PRELIMINARY
1. Definitions:
In this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) ‘Applications Services’ means providing services like tele-banking, tele-medicine, tele-education, tele-trading, e-commerce, call centre, network operation centre (NOC) and other IT-enabled services, by using Telecom Resources provided by Authorised Telecom Service Providers.
(b) ‘Other Service Provider’ (OSP) means a company providing Application Services.
(c) ‘OSP Centre’ means the infrastructure at a location in India used by the OSP for providing Application Services.
(d) ‘Telecom Resource’ means telecom facilities used by the OSP, including, but not limited to Public Switched Telecom Network (PSTN), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and/or telecom bandwidth provided by Authorised Telecom Service Providers having a valid licence under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
(e) ‘Company’ means a company registered under the Indian Companies Act, including foreign companies, permitted by the Reserve Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations and registered under Part-XI (Section 591 to 608) of the Companies Act, 1956 for setting up a place of business in India.
(f) ‘Domestic OSP’ means the OSP providing Application Services within national boundaries.
(g) ‘International OSP’ means the OSP providing Application Services beyond national boundaries.
(h) ‘Point of Presence’ (POP) is a location where the OSP places equipment to act as an extension of the OSP Centre for collecting and carrying the telecom traffic related to Application Services.
(i) ‘Hot sites’ means a standby OSP Centre, either of the same company or of the third party, duly registered with the DoT, which is continuously updated and ready to takeover the operations of the working OSP centres in case of any disaster or failure.
(j) ‘Authority’ means the Department of Telecommunications or its designated field units (Term Cells previously called ‘VTM Units’)
Chapter II
GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS
(DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL OSP CENTRES)
1. General Conditions
(1) Registration may be granted to any company to provide Application Services. These service providers will not infringe on the jurisdiction of other Authorised Telecom Service Providers and they will not provide switched telephony.
Clarification: Registration of a new call centre should not be delayed on the pretext of inspection/investigation of existing call centre.
(2) Following shall apply to the OSP requiring registration:
(i) The entities entitled for OSP registration must be a company registered under the Indian Companies Act,1956.
(ii) A Company may apply for registration to the Authority in the proforma prescribed by the Authority from time to time (list of authorities as annexed to the Application Form).
(iii) Documents required to be submitted:
(A) Mandatory Documents
(1) Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies (RoC);
(2) Memorandum and Articles of Association;
(3) Board resolution or Power of Attorney authorizing the authorised signatory, with attested signatures;
(4) A note on the nature of business/activities of the proposed OSP.
(B) Documents required to be submitted, if actual information is different from mandatory documents
(5) List of present Directors of the Company;
(6) Present shareholding pattern of the company indicating equity details (Indian equity and foreign equity details).
Clarification: Attestation on the first and last page of the Memorandum & Articles of Association may be accepted if it is printed hard copy.
All the documents must be certified with seal by either a company secretary, or one of the directors of the Company, or statutory auditors, or a public notary.
(iv) The registration is location specific, so a company may have more than one registration. Any change in the location of an OSP Centre shall require an amendment in the original registration.
( v ) For multiple registrations:
(a) The applicant company shall apply to the convenient unit of the Term Cell/DoT (HQ) where one site of the OSP is proposed to be located.
(b) After getting the registration certificate for the first location, the OSP may apply to other respective designated authorities for the remaining sites. In such cases, the OSP has to submit only a copy of the OSP Registration obtained for the first site and a copy of its certificate of incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies, if such request is made by the OSP within one year, and there is no change in the status of previously submitted documents. After one year, a complete set of documents shall be required to be submitted.
(vi) The OSP shall intimate the Authority in case the OSP proposes to change the POP or add another POP.
Clarification: For any change in POP, intimation to the TERM Cell shall be submitted within one month.
(vii) A processing fee of Rs. 1000/- is payable along with the application for registration, in the form of a demand draft from a scheduled bank, in favour of the concerned Accounts Officer of the registering authority.
(viii) The validity of the registration shall be 20 years from the date of issue, unless otherwise mentioned in the registration letter.
(ix) The validity of the registration may be extended, if deemed expedient, by a period of 10 years at one time, upon a request made by the OSP, if made during the 19th year of the registration period, on the terms mutually agreed. The decision of the Authority shall be final in regard to the grant of extension.
