New Delhi, Nov 6 (DHNS): Getting a mobile phone connection, pre-paid as well as post-paid, will get tougher from November 9, and fraudulent subscribers may even face police inquiry, according to stringent guidelines issued by the Department of Telecom to telecom companies.

Connections are to be cleared only after physical verification documents and matching of the applicant and the photograph attached to the application.

If the information furnished is found wrong, the SIM card seller or franchise may file a complaint against the subscriber within 15 days of bringing it to the notice of the telecom operators.

New rules require the authorised person selling SIM cards to give an undertaking that he has seen the applicant and matched the photograph submitted along with the application form.

The retailer will also have to sign authenticating the documents submitted by the customer for having verified with original copies of proof of address and identity.

The guidelines also make it mandatory for the licensee (telecom service provider) to sign the form prior to activation of the SIM card certifying the information provided on the form is correct.

“The date of sale of SIM and activation of SIM is required to be established from the entries in the Consumer Application Form (CAF). For this purpose, entry of date is mandatory with the signature of subscriber at the time of filing CAF,” the guidelines said.

Telecom operators may also file a police complaint against SIM card seller or franchisee if the SIM is sold against bogus documents.  If telecom companies fail to act against the errant sellers and SIM card subscribers, the DoT will take further legal action against such companies, according to the guidelines.