Sebi eases FPI compliance, extends KYC review period from December 1
Mumbai, Oct 30, 2026
Sebi has extended KYC review intervals for certain foreign portfolio investors to two or eight years and removed a separate disclosure requirement, effective December 1
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday rationalised the periodicity of know-your-customer (KYC) reviews for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), as part of measures to reduce repetitive compliance requirements.
According to the regulator, the revised framework increases the periodicity from one year to two years, and from three years to eight years, for specified categories of FPIs.
The revised framework will come into effect from December 1.
The regulator also announced that it would be doing away with the separate requirement for FPIs, other than those investing only in government securities, to intimate changes in previously submitted information or provide a no-change declaration at the time of continuation of registration.
Under the revised norms, the frequency of KYC review will depend on the jurisdiction, category and regulated status of the FPI.
For FPIs in non-high-risk jurisdictions, the review period will be eight years for Category-I investors. For Category-II investors, regulated entities will be subject to review every eight years, while others will have to undergo it every two years.
For Category-I FPIs in high-risk jurisdictions, the review will be required every eight years for those registered under Regulation 5(a)(i) (government and government-related investors), and every two years for others. For Category-II FPIs in high-risk jurisdictions, the review will be every two years.
The periodicity applicable to FPIs investing only in government securities (GS-FPIs) and single window automatic and generalised access for trusted foreign investors (SWAGAT-FI) FPIs will remain unchanged.
For SWAGAT-FI FPIs, the KYC review period will continue to be 10 years. For GS-FPIs, the review will continue to follow the periodicity applicable to their respective bank accounts, as prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Sebi has also modified the provisions on continuation of registration. FPIs wishing to continue their registration for the subsequent block of three years will have to pay the fees to their designated depository participant (DDP). For SWAGAT-FI FPIs, the block is 10 years. The fees must be paid at least 15 days before the existing validity expires, to facilitate a smooth continuation process.
Depositories, custodians and DDPs have been asked to make the necessary changes in their systems and processes and bring them to the notice of the FPIs concerned.
The regulator said the measure seeks to rationalise requirements of a similar nature, reduce repetitive compliance and ease the compliance burden on FPIs. The move is part of its broader effort to reduce procedural requirements and provide a seamless, transparent and investor-friendly environment for FPIs, it said.
[The Business Standard]
