PART 1 : Sec. (1) GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA 29.03.1999
	1.1.3	As part of its licence obligations, SLTL must act expeditiously to provide itemized billing in all exchanges completing exchanges in Metropolitan Colombo by 31 st December, 1999 and exchanges in the entire island by 31st December, 2000. The conditions for providing the itemized bills are specified within this order.
	1.2	The Committee of Inquiry orders that itemized bills shall be provided subject to the following conditions
	1.2.1	Each fixed access operator is obliged to provide itemized information regarding each of the services specified in the relevant licence condition and is encouraged to present this information to the subscriber in an easily understandable fashion. Each operator is encouraged to maintain a mechanism for obtaining consumer complaints and suggestions regarding the presentation of the invoice.
	1.2.2	Each fixed access operator shall provide itemized information on the charges for messages costing Rs. 15 and above (excluding taxes), free of charge to all subscribers. Subscribers may decline this facility in writing and the operator shall honour such request with effect from the subsequent bill. The threshold for free itemization will remain unchanged until and unless the Commission changes it. An operator may petition the Commission to revise the threshold for free itemization.
	1.2.3	Each fixed access operator shall offer itemized information for all messages to any subscriber on request. The tariffs for this service shall be submitted to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission for approval or information per each operator's licence conditions.
	1.2.4	Each fixed access operator shall offer up to three complete itemized bills, including details of calls below the threshold specified in paragraph 1.2.2 above, per year to a subscriber who has a billing dispute with the operator. The subscriber may be charged the current tariff for itemized bills beyond this limit. The subscriber must request the bills in writing clearly stating the relation to the billing dispute. The availability of up to three free itemized bills must be stated in the operator's written procedures re billing disputes that shall be made available to subscribers.
	1.2.5	SLTL shal1 submit a schedule for the implementation of itemized billing conforming to paragraph 1.1 of this I order to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission by 30th April, 1999, specifying implementation by individual exchange. The Commission has the discretion under the provisions of the Act and the conditions of the licence to approve or modify the schedule. Conditions 1.2.1 1.2.4 above shall come into effect for the respective exchanges on the dates specified in the approved schedule. Conditions 1.2.1 1.2.4 above shall come into effect for Suntel and Lanka Bell on June 30, 1 999 or at an earlier date set by the operator.
	1.3	Reasons for Order on Provision of Itemized Information I'hrough a large number of written submissions as well as through oral evidence before the Committee, subscribers strongly argued for itemized bills. The explicit licence conditions mandating the provision of itemized billing information (Condition 23 for Suntel and Lanka Bell and Condition 25 for SLTL) were also taken into account by the Committee of Inquiry. The Suntel and Lanka Bell licence set out absolute requirements. " The Operator shall be obliged under paragraph 23.1 to specify charges for each message separately in invoices " (paragraph 23.2 of Licence). The parallel obligation for SLTL is conditional " The Operator shall not be obliged under paragraph 25.1 to specify charges for each message separately in invoices until it has installed the necessary billing system in the area in which the service to which the invoice relates,is provided. The Operator shall consult with the Authority [Commission] on measures for installation of such billing system " (paragraph 25.2 of Licence). It must be noted that the SLTL licence was issued in 1991 and that no action to comply with the condition had been taken for more than seven years. In the course of the Public hearing, SLTL voluntarily committed to providing itemized billing in a phased manner, starting around April 1999 in certain Colombo exchanges. The specific reasons for the order regarding itemized information are
	1.3.1	The licence conditions specify itemized billing, the Committee of Inquiry must act within the framework of the licence conditions. ,
	1.3.2	It is clear from the public submissions that there is almost universal distrust of the billing currently provided by SLTL. While it is possible that the distrust is not based on accurate facts and that there is less fraud and error in the system than is suggested by the public comments, it is imperative that action be taken to build trust, which is an essential element of any service_ relationship. While costly to the environment, the operator, and the subscriber, there is no better option than increasing the transparency of the process through the provision of itemized information on calls.