(x) The OSP shall inform the Authority, with supporting documents, if there is any change in the name or address of the company, as stated in the performa, submitted at the time of registration.
Clarification: For a change in the name or address of the company, a request to the TERM Cell by the OSP shall be sufficient, and the TERM Cell shall issue an amendment to the registration. However, when change of address is accompanied by changes in the basic network diagram, then the diagram, duly authenticated, shall be submitted within one month after commissioning the resources.
(xa) The checking for compliance with the OSP Guidelines may be carried out by the respective TERM Cells, preferably once every year, and whenever required for investigation etc.
(xi) Each TERM Cell is required to maintain a separate list of OSPs using ‘Infrastructure Sharing’ or ‘EPABX Partitioning’ in its jurisdiction, along with a record of EPABX features, command sets, version changes, typical test procedure for each EPABX type and inspection reports.
(xii) Each OSP is required to submit a network diagram to the TERM Cell, at the time of applying for registration of the OSP, and every year subsequently. The OSP must clearly mention, in the diagram, whether it is using closed user group (CUG) facility, Infrastructure Sharing or Distributed EPABX. Any change in the network is also required to be intimated immediately by the OSP without delay.
2. Modifications in the Terms and Conditions of Registration
The Authority reserves the right to modify, at any time, the terms and conditions of the registration if, in the opinion of the Authority, it is necessary or expedient to do so in public interest, or in the interest of the security of the State, or for the proper conduct of telegraphs. The decision of the Authority shall be final and binding in this regard.
3. Restrictions on ‘Transfer of Registration’
The OSP shall not, without the prior written consent of the Authority, as described below, either directly or indirectly assign or transfer this registration, in any manner whatsoever, to a third party, or enter into any agreement for sub-leasing and/or partnership relating to any subject matter of the registration, with any third party either in whole or in part i.e. no sub-leasing/partnership/third party interest shall be created. Provided that the OSP can always employ or appoint agents and employees for provision of the Service.
4. Requirement to furnish information
(i) The OSP shall furnish to the Authority, on demand, in the manner and as per the time frames, such documents, accounts, estimates, returns, reports or other information including system passwords in accordance with rules/orders as may be prescribed from time to time.
(ii) The OSP shall submit its ‘Annual Return’ to the registering authority in the prescribed performa within six months of completion of the financial year, indicating the details of the activities of the previous financial year and the status of their continuing the OSP operations. The operational OSP’s shall be put in the ‘Active OSP’ list. Those OSPs who are not submitting the annual return for three consecutive years shall be put in the ‘Dormant OSP’ list and their registration will be cancelled after keeping them for two years in the Dormant OSP list. Such list would be made available on the DOT web site.
5. Suspension, Revocation or Termination of Registration
(i) The Authority reserves the right to suspend the operation of this registration at any time, if, in the opinion of the Authority, it is necessary or expedient to do so in public interest or in the interest of the security of the State or for the proper conduct of the Telegraphs. If the situation so warrants, it shall not be necessary for the Authority to issue a notice seeking comments of the OSP for this purpose, and the decision of the Authority shall be final and binding.
(ii) Provided that the Authority shall not be responsible for any damage or loss caused or arisen out of the aforesaid action. Provided further that the suspension of the registration will not be a cause or ground for extension of the period of registration, and the suspension period will be taken as period spent.
(iii) The OSP may surrender the registration by giving notice to the Authority.
(iv) Breach or non-fulfilment of the registration conditions may come to the notice of the Authority through complaints, or as a result of regular monitoring. Wherever considered appropriate, the Authority may conduct an inquiry, either suo moto or on a complaint, to determine whether there has been any breach in compliance of the terms and conditions of the Registration by the OSP and upon such inquiry the OSP shall extend all reasonable facilities and shall endeavour to remove the hindrance of every type.
6. Actions pursuant to Termination of Registration
(i) If under the Registration Agreement, a material event occurs, which entitles the Authority to terminate the Registration Agreement, the Authority shall proceed in accordance with the terms and conditions provided in the Agreement.
(ii) On termination, or surrender, or expiry of the registration, the bank guarantee shall be released to the OSP only after ensuring clearance of all dues, which the OSP is liable to pay to the Authority. In case of failure of the OSP to pay the amounts due to the Authority, the outstanding amounts shall be realized through encashment of the Bank Guarantee, without prejudice to any other action(s) for recovery of the amounts due to the Authority, without any further communication to the OSP.
