A Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel has recommended a slab-based fine structure for the alleged violation regarding delivery of telecom services by operators. The panel has proposed that penalties to be imposed on the operators could be in the range of Rs 0.1 million to Rs 500 million.

According to M F Farooqui, secretary, DoT, the government plans to rationalise the penalty structure so that the fine imposed on the operators is determined based on the pattern and severity of the violation.

The panel has suggested examining violations on nine parameters. The panel has suggested examining a violation in terms of its impact on the exchequer, customers, public interest, national security, policy guidelines, etc. Based on these parameters, the violations could be categorised under functional classifications like company, commercial, network, equipment, technical, service, operations, security and finance level to measure their impact.

The panel has recommended that warnings could lead to a penalty of Rs 0.1 million, minor violations (Rs 10 million), moderate (Rs 50 million), major (Rs 200 million) and severe violations (Rs 500 million).

These recommendations will be put before an inter-ministerial panel and the Telecom Commission for approval. Earlier, in April 2012, the telecom regulatory authority of India had recommended classifying penalties in two categories, minor and major. The regulatory body had suggested a maximum penalty of Rs 2.5 million in case of a minor violation and Rs 100 million for a major one. However, the Telecom Commission did not accept these recommendations and in turn asked DoT to come up with fresh recommendations.