The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) finalised amendments to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations on September 18, 2026, prohibiting call-management apps like Truecaller from blocking, tagging, or filtering calls from designated commercial number series such as 140xx, 1600xx, and 1601xx. The new rules also introduce pricing for automated bulk calls and grant consumers the right to appeal wrongly closed spam complaints, according to medianama.com.
These changes follow a consultation process initiated by TRAI in March 2026, which included public comments and an open house discussion in June. The final regulations require apps to share spam reports filed by users with the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform instead of keeping them within the app. Additionally, telecom service providers must use AI and machine learning to flag suspected spam calls from verified network numbers, making spam flagging and data sharing mandatory under Regulation 21A, medianama.com reported.
The amendments aim to address the growing challenges of spam calls in India’s telecom sector by restricting third-party apps from blanket-blocking calls from certain commercial number series. This move impacts popular call-management apps that previously allowed users to block or tag such calls, potentially affecting how spam is managed on mobile devices. The regulations align with TRAI’s ongoing efforts to balance consumer protection with legitimate commercial communication, as seen in the 2018 TCCCPR framework.
The finalised Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, took effect immediately after their announcement on September 18, 2026, as per medianama.com. These rules mark a significant regulatory step in managing spam calls and enhancing transparency in telecom communications in India.