The DoT, by way of Notification dated August 31, 2023, has mandated licensees to register Point of Sale (‘PoS’), namely, each franchisee, agent and distributor who are hired by them for enrolling customers as per the license conditions. The process of registration includes: (i) obtaining prescribed documents and information from PoS; (ii) authenticating PoS using biometrics; (iii) undertaking physical verification of PoS addresses; (iv) assigning unique PoS ID; (v) maintaining an online-supply chain management of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards; and (vi) usage of advanced information technology tools to detect unusual or suspected activities of PoS or customers. These instructions will come into effect from October 01, 2023, and any enrolment of customer by PoS without registration from the effective date will attract a penalty of INR 10 lakh (approx. US$ 12,000) per PoS, per instance.