22-11-2012, 06:21 PM
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Notification
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. Sub-section © of Section 11 (1) of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India Act, 1997 as amended by TRAI (Amendment) Act, 2000, empowers
the Authority to levy fees and other charges at such rates and in respect of
such services as may be determined by regulations.
2. In view of the powers conferred under the TRAI Act, the Authority decided
to levy fees for filing of tariffs by various service providers and hence this
regulation.
3. This regulation has been necessitated on account of the fact that service
providers file numerous tariff plans, a good number of which are ultimately
not implemented. It is noteworthy that there were 244 approved plans in
basic services and 741 approved plans in cellular mobile services as on
31st December 2001. During the calendar year 2001 in all 2904 plans were
submitted for approval by the TRAI. Scrutiny of such a large number of
plans and the process associated with their approval by the Authority puts
pressure on the scarce regulatory resources available. Moreover, too many
plans confuse the subscriber and render informed choice making very
difficult.
4. In order that the consumer can make an informed choice amongst the
available tariff plans and thus acts in his best interest, it is necessary that
unduly large numbers and wide variety of tariff plans on offer be contained.
Considering the use of limited regulatory resources for the purpose, the
Authority has also decided to levy a fee for processing and approving these
plans.
5. It is clarified that this amendment will apply to a service provider in a service
area in respect of all tariffs submitted for approval by the Authority.
6. The Authority has also decided that no fee shall be levied for the tariffs
which have been forborne by the Authority under the TTO,99.