Overview
- TRAI issued the Third Amendment to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations on Sept. 18, 2026, formally bringing AI/ML‑based detection into the spam framework and setting new enforcement triggers and duties for operators.
- The regulator defined Application‑to‑Person (A2P) calls as automated or AI‑generated voice calls and requires senders to pre‑declare use and numbers to their telecom provider, with undeclared A2P calls treated as spam and a termination charge of up to 0.05 rupees per minute for unauthorised calls.
- Enforcement will be faster and graded: an operator’s AI flag plus three unique complaints in 10 days can now trigger action, and if five or more numbers tied to a sender are flagged in 10 days operators must start KYC re‑verification, physical checks, suspension and possible disconnection for repeat offenders.
- Call‑management apps that accept user spam reports must share that intelligence with telcos and are barred from blanket blocking or spam‑tagging of designated commercial number series such as 140xx, 1600xx and 1601xx to protect legitimate service and promotional calls.
- Consumers gain a 15‑day right to appeal complaint resolutions through existing channels like the TRAI DND app or 1909, while the amendment builds on past rules by recognizing verifiable legacy consents and giving TRAI power to mandate contractual conditions and blacklisting to curb misuse.