Trai notifies panel of auditors to certify telco billing, metering systems

The telecom regulator has notified a dozen-strong panel of audit agencies to certify the billing and metering systems deployed by phone companies in line with quality of service rules.

It has set a November 22 deadline for telecom companies to engage any one of the 12 empanelled auditors for certifying their metering and billing systems during FY19.

The validity of the 12-member panel of auditors is till end-July, 2020, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in an official statement. The regulator, at its discretion, can also “extend the validity” of the auditors’ panel.

While telcos are free to engage any one audit agency from the notified panel, they cannot engage the same agency consecutively for more than two years.

The sector regulator has also barred telcos from engaging any audit agency which is currently their “statutory auditor, internal auditor, concurrent auditor or has been engaged as a consultant” for certifying metering and billing systems.