TRAI Notifies Voice-and-SMS-Only Voucher Rules in Consumer Protection Amendment
TRAI has finalised the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, requiring voice-and-SMS-only vouchers across shorter validity periods.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulation, 2026, completing a consultation process that began with a draft released on 7 April 2026.
The amendment addresses a gap TRAI identified in the market for Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) restricted to voice and SMS services. Since the Telecom Consumer Protection (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2024 came into force, the regulator observed that service providers were offering only a limited number of such vouchers, mostly concentrated on longer validity periods. This left low-income consumers with few affordable options for shorter durations.
To resolve the issue, TRAI issued the draft amendment for public consultation. The exercise drew 1,132 responses from stakeholders, and an Open House Discussion was held on 15 June 2026. After considering the feedback and its own analysis, the Authority finalised the regulation.
The amended rules require telecom service providers to offer voice-and-SMS-only STVs, with an appropriate reduction in tariff, in three categories. The first covers validities matching each validity period of thirty days or less for STVs that bundle voice, SMS and data. The second applies to vouchers renewable on the same date every month; where that date does not exist in a given month, renewal will fall on the last day of that month. The third requires at least one voice-and-SMS-only STV with a validity longer than those in the first two categories, corresponding to the validity of bundled voice, SMS and data vouchers.
TRAI said this tariff framework should adequately meet consumer needs. The regulation is expected to give low-income users more recharge choices suited to their requirements and financial capacity, and to improve options for those who prefer not to buy data-bundled vouchers.
The amendment has been published on TRAI's website. For clarifications, the Authority has designated Vijay Kumar, Advisor (F&EA), as the point of contact.