Disablement of trading member: immediate freeze of accounts and expedited forensic audit to protect non-defaulting clients.
On triggering early warning signals or specified criteria indicating likely default by a Trading Member/Clearing Member, the initiating Stock Exchange shall seek explanations, conduct a limited-purpose joint inspection, and may direct disablement of the trading terminal. Exchanges shall notify clearing corporations, depositories and banks; depositories shall freeze demat accounts and suspend POAs; banks shall freeze member bank accounts on exchange instruction. CMs/CCs shall square off or liquidate open positions, encash collateral and invoke guarantees, while a forensic audit and asset-liability assessment are conducted to enable interim settlement of client claims and subsequent default proceedings under bye-laws.

Compliance deadline extension for REITs and InvITs grants an additional month for regulatory filings and compliances.
SEBI amended earlier relief to grant REITs and InvITs an additional one-month extension for regulatory filings and compliances for the period ending March 31, 2020 beyond previously extended timelines, effective immediately, and directed stock exchanges to notify and disseminate the circular.

Relaxation of compliance timelines extended for depository participants and RTAs, allowing backlog clearance after exclusion period.
The circular extends regulatory timelines for DPs and RTAs by treating the period from March 23, 2020 to July 31, 2020 as a period of exclusion for specified compliance activities and allows a 15 day period after July 31, 2020 to clear backlogs. Extended activities include processing demat request forms by issuers/RTAs and participants, submission of half yearly Internal Audit Reports for the half year ended March 31, 2020, redressal of investor grievances, transmission of securities, and closure of demat accounts. Reporting deadlines for AI/ML disclosures by Trading Members and Clearing Members are likewise extended, with all other prior conditions remaining in force.

Collection of stamp duty on AIF units: RTAs to collect for non-exchange transactions; AIFs must appoint RTAs and safeguard funds.
Registrars to an Issue and/or Share Transfer Agents are designated as collecting agents for stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act for AIF unit transactions outside recognised exchanges or depositories; RTAs already appointed must collect stamp duty, and AIFs without RTAs must appoint them promptly. Until appointment, AIFs shall hold applicable stamp duty in a designated bank account for transfer to RTAs for onward remittance; dematerialised transactions through exchanges or depositories continue to be subject to collection by those entities.

Extension of compliance timeline for portfolio manager guidelines; provisions now deferred and will apply from the revised effective date.
SEBI has deferred the applicability of the Guidelines for Portfolio Managers by a further three months, making the provisions of the earlier circular applicable with effect from October 01, 2020. The deferment responds to market conditions and requests from portfolio managers and is issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992, coming into force with immediate effect; the circular is published on the SEBI website under relevant categories.

Relaxation of meeting gap extended; boards and audit committees must still meet at least four times annually.
Relaxation of the maximum permitted interval between consecutive board and Audit Committee meetings is extended to cover meetings up to July 31, 2020, while requiring boards and audit committees of listed entities to hold at least four meetings per year; stock exchanges must notify listed entities and disseminate the circular, which takes immediate effect and is issued under SEBI's regulatory powers subject to the Companies Act and related rules.

Extension of filing deadline for Annual Secretarial Compliance Report to July 31 due to COVID 19; exchanges to notify.
Extension of timeline for submission of the Annual Secretarial Compliance Report by listed entities is granted for one additional month to July 31, 2020, following representations received and continuing operational difficulties due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The Circular is effective immediately and requires Recognized Stock Exchanges to notify and disseminate the extension to all listed entities that have issued specified securities.

Order-to-trade ratio limits for algorithmic trading: higher OTR slabs allowed with deterrent penalties and temporary cooling-off.
SEBI allows stock exchanges to introduce higher OTR penalty slabs with deterrent incremental penalties and requires a cooling-off measure whereby a member recording three instances of OTR at or above the higher threshold within a rolling thirty-day period is prohibited from placing orders for the first fifteen minutes of the next trading day; exchanges must amend their byelaws, rules or regulations as needed.

Extension of filing deadline for listed entities' financial results due to COVID-19; regulator grants further compliance relief.
The timeline for submission of quarterly and annual financial results for the period ending 31 March 2020 under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements is extended by one month; the same extension applies to entities with listed non convertible debt instruments and similar securities for half yearly and annual submissions. The circular takes immediate effect and stock exchanges are directed to notify and disseminate the extension, issued under the regulator's statutory powers and applicable listing regulations.

Temporary relaxation in FPI document processing extended under regulatory authority; DDPs and custodians must notify clients.
Temporary relaxation in processing of documents pertaining to FPIs is extended to August 31, 2020, with all other terms and conditions of the