TRAI Flags Jio Tariffs, Orders Removal of ‘Discriminatory’ Plans by April 14

Reliance Jio has been ordered by the country's telecom regulator to end some rate practices that it deemed "discriminatory" and in breach of transparency standards. The corporation has until April 14 to meet two important deadlines set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

First, to remove device-specific restrictions on certain products and second, to ensure uniform disclosure of tariff plans across platforms. Over 500 million people use Jio's services, and the company insists it follows all rules and regulations. Based on "intelligible criteria," the company's tariff plans cannot be deemed discriminatory, according to the company's statement to the regulator.

TRAI Putting a Strict Scanner on Jio

Jio removed some entry-level prepaid plans that provided 1 GB of data per day in August 2025, prompting Trai to take action. The service provider had previously stated that these could only be purchased in-store. According to the probe, a special tariff voucher (STV) for INR 249 and INR 199 was exclusively available at Jio Stores, while a INR 209 STV was only accessible via the MyJio app.

A letter from the regulator stated that these programmes are not available across all channels, including retail shops, customer support centres, websites, and applications, which breaches the concept of transparency. Noting that this practice did not align with its September 2020 directive, Trai emphasised the need for telecom carriers to disclose their rate plans to consumers across all channels.

Low Tariffs for Jio Devices

The authority also found Jio's device-specific tariffs to be "discriminatory", citing the JioPhone and JioBharat feature phones in particular. With these affordable 4G devices, users can get recharge plans that other smartphone users can't get their hands on. Such limitations, according to Trai, are incompatible with the nondiscrimination principle and should be dismantled. In order to make these services available across all devices, Jio was required by the regulator to reorganise them such that they are comparable to other tariff plans.

Tariff offers must be available across all platforms, according to TRAI. Furthermore, it was stated that the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999, is therefore violated when clients are compelled to use separate channels for different plans. To the regulator, Jio countered that the 2020 rule doesn't dictate where or how tariffs should be sold, simply that they be published. Additionally, the business stated that they are unable to sell specific products or services online, including first-time recharges and postpaid plans. Regarding tariffs that are specific to devices, JioPhone and JioBharat plans are grounded on a specific user category and are not arbitrary, according to the company.

But Trai said that tariff availability and publishing are "inherently interconnected" and cannot be handled independently; therefore, these arguments don't hold up. Additionally, the regulator noted that device-linked plans could limit customer choice by essentially binding users to a single operator for the duration of the device. Hence, this would make mobile number transfer less feasible.