Chapter III
TECHNICAL CONDITIONS
(DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL OSP CENTRE)
1. Terms & Conditions for OSP Operation
(1) The OSP shall take the Telecom Resources from an Authorised Telecom Service Provider only.
Clarification: Foreign VoIP minutes by OSP’s is not permissible.
(2) Authorised Telecom Service Providers shall provide resources to the OSP after examining the network diagram of the network proposed to be set up by the OSP, and ensuring its bona fide use. OSP’s shall submit a copy of the network diagram approved by the Telecom Service Provider (TSP) to Term Cells for its records and for verification.
Clarification: For new registrations, the network diagram shall be submitted within one month from the date of commissioning resources, or within three months from the date of registration, whichever is earlier.
(3) Both, the Authorised Telecom Service Provider and the OSP, shall be responsible as per the terms and conditions of their license/registration respectively, towards any violation of the terms and conditions in the use of Telecom Resources.
(4) The OSP may have internet connectivity from an Authorized Internet Service Provider. For the purpose of internet connectivity in India, OSP’s are permitted to use IP Address that is registered in the name of an Indian entity, which shall be traceable to a physical address (location) in India.
(5) The OSP is permitted to share the telecom bandwidth with other activities of the same Company or group of companies. However, the OSP shall ensure that there will be a logical separation between the Telecom Resources for OSP activities and the Telecom Resources for their other activities. There shall be no voice/non-voice traffic flow between them.
(6) Interconnectivity of the International OSP with Domestic OSP is not permitted.
2. Terms & Conditions for Disaster Management of OSP centre
(1) The domestic OSP’s are permitted to connect to the dedicated servers provided at the registered ‘Hot Sites’ only at the time of disaster, with due intimation to the Authority, giving connectivity details. Similar arrangements are permitted to International OSP’s also. However, there shall not be any interconnection between the ‘Hot Sites’ of Domestic OSP and International OSP centres.
(2) Domestic OSP centres of the same Company are permitted to cross map the seats for use during disaster and shall inform the same to the Authority.
(3) Similar arrangements as 2(2) above are permitted among the International OSP centres of the same Company.
3. Terms & Conditions specific to the Domestic OSP
(1) A Domestic OSP is permitted to terminate PSTN/PLMN connection, with outgoing facility, on the same EPABX, provided that such PSTN/PLMN lines shall be used for making calls through the normal NLD network only, and in no way, directly or indirectly, causes bypass of the licensed National Long Distance Operator’s (NLDO) jurisdiction. There shall be logical partitioning to ensure the separation of these facilities. They may have other connectivity e.g. lease circuit and virtual private network (VPN) at the same centre, however, there shall not be any call flow between these PSTN lines and leased lines.
(2) Interconnectivity of two or more Domestic OSP Centres of the same Company or group of companies is permitted.
(3) Domestic OSP is permitted to use Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) connections only for the purpose of back-up of domestic leased circuits.
(4) The Authority reserves the right to carry out an audit periodically. If the Authority is satisfied that there has been a violation of any of the conditions, it reserves the right to take punitive action, including forfeiture of the security deposit and/or cancellation of the registration.
4. Terms & Conditions specific to the International OSP
(1) No PSTN connectivity shall be permitted to the International OSP at the Indian end. PSTN connectivity on the foreign end is permitted, having facility of both inbound and outbound calls.
(2) Interconnection of two or more International OSP’s of the same Company or the group companies is permitted, with intimation to the registering authority within 15 days of such interconnection.
Chapter IV
TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR SHARING OF INFRASTRUCTURE BETWEEN AN INTERNATIONAL OSP & DOMESTIC OSP
1. General Conditions:
Sharing of the infrastructure by the Domestic OSP and the International OSP shall require prior written approval of the Authority. Such Registration may be granted on fulfilment of the following conditions:-
(a) The Domestic OSP Centre and International OSP Centre shall belong to the same Company.
(b) The OSP shall set up a call centre having at least 50 seats.
(c) The OSP shall be responsible for any violation of the terms & conditions of the OSP registration by anyone, including but not limited to, its employees.
(d) The Authority reserves the right to carry out an audit periodically.
