Mode of Payment to Investor Protection and Education Fund now restricted to online portal; exchanges must notify companies.
Payments to the Investor Protection and Education Fund must be made only via the designated online payment link on the regulator's website, accepting net banking, NEFT/RTGS, debit cards and UPI; remitters must provide payer name, PAN, mobile number, email, payment purpose and amount, and stock exchanges must notify listed companies of the change, effective immediately under statutory powers.

Abridged Prospectus format revised: issuers must adopt new disclosures, include QR links to prospectus and substantiate statements.
SEBI mandates a revised abridged prospectus format (Annex I) and investor instruction sheet (Annex II) for public issues of non convertible debt securities and non convertible redeemable preference shares opening on or after October 1, 2023, requiring issuers and intermediaries to host the abridged prospectus online, include QR codes linking to the prospectus, ensure disclosures are accurate and non misleading, substantiate qualitative statements with quantitative factors, and follow specified application eligibility, rejection grounds and basis of allotment procedures.

Information-sharing obligations for credit rating agencies require structured daily reporting of rating revisions to debenture trustees.
Credit rating agencies must use the prescribed structured data template for daily transmission of rating revisions to debenture trustees on the same day as the revision, via the generic regulatory email or other contact means communicated by trustees. This requirement is effective from October 01, 2023, and CRAs must report board-ratified compliance to SEBI within one quarter and include monitoring in the half-yearly internal audit under Regulation 22.

Cybersecurity requirements for market infrastructure institutions mandate immediate technical, governance and continuity controls with audit reporting.
SEBI mandates immediate compliance by MIIs with prescribed cybersecurity and cyber resilience measures, to be reported with statutory cybersecurity audits and implemented within 120 days. Required measures include encrypted offline backups tested quarterly; gold images and spare hardware for rapid rebuilds; vulnerability scanning and quarterly patch reviews; endpoint protection, application whitelisting, MFA, least privilege controls and privileged access management; secure Active Directory and domain controller practices with penetration testing; network and API whitelisting, DNS filtering and DNS Sec; detailed log retention; controlled remote access; SOPs to implement government cybersecurity advisories; business continuity drills including ransomware scenarios; and vendor/linked MII inclusion in recovery testing.

Cyber security obligations: Market infrastructure institutions must conduct regular cyber audits and submit CEO certification of controls.
MIIs must conduct comprehensive cyber audits at least twice each financial year and submit, with audit reports, an MD/CEO declaration certifying measures for vulnerability identification and closure (including incentive/disincentive structures), adequate Security Operations Center staffing, and compliance with SEBI cyber security circulars; MIIs identified as Critical Information Infrastructure must provide regular vulnerability update/closure status to the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, implement necessary amendments to bye laws and systems, and report implementation status to SEBI within thirty days, effective immediately.

FPI disclosure obligations require look through reporting of beneficial owners for FPIs exceeding concentration or aggregate AUM thresholds, triggering compliance and consequences.
Mandates look through reporting by FPIs that meet specified concentration or aggregate AUM criteria, requiring granular identification of all entities and natural persons with ownership, economic interest, or control, subject to exemptions for defined investor categories and independent validation by DDPs/custodians; sets timelines to realign holdings, prescribes account blocking, registration invalidation and exit procedures for non compliance, voting restrictions during exit, and requires operational SOPs, freeze codes and public repositories to monitor and enforce compliance.

KYC simplification: clients can open accounts once KYC completed; KRAs must promptly verify identity attributes.
Clients may open accounts once proof of identity and address are obtained; KRAs must verify PAN (including PAN-Aadhaar linkage), name and address within two days and also verify mobile number and email ID. Where PAN is exempt, other attributes must be verified. Records verified against official databases will be treated as Validated Records and be portable between intermediaries, with KRAs required to adopt uniform guidelines and integrate systems for transfer and validation.

Exit option window period redefined for change in control - shorter notice generally, extended notice for scheme consolidation or merger.
Unitholders must be offered an option to exit at the prevailing Net Asset Value (NAV) without any exit load within a period not less than 15 calendar days from the date of communication, except where change in control results in consolidation or merger of schemes, in which case the exit option period is not less than 30 calendar days; all other provisions remain unchanged and AMCs must implement changes within one month.

Prior approval for change in control: SEBI prescribes online application, disclosures and fit and proper compliance for intermediaries.
Intermediaries such as Merchant Bankers and Bankers to an Issue must obtain prior approval from SEBI for change in control via the SI Portal, submitting specified disclosures including current and proposed shareholding, past regulatory actions, investor complaints, litigation, fee confirmation and a stamped declaration undertaking board continuity, investor notification and compliance with the fit and proper criteria; additional exchange/clearing/depository approvals apply where relevant, and special procedures govern changes effected through NCLT sanctioned schemes requiring SEBI in principle approval followed by final approval on submission of the NCLT order and related documents.

Listing timeline reduction expedites public issue listing and imposes PAN matching and registrar verification requirements for applicants.
The circular mandates reduction of the listing timeline for specified securities in public issues to T+3 days, prescribing detailed cut-offs and sequencing for application submission, bid validation, UPI mandate reconciliation, finalisation of allotment, fund transfer/unblocking, corporate action for share credit, listing application filing and trading commencement. It requires disclosure of the T+3 timeline in offer documents and advertisements, SCSB PAN matching before ASBA blocking, registrar third party PAN verification with invalidation for mismatches, operational lock in per ICDR and depository SOPs, and recalculation of compensation for delayed unblocking from T+3; applicability includes voluntary and mandatory adoption windows.

