The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued new norms regarding how companies can issue new SIM cards to customers. It is not unknown that many cyber frauds take place because fraudsters can obtain SIM cards from telecom companies easily and in large quantities. Without a proper verification process, it then becomes difficult for the companies and the authorities to find the fraudster. Thus, the DoT has come up with a set of new rules that will now be applicable to SIM issuance to new customers.
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The telecom operators will now have to verify each and every Point of Sale (PoS) entity before the entity can start enrolling new customers for the company. The PoS entity will have to provide several documents, including the Aadhaar or passport of the representative of the PoS, corporate identity number or business license, address of the place of work, local residential address of the person representing the PoS, and more. Further, it is not just the customers, but even the representative of the PoS will have to be authenticated using biometrics (this can be done via Aadhar-based e-KYC).
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The telecom department has decided that in some states, such as Assam, Kashmir, and North East LSAs (licensed service areas), the PoS entity will also have to go under police verification before a written agreement is signed between the telecom operator and the PoS entity. The written agreement between both parties will include specific provisions related to the enrollment of new customers, area of operations, and penal actions if the terms are violated.
To ensure stricter control over everything, the telcos must also ensure that their PoS entities do not engage in delegation of activities to any third party. Further, the government has made it mandatory for a PoS entity to be provided with a unique PoS ID. Only those with a unique PoS ID will be able to add new customers. All the new instructions will come into effect from October 10, 2023.