(e) If the Authority is satisfied that there has been a violation of the conditions, it reserves the right to take punitive action, including forfeiture of the security deposit and/or the cancellation of the registration held by the OSP, and the company shall be debarred from taking an OSP registration for 3 years from the date of cancellation of such registration.
2. Duration of Registration for Sharing the Infrastructure & Bank Guarantee
(a) This registration shall be valid for a period of 3 years from the effective date, unless revoked earlier for reasons specified elsewhere in the document.
(b) The Company shall submit a security deposit in the form of a bank guarantee, in the specified format for Rs. 50 Lakhs for Option 1 under Term 4(A) of this Chapter, or Rs. 1 Crore for Option 2 under Term 4(B) of this Chapter, in favour of the Authority, for the period of such registration. In addition, the Company will sign an agreement with the Authority in the prescribed format.
Clarification: Since new guidelines prescribe Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 1 Crore for Option I & 2 respectively, instead of Rs. 2.5 Crore and Rs. 5 Crore, the amounts of bank guarantee shall be reduced at the time of renewal of registration of existing OSP’s. Since the bank guarantee of Rs. 10 lakhs has been dispensed with, the same shall be returned to the OSP’s.
(c) Any failure to abide by the terms & conditions of registration shall entitle the Authority to encash the Bank Guarantees and to convert into a cash security, without any reference to the OSP, at his risk and cost. No interest or compensation whatsoever shall be payable by the Authority on such encashment.
(d) Without prejudice to its rights of any other remedy, the Authority may encash the bank guarantee and forfeit the security deposit in case of any breach in terms & conditions of the registration by the OSP.
3. Extension of Registration for Sharing of Infrastructure
(a) Registration for such facility shall be for a period of 3 years. This may be extended for a further period, up to a maximum of 3 years after expiry.
(b) For extension of registration period beyond 3 years, the OSP shall submit such request for extension, along with extended validity period of the bank guarantee, 60 days prior to the expiry date, failing which the registration will lapse without notice.
(c) The decision of the Authority shall be final in regard to the grant of extension.
4. Technical Terms & Conditions for sharing of Infrastructure between International OSP & Domestic OSP
( A) OPTION 1
(Separate & Independent EPABX to be used for International & Domestic OSP Centres with sharing of same operator position)
1. Interconnectivity of the International OSP with Domestic OSP is not permitted.
2. The Domestic OSP centre and International OSP centre shall have non-sharing separate and independent EPABX, but may have the common operator position.
3. The OSP shall ensure that only one call shall be offered to the operator position at a time, be it domestic or international, incoming or outgoing.
4. No voice traffic shall flow between the Domestic and International OSP centres and/or cause bypass of the network of the Authorised Telecom Service Providers.
5. The OSP shall ensure that the system logs are tamper-proof and system logs are preserved, at least for six months. The Authority reserves the right to call for these system logs on demand and also inspect them at site.
( B) OPTION 2
(International & Domestic OSP Centres to share the common EPABX with logical partitioning)
1. Inter-connectivity of the International OSP with Domestic OSP/PSTN lines is not permitted.
2. The Company shall submit a certificate from the vendors of the equipment that the software is capable of logically bifurcating the common infrastructure into two/three (as applicable) separate and independent environments, for the Domestic OSP centre, International OSP centre and PSTN lines for office use.
3. The Company shall ensure complete logical separation between the activities of the Domestic OSP centre, International OSP centre and PSTN lines for office use. Logical separation should be such that no voice or data traffic shall flow among the Domestic and International OSP centres and PSTN lines for office use, and no bypass of the network of the Authorised Telecom Service Providers shall be caused. The OSP shall certify, before using the EPABX sharing facility, that logical partitioning, as per the terms and conditions of the OSP registration, has been implemented and shall remain implemented. The certificate shall be deposited with the concerned TERM Cell.
4. The OSP shall ensure that the system logs are tamper-proof and system logs are preserved, for at least one year. The Authority reserves the right to call for these system logs on demand and also inspect them at site.
5. The OSP’s shall maintain usage records [Call Detail Records (CDR’s) and Usage Data Records (UDR’s)] for a period of one year.
6. The OSP shall provide the CDR’s and UDR’s thus saved/stored, to the security agencies/DoT, as and when demanded
5 [as per amendment]. Use of distributed architecture of EPABX (main EPABX at a centralised location and media gateways at individual OSP centres) for their OSP centres across India. (The provisions, terms and conditions in OPTION 2 of sharing the infrastructure would apply. This includes submission of requisite bank guarantee).
