Bharti Airtel has received separate regulatory communications from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), resulting in a penalty of Rs 0.66 million and a financial disincentive of Rs 3.7 million respectively, according to an exchange filing.
The DoT’s Andhra Pradesh Licensed Service Area (LSA) has imposed the Rs 0.66 million for alleged violations of subscriber verification norms identified during a Customer Application Form (CAF) audit conducted for March 2026. Telecom service providers are required under their licence agreements to ensure adequate verification of customers prior to enrolment and to comply with DoT directions. Airtel said it has opted to pay the penalty and will not contest the order, adding that the maximum financial impact is limited to the penalty amount.
In a separate matter, TRAI levied a financial disincentive of Rs 3.7 million, citing alleged shortcomings in the redressal of complaints under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, for the quarter ended September 2024. Airtel said it disagrees with the TRAI order and intends to seek its rectification or reversal, while noting that the potential financial impact would be restricted to the disincentive amount imposed.
