Vodafone Digilink Ltd. v. Union of India - (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) (11 Mar 2016)

Name of person selling SIM card not required on form

MANU/TD/0010/2016

Media and Communication

Customer Acquisition Forms for acquiring a SIM card, completed at the Point of Sale, do not require the name of the person verifying the document.

The Department of Telecom had levied penalty on Vodafone for not including the name of the ‘authorised person’ at the Point of Sale who verifies the documents provided by a person to procure a SIM card. Vodafone instead contended that at the time of issue of SIM card to the subscriber, only the name of the Point of Sale had to be stamped on the Customer Acquisition Form. Requiring the names of individual employees would serve little purpose.

The Tribunal accepted Vodafone’s arguments that the Department had levied a penalty only on a new interpretation of the guidelines. Even the Department’s Circular requiring telecom operators to maintain a database of subscribers did not ask for the name of an authorised person. It surmised, “what matters is the correct verification of the documents relating to the identity and address of the subscriber. In case of wrong verification, the [Point of Sale] at which the lapse happened can be identified and suitable action taken against it. We do not understand how the name of a particular employee would help”.

Tags : TELECOM OPERATOR SUBSCRIPTION FORM POINT OF SALE