt but must have a suitable complaint mechanism, the notification says.
Round-the-clock help, with limits on AI
- Every complaint centre must work 24 hours a day, on all days of the week.
- Help may come from human representatives, automated systems or AI agents, but a human must be available for at least 16 hours daily.
- Consumers must be told when they are talking to an AI agent, and automated systems must run with appropriate human oversight.
- Automated phone menus and AI agents on the consumer care number must offer language selection, a way to reach a human and a call-back option for those waiting in a queue.
- The consumer care number cannot be charged to consumers.
Complaints through the app and website
Companies must let consumers file complaints and appeals and raise service requests through both their website and mobile app. Consumers can add a text or voice note, and must get a docket number, the expected time for resolution, reasons for any delay and a confirmation on closure.
Where no time limit is already set under other TRAI regulations, complaints and service requests must be addressed within three days.
Faster appeals, shorter window
- An appeal must now be filed within 15 days, down from 30, after the time limit for resolving the complaint ends. The Appellate Authority can still accept a later appeal, up to three months after that time limit, if there is sufficient cause.
- The Appellate Authority must give its final decision, and the company must act on it, within 15 days of receiving the appeal.
- The outcome must be communicated by email and SMS within three days of disposal.
- Appeals can be filed by email, app, website, post, in person or through the consumer care number, and each gets a unique number.
- The Appellate Authority must be one or more regular management employees of the company with at least five years’ experience.
Help for persons with disabilities
Companies must set up dedicated desks or helplines for persons with disabilities, route their calls there, give step-by-step assistance and make their apps and websites accessible under government standards.
Reports to the CEO and public scrutiny
A quarterly report on complaints, appeals and feedback must go before the chief executive or board. Companies must also send consumers an online feedback survey with a five-point rating after every closed complaint or appeal, and publish quarterly performance reports for each service area on their website, portal and app.
Each company must set up a Consumer Grievance Redressal Oversight Committee that includes representatives of consumer organisations registered with TRAI. It must meet at least once every financial year.
What companies will pay
- ₹1,000 for each complaint and ₹5,000 for each appeal disposed of in breach of the rules, up to ₹20 lakh per quarter for a service area.
- For a late quarterly performance report, up to ₹5,000 per report per day for the first 15 days and up to ₹20,000 a day after that, up to ₹10 lakh per instance per service area.
Companies must get a chance to respond before any penalty is ordered, and TRAI may waive or reduce it, recording its reasons in writing. Late payment attracts interest.
When the rules start
The regulations take effect 30 days after publication in the Official Gazette. Some parts start later: the oversight committee, feedback survey and performance reporting rules after 60 days, and the round-the-clock centre, app and website, and disability rules after 90 days.
Read the regulations
The notified regulations, pages 1 to 14 of TRAI’s document, are below. The full 46-page document with the explanatory memorandum is on the TRAI website.
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