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DOT LICENSE:
Every person who wants to provide Application Services through telephone or over the internet to their clients is required to obtain a license from the Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Telecommunication, India. Without obtaining the license, a person cannot legally carry out the business activities thorough tele-calling or over the internet.
As per the guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunication, such persons can obtain registration under the category of ‘Other Service Provider’. The registration is commonly known as DOT (OSP) License / DOT License / Call centre License.
The place from where the activities are carried out is called as OSP centre. OSP is abbreviated form of ‘Other Service Provider’. OSP Centre is the infrastructure at a location in India which is used by the OSP for providing the Application Services. There are two types of OSP centre i.e. Domestic OSP Centre and International OSP Centre.
Domestic OSP centre means a centre providing Application Services within the country/ national boundaries where as an International OSP centre means a centre providing the Application Services outside the country/ beyond national boundaries.
The Application Services includes tele-banking, tele-medicine, tele-education, tele-trading, e-commerce, call centre, network operation centre and other IT Enabled Services, by using Telecom Resources provided by Authorised Telecom Service Providers.
REGISTRATION:
The registration is granted to Companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013/1956 and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 only. Thus, if you wish to provide the Application Services through phone/internet, you need to first register a Company or an LLP.
The application for DOT (OSP) license can now be filed through online mode only. Before November, 2018, the application was required to be filled through both online and offline modes. The application for DOT license can be made on Saral Sanchar Portal i.e. www.saralsanchar.gov.in.
Firstly, you will have to get the company registered at Saral Sanchar Portal. After the preliminary registration, you will get a USER ID and Password through email on the registered Email Id. OTP verifications is done for Mobile phone number and email id at the time of preliminary registration.
After the completion of registration, you can login by using your user ID and password and fill the application form for DOT license.
PRE-REQUISITE TO FILL THE DOT LICENSE FORM:
Before starting DOT License registration application, one needs to have the following information and documents ready to fill and complete the application.
- Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) of the Directors
- Email id for OTP verification
- Mobile Number for OTP verification
- Documents required for OSP application (List of Documents given below)
Digital Signatures Certificates (DSC) can be obtained from any DSC vendor available in the market. All the documents required for filing for DOT License shall be signed digitally by using Digital Signature Certificates of the authorised signatory. DSC can be appended on the documents with the help of Acrobat Reader (Professional Version). The website shall not accept unsigned documents.
FEE FOR REGISTRATION:
The fee for registration is Rs. 1,000/ – (Rupees One Thousand Only). The same is required to be paid online. Payment of the fee shall be made on Bharat kosh website i.e. https://bharatkosh.gov.in/.
The head of ministry under which the fee shall be paid is “Ministry of Telecommunication” and purpose is “OSP registration”. After making the payment a challan shall be generated. A copy of digitally signed challan is required to be uploaded with the DOT License application.
The challan number is a 20 digit number required to be mentioned in the application for DOT License. Kindly note that the challan number is mentioned in the screen displayed after making the payment. Transaction number mentioned in the challan copy is not a valid challan number. Thus, note the payment info mentioned on the screen displayed immediately after making the payment.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR DOT LICENSE:
| S | Document | Remarks |
| 1 | Memorandum & Articles of Association/ LLP Agreement | Check the main objects of the company/LLP. Application services and tele calling/call centre/ BPO objects should be mentioned properly. Else, officer in the department will not approve the file. |
| 2 | Certificate of Incorporation issued by Registrar of Companies | – |
| 3 | Resolution of The Board of Directors | Proper authority should be given to the person filing the application for DOT License with his/her signature duly attested therein. |
| 4 | Power of Attorney duly notorised authorising the signatory with attested signature. | Not required if Board resolution is submitted. |
| 5 | List of Present Directors of the company with Name, Address | Required if the present directors are different from the persons mentioned in subscriber sheet in Memorandum of Association/ LLP Agreement. |
| 6 | Present shareholding pattern of the company (indicating Indian Equity & Foreign Equity) | Required if it is different from the shareholding pattern mentioned in the Memorandum of Association/ LLP Agreement. |
| 7 | Network diagram – the OSP must clearly mention in the diagram whether it is using Sharing of Infrastructure or Centralized EPABX architecture or the CUG facility. Any change in the network is also required to be intimated immediately by the OSP without any delay. | – |
| 8 | Declaration for use of internet | Declaration is required as use of internet for inbound calling is not allowed. Thus, OSP using internet for inbound calling should take NPLC/IPLC line to get the DOT License. |
All the documents should be attested by the authorised signatory with stamp of the Company/LLP duly appended on every document.
After filing all the information and uploading all the documents, submit the application. After submitting the application, digitally signed application is required to be uploaded. Download the submitted application, append the DSCs and upload the application.
STEPS AFTER SUBMITTING APPLICATION:
Immediately after filing the application for DOT registration, the status of application shall be displayed as “Pending for Scrutiny”. Any change in the status of the application shall be communicated through email.
At the time of scrutinizing the application for DOT License, if the officer does not have any concern, he shall issue the DOT registration certificate which shall be valid for 20 years from the date of issuance, else, he shall ask for more information and documents. The certificate shall only be issued after satisfactory reply by the applicant. The average time to obtain the DOT licenses is around 1.5 – 3 months from the date of filing application with DOT department.
POST REGISTRATION ACTIVITIES:
After registration as DOT (OSP), the registered Company/LLP needs to file an Annual Return specifying details about turnover and activities carried out in the year. The return shall be filed within 6 months from the date of close of the financial year i.e. by 30th September of the relevant year.
Also, the officers in the department may visit the registered premises of OSP for inspection at any day during office hours. The officers may ask for information and details of business. The registered OSP should cooperate with them.
At knovalt, we can help you in getting DOT License. With over more than 100 successful registrations of OSP centres/ DOT License, our team has extensive experience in getting the license within predefined time frame. Contact us to know more about DOT License.