Bharti refunds Rs 32.73-cr migration fee to subscribers

Bharti Tele-Ventures, which offers mobile services under the Airtel brand, has refunded Rs 32.73 crore, which it had collected from its subscribers before allowing them to migrate to a different tariff plan. This follows a directive from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for the same.

The telecom operator had levied a one-time fee ranging from Rs 50-Rs 200 from its subscribers in 16 circles in 2004, before permitting them to migrate to a new tariff plan. This one-time fee imposed by the company, which totalled up to Rs 35.59 crore, violated the provisions of the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999, the regulator had said.

The regulator had, therefore, directed Bharti to refund the migration fee. It had also directed the company to give wide publicity of the refund in the media so as to enable the customers to avail the benefit.

Trai also said the difference between the total refund due and the total refund "" Rs 2.76 crore "" would be put in a separate dedicated account.