Staggered Delivery Period in Commodity futures contracts

Staggered delivery period standardised to ensure fair allocation, mandatory delivery procedures and prompt pay-in/pay-out timelines.

SEBI mandates a minimum five working day staggered delivery period for all compulsory delivery commodity futures, permits exchanges to set longer periods based on factors like historical open interest and near expiry volume, and requires exchanges to publish criteria for longer durations. During the period sellers/buyers may submit intentions; exchanges shall allocate daily intentions to buyers with open long positions by random allocation (with limited preference for declared takers). Pay-in/pay-out for allocated deliveries must occur within two working days; post expiry open positions result in compulsory delivery at the Final Settlement Price with pay-in/pay-out by the second working day. Pre expiry margin must commence by the start of the staggered period and changes apply to contracts expiring after three months.