Bharti Airtel has paid a combined Rs 3.53 lakh in penalties to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) after CAF audits in Delhi and Karnataka identified alleged violations of subscriber verification norms. The latest disclosures add to a series of DoT actions against telecom operators over customer-verification compliance in 2026.
Airtel receives two DoT penalty notices
Bharti Airtel disclosed on September 29 that it had received two penalty notices from DoT circles in Delhi and Karnataka. The Delhi LSA imposed a penalty of Rs 1.41 lakh following a Customer Application Form audit for April 2026, while the Karnataka LSA imposed Rs 2.12 lakh following a July 2026 CAF audit.
Airtel said it had opted not to contest either notice and would pay the penalties. The company stated that the maximum financial impact from the two communications is limited to the respective penalty amounts.
The notices relate to alleged violations of subscriber verification requirements under Airtel’s licence agreement. DoT conducts periodic CAF audits to check whether telecom operators are complying with the verification conditions applicable when customers are enrolled as subscribers.
CAF audits remain a key compliance mechanism
A Customer Application Form contains the subscriber information and documentation used during the process of issuing a telecom connection. DoT’s licensing framework requires operators to adequately verify customers before enrolling them.
DoT’s licensing-compliance portal specifically lists a compendium on Subscriber Verification and CAF Audit, along with procedures covering monthly audits and broader analysis of sampled mobile connections.
The latest Airtel disclosures are also not an isolated event. The company has reported several DoT penalties for alleged subscriber-verification violations across different Licensed Service Areas during 2026, including notices in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh East, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other circles. The cases have had different outcomes, with Airtel paying some penalties while disputing or seeking rectification of others.
That pattern suggests continued regulatory scrutiny of subscriber onboarding, although the September 29 disclosures alone do not establish that DoT has introduced a new penalty regime.
This is not a new 100% biometric mandate
The latest enforcement should not be described as a newly introduced requirement for every mobile connection to undergo 100% biometric verification.
DoT has historically permitted Aadhaar-based e-KYC mechanisms for issuing mobile connections, including biometric authentication, while subsequent instructions have also provided alternative processes in specified circumstances. DoT’s own documentation, for example, describes OTP-based re-verification mechanisms for subscribers who may face difficulties with biometric authentication.
More recent telecom rules also address biometric identification in particular processes, such as changes in the user of a telecom connection, but that is different from saying every new SIM activation must now use biometric verification.
The more accurate takeaway is that subscriber identity verification remains a core licensing obligation, and DoT continues to use CAF audits to check compliance.
Enforcement comes amid tighter SIM-fraud controls
The CAF penalties arrive as DoT is also stepping up action against fraudulent SIM issuance and misuse of telecom identifiers.
In September, DoT’s Madhya Pradesh LSA reported a case in which a Point of Sale agent allegedly activated 25 mobile connections using citizens’ identity documents without their knowledge or consent. The concerned PoS was blacklisted from issuing further SIM cards.
DoT Mumbai separately warned consumers against fraudulent SIM issuance, misuse of telecom identifiers and IMEI tampering. It said violations under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 can attract imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, depending on the offence.
These actions put greater emphasis on the complete subscriber-onboarding chain, from identity verification and CAF records to the conduct of retail and PoS agents.
Why CAF compliance matters for telecom operators
The financial amounts in the latest Airtel notices are small relative to the scale of a national telecom operator. The larger issue is compliance across millions of subscriber activations and a nationwide network of retail and PoS channels.
DoT’s audit mechanism is designed to identify individual cases where the prescribed verification process was not followed. Repeated findings can therefore create operational and compliance exposure even when each individual penalty is relatively modest.
An important distinction is that a CAF penalty does not by itself establish widespread fraudulent SIM issuance. The September notices concern alleged subscriber-verification violations identified through specific audits; they should not be treated as evidence of a systemic failure across Airtel’s subscriber base.
The bigger shift is toward tighter subscriber verification
The latest penalties fit into a broader regulatory focus on making telecom subscriber identities harder to misuse. DoT has been combining CAF audits, PoS oversight, digital verification mechanisms and Sanchar Saathi tools as part of its effort to reduce fraudulent connections and misuse of telecom resources.
For operators, that means subscriber acquisition is increasingly a compliance-sensitive process rather than simply a sales function. For consumers, stronger verification can help reduce the risk of SIM cards being activated using their identity documents without consent.
The September 29 Airtel disclosures therefore matter less for their Rs 3.53 lakh financial impact and more as another visible example of DoT continuing to enforce subscriber-verification requirements through routine CAF audits.