(a) OSP’s can have a distributed architecture of EPABX (main EPABX at a centralised location and media gateways at individual OSP centers) for their OSP centres across India.
Under this arrangement, the configuration of call-restrictions, logical tenant-partitioning etc. may be carried out from the central EPABX. However, the media gateway/PBX at the remote end(s) shall maintain a copy of the configurations pertaining to logical separation, and keep it updated at a pre-defined periodicity.
(b) OSP’s would be required to preserve the CDR’s for all voice traffic carried using the EPABX. The CDR’s should be segregated for each media gateway. The CDR’s should be preserved for at least one year. It shall be made possible to view the CDR data, along with details of the agent manning the position, by remote login to the CDR machine/server. The time-stamp in the CDR’s in the system(s) of the OSP should be synchronised with lndian Standard Time.
(c) The log of all command(s) relevant to the implementation of partitioning/call-routing should be non-erasable & non-editable, and would be kept by the OSP in the EPABX server/media gateway for a minimum period of one year. The DoT may seek the command log at any time, in any form.
(d) List of commands (command-set) for the central EPABX/server/media gateway(s), along with their application and functional details are required to be submitted to the concerned TERM Cell. Any subsequent change in this command-set is also required to be intimated, within a week of its implementation, to the concerned TERM Cell.
(e) A schematic diagram, depicting the authorizations and call-flow permitted at remote location(s), and the partition/access table duly signed by the authorised signatory, shall be submitted to the TERM Cell. This shall include the details of barred access for remote location. Any subsequent change in the schematic diagram is also required to be intimated to the TERM Cell, within one week of its implementation. A copy of this shall be maintained at the OSP location.
(f) The OSP should get the network diagram approved by the Telecom Service Provider from whom the resources are taken.
(g) Apart from the above conditions, for availing this facility the following accessibility/tests are required to be extended to the TERM Cell(s) in which the OSP Centre is registered:
(i) Unhindered access to the premises and the system(s), for checking compliance with the terms & conditions of the OSP registration.
(ii) Login facility from a management terminal of server/media gateway, hosted in the OSP centre, to view, inter alia, the routing/partition-table/CDR’s and to check “call-trace” in the EPABX for extension(s).
(iii) Making test calls from any extension to any extension/PSTN number, and tracing such a call, to check if all routing restrictions are being followed.
(iv) Further in respect of the “Centralized EPABX Location”, the TERM Cell in whose jurisdiction it falls, shall also have unhindered access for checking any of the points mentioned above, for not only the central location, but also for other remote location(s).
(h) Further, for ensuring effective monitoring of such networks having distributed EPABX, apart from the TERM Cell in whose jurisdiction the OSP centre is located and the TERM Cell in whose jurisdiction the “Centralised EPABX“ is placed‘ may carry out periodic checks on the respective EPABX location(s) of the OSP as prescribed in clause(s) 1(x) to 1(x)(ii) of Chapter-ll of the terms & Conditions.
6. [as per amendment] Use of Closed User Group (CUG) for internal communication of the OSP company
Under this arrangement, a corporate extension number calling from City ‘A’ is able to access the extension of another City ‘B’ or City ‘C’. This is commonly termed as closed user group (CUG), meant for internal communications of the company. The interconnectivity of call centres is permitted for the same company, or same group of companies. Further, OSP’s are permitted to use the CUG facility for internal communication needs, subject to following conditions being fullfilled by the OSP:
(i) PSTN/PLMN/Internet telephony network is not to be connected with the CUG network. There should be no bypass of the NLD/ILD network while making PSTN/PLMN calls. EPABX extensions are allowed to call any national or international number (without bypass of the NLD/lLD network) through PSTN/PLMN lines, terminated in the EPABX, which has logical partitioning for CUG (i.e. CUG extension in City ‘A’ shall use the PSTN/PLMN network connectivity only of the licensed service area (LSA) encompassing City ‘A’, and not of any other LSA, for making or receiving calls to/from PSTN/PLMN).
(ii) For availing this facility, the necessary accessibility/tests enumerated in clause 5(b) to 5(g) above are also required to be extended to the TERM Cells.