Erroneous transfer reversal: OTP exemption permitted after committee review, with hearing, written reasons, and email notification to transferee.
Establishes an operational mechanism permitting exemption from OTP for reversal of erroneous demat transfers, requiring depositories to form internal and joint committees headed by a Public Interest Director (minimum three members). Committees must examine documentary evidence, give both parties a hearing, record written reasons, and decisions must be acted upon with email notification to the transferee. Depositories must also implement beneficiary add-and-verify facilities, amend bye-laws, publish SOPs, and report implementation status to the regulator.

RFQ platform participation requirement increases FPI secondary corporate bond trades via quotes, enhancing liquidity and disclosure.
FPIs must execute a minimum proportion of their total secondary market corporate bond trades by value through stock exchanges' RFQ platform by placing or seeking quotes, measured quarterly, to enhance RFQ liquidity and disclosure; the requirement is effective from October 01, 2023 and issued under SEBI's statutory powers and relevant FPI regulations.

Online dispute resolution requirement: market participants must enrol on the ODR Portal and follow amended procedural rules.
All Market Participants must enrol on the ODR Portal within prescribed timelines, with enrolment and electronic execution of terms with MIIs and ODR Institutions deemed complete at the end of those timelines; investors must first pursue redress with the Market Participant and through SCORES before initiating ODR, and disputes pending before courts, tribunals, arbitral processes, consumer forums, non-arbitrable matters or those affected by insolvency proceedings are excluded.

Commodity derivatives master circular consolidates SEBI rules on trading, products, risk management, disclosures and tech resilience.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates and updates the regulatory framework for the commodity derivatives segment, rescinding specified prior circulars while preserving prior actions and pending applications, and mandates compliance by recognized stock exchanges and clearing corporations. It prescribes operational norms (trading hours, transaction charges, UCC/PAN, disclosures), product governance (eligibility, PAC oversight, contract approval), risk management (DPL, position limits, margining, SGF, stress testing, cross margin) and participant, technology and cyber resilience standards, including an SOP and tiered financial disincentive for technical glitches and disaster recovery failures.

Validity period for overseas investment approvals shortened to four months, requiring quicker utilisation or reallocation of unutilised limits.
Prior approvals for overseas investments granted to Alternative Investment Funds and Venture Capital Funds must be utilised within four months of grant; unutilised limits may be reallocated to other applicants, and the reduced timeframe applies prospectively to approvals issued after the circular.

Offer for Sale framework permits OFS of units in private listed InvITs with one day open, excluding retail participation.
Amendment permits an Offer for Sale mechanism for units of private listed InvITs, aligning REIT/InvIT OFS with the equity OFS framework; trading lots for listed InvIT OFS must match secondary market trading lots, retail investor provisions do not apply for private listed InvITs, and such OFS shall remain open only for one day. Exchanges must implement systems, amend rules and notify market participants; the amendment is effective immediately.

Audit of firm-level performance data requires annual audit, standard ToR, inclusion of all clients, and regulator submission.
Portfolio Managers must perform an annual firm-level performance audit including all clients' portfolios across discretionary and non-discretionary services; advisory clients may be excluded only if their performance is not reported or published. APMI will prescribe standardised Terms of Reference, which are mandatory from October 01, 2023. Portfolio Managers must submit a certified confirmation of compliance and the audit report to the regulator within sixty days of the financial year end, with certification by directors, partners or authorised persons.

Trading Preferences applicability: exclusive commodity derivatives members may use FMC format; brokers must obtain written negative consent records.
The circular exempts members exclusively of commodity derivatives exchanges from the revised Trading Preferences format and requires them to use the FMC consent format listing national commodity exchanges where clients sign for permitted exchanges, with separate consent for later additions. Brokers must provide an opt-out facility to new and existing clients, obtain written negative consent separately, and retain such records for at least five years. Exchanges must notify brokers, amend rules, monitor compliance via half-yearly audits and inspections, and report implementation monthly to SEBI.

Online dispute resolution via a common ODR portal enables time bound conciliation and arbitration for securities market disputes.
Establishes a common Online Dispute Resolution Portal operated by Market Infrastructure Institutions with empaneled ODR Institutions to provide time bound online conciliation and arbitration for investor and market participant disputes, prescribing enrollment, allocation by round robin, conciliator/arbitrator appointment and timelines, standardized fees and deposit rules, monitoring and enforcement by MIIs, empanelment and training norms, confidentiality and code of conduct, MIS reporting, and phased implementation with supersession of earlier circulars.

Online Dispute Resolution: standardized ODR Portal for securities market disputes enabling time bound conciliation and arbitration.
SEBI mandates a common ODR Portal operated by Market Infrastructure Institutions and empaneled independent ODR Institutions to deliver time bound online conciliation and online arbitration for investor disputes with listed companies and specified intermediaries. The scheme prescribes initiation rules requiring prior internal redressal/SCORES escalation, a market wide round robin allocation subject to transitional linkages, defined conciliator/arbitrator appointment timelines, conciliation and arbitration procedural timelines and extensions, monitoring and enforcement by MIIs of settlements and awards, uniform fee schedules and empanelment, training and conduct norms for ODR Institutions and panels, and phased implementation with Board oversight, audit and data security obligations.