The Hindu Business Line : Mobile operators mull process for vigilance audit

Bell tolls
Govt had directed all operators to complete verification by March 31
Non-compliance fine was fixed at Rs 1,000 per unverified subscriber
Operators have disconnected 8-10 m subscribers for want of documentation

New Delhi April 30 Faced with the prospect of paying a hefty fine for not completing verification of their subscriber bases, cellular operators are seeking to put in place a process for Government-appointed vigilance officers carrying out the audit across the country.

In recent weeks, through random sampling in some cities, vigilance officers have found mobile subscribers without proper documentation.

However, operators are not happy with the way the vigilance officers are going about doing the audit.

"They are extrapolating the number of unverified subscribers found in a small sample to the entire subscriber base to calculate the fine," said an industry source.

"This is unfair and we are asking the Government to put in a process for the vigilance officers. Otherwise, operators may lose their focus on the target of adding 6-7 million subscribers a month."

The Government had directed all mobile operators to complete verification of subscribers by March 31 or accept a fine of Rs 1,000 per unverified subscriber.

Though the operators have disconnected as many as 8-10 million subscribers for want of documentation, vigilance officers have found instances of subscribers having connections despite not being verified.

Operators said that while the vigilance officers should carry out their responsibilities, they were acting like inspectors during the licence raj days, asking for irrelevant information from the operators.

"We are organising a meeting for all the vigilance officers along with the industry to set up a standard process across the country," said another industry source.

"Once we register all the points of sales in the country, we will be able to pinpoint exactly who is responsible for selling connections without proper verification documents," the source added

"If a retail outlet is found to violate norms more than once, it will be blacklisted and no operator will offer it any business."