(iii) OSP’s not using the sharing of infrastructure provision (sharing of EPABX, or sharing of operator position, or centralised EPABX architecture) would also be able to use the CUG facility.
7. Work from Home
The concept of Extended Agent Position (Work From Home) is permitted with the following conditions:
(i) The OSP operator shall submit the prescribed security deposit, with an agreement envisaging to meet certain obligations, like the exclusive use of home agent. The security deposit shall be Rs. One Crore for each registered location of the OSP from which Work From Home is extended. Any misuse of the Work-From-Home facility, beyond the terms of the agreement or otherwise, shall be treated as a violation of the terms & conditions of the OSP registration.
(ii) The agent at home shall be treated as ‘Extended Agent Position’ of the call centre and interconnection is permitted through authorised service providers provisioned (secured) VPN (PPVPN) which have pre-defined locations, i.e. home of the agent and OSP centre as the VPN end-user sites. Over and above PPVPN, the OSP may use its own security mechanism like authentication, authorisation and accounting at the same call-centre from which the connectivity has been extended to the home agent.
(iii) For obtaining permission from the DoT for Work From Home, the OSP shall submit complete details of Extended Agent Position(s) like the name & complete address, connectivity along with the name of the service-provider etc. as per the application form. All logs of the activities carried out by the extended agent should be maintained for one year. The IP addresses assigned on the VPN & the OSP centre in this regard should also be maintained for each extended agent position and should be produced whenever required by the DoT.
(iv) The Authority shall have the right to carry out periodic/surprise inspections of such establishments.
Chapter V
SECURITY CONDITIONS
1. Right to inspect
(i) The Authority, or its authorised representative, shall have the right to inspect sites used for extending the Service and, in particular but not limited to, the right to have access to the leased lines, junctions, terminating interfaces, hardware/software, memories of semiconductors, magnetic and optical varieties, wired or wireless options and distribution frames, and conduct performance tests, including to enter into dialogue with the system through input/output devices or terminals. The OSP will provide necessary facilities for continuous monitoring of the system, as required by the Authority or its authorized representative(s). The inspection will ordinarily be carried out after reasonable notice, except in circumstances where giving such a notice will defeat the very purpose of the inspection.
(ii) Wherever considered appropriate, the Authority may conduct any inquiry, either suo moto or on a complaint, to determine whether there has been any breach in compliance with the terms & conditions of the registration by the OSP, and upon such inquiry, the OSP shall extend all reasonable facilities without any hindrance.
2. Prohibition of certain activities by the OSP
(i) The OSP shall not engage, on the strength of this registration, in the provision of any other Service requiring a separate licence/permission.
(ii) The OSP shall take necessary measures to prevent objectionable, obscene, unauthorised, or any other content, messages or communications infringing copyright, intellectual property etc., in any form, from being carried on the network, consistent with the established laws of the country. Once specific instances of such infringement are reported to the OSP by the enforcement agencies, the OSP shall ensure that the carriage of such material on the network is prevented immediately.
3. Security Conditions
(i) The OSP shall make available, on demand, to the person authorised by the Authority, full access to their equipments for technical scrutiny and for inspection, which can be either visual inspection or an operational inspection.
(ii) The OSP will ensure that its equipment installations are not a safety hazard and is not in contravention of any statute, rule or regulation and public policy.
(iii) The OSP shall be required to provide the CDR’s of all specified calls handled by the system at specified periodicity, as and when required by the security agencies.
Chapter VI
MISCELLANEOUS
1. General
(1) The OSP shall abide by all conditions that may be imposed by the Authority from time to time.
(2) The OSP shall be responsible for any violation of the said rules by anyone, including but not limited to, its employees. The OSP shall also be responsible for the correctness of the information furnished.
(3) The Authority reserves the right to take appropriate action for any violation including cancellation of registration.
2. Arbitration
(1) In the event of any question, dispute or difference arising under this registration, or in connection thereof, except as to the matter, the decision of which is specifically provided elsewhere under this registration, the same shall be referred to the sole arbitrator appointed and nominated by the Authority and may be called, hereinafter the ‘Arbitral Tribunal’ who shall pronounce a reasoned award to settle the said dispute.
(2) The venue of Arbitration shall be New Delhi or as may be fixed by the Arbitral Tribunal anywhere in India.
(3) The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and rules framed thereunder or any modifications or re-enactment thereof made from time to time.