The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on March 24, 2026, issued the Reporting System on Accounting Separation (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 to further amend the Reporting System on Accounting Separation Regulations, 2016.
The following amendments have been stated:
For regulation 6 of the Reporting System on Accounting Separation Regulations, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the “principal regulations”), the following regulation shall be substituted namely:-
“6. Consequences for failure of the service provider to submit reports or furnishing of false report.– (1) If any service provider contravenes the provisions of regulation 5, it shall without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its licence or the provisions of the Act or rules or regulations or order made, or, directions issued, thereunder, be liable to pay, by way of financial disincentive, an amount of twenty thousand rupees for each day of contravention for the first seven days and, in case the contravention continues beyond seven days, an additional amount of forty thousand rupees for each subsequent day of contravention beyond seven days, subject to maximum of ten lakh rupees as the Authority may, by order, direct:
Provided that if a service provider contravenes the provisions of regulation 5 in two or more consecutive years, it shall be liable to pay, by way of financial disincentive, an amount of fifty thousand rupees for each day of contravention for the first seven days of the second and subsequent consecutive year and, in case the contravention continues beyond seven days of that consecutive year, an additional amount of seventy five thousand rupees for each subsequent day of contravention, subject to maximum of twenty five lakh rupees as the Authority may, by order, direct.
(2) If the report furnished by the service provider under regulation 5 is false or if, in its report, the service provider deliberately omits any material fact knowing it to be material, the service provider shall, without prejudice to the terms and conditions of its licence, or the provisions of the Act or rules or regulations or order made, or directions issued, thereunder, be liable to pay financial disincentive as under:-
(3) In case a service provider fails to pay the amount of financial disincentive under regulation 6 within the period stipulated in the order for payment of financial disincentive, it shall be liable to pay simple interest on the outstanding amount of financial disincentive, at a rate which shall be two percent above the one year Marginal Cost of Lending Rate of State Bank of India applicable at the beginning of the financial year in which last day of the stipulated period falls.
Explanation: For the purposes of this sub-regulation, a part of the month shall be reckoned as a full calendar month for the purpose of calculation of interest and a month shall be reckoned as an English calendar month.
(4) No order for payment of any amount by way of financial disincentive under this regulation shall be made by the Authority, unless the service provider has been given a reasonable opportunity of representing against the contravention of the regulations observed by the Authority.
(5) The Authority may waive the financial disincentive, impose a lower amount of financial disincentive or classify as minor or major based on the merit in the reasons furnished by the service provider.”
They shall come into force from March 24, 2026.
[Notification No. M-6/(2)/2023-FEA-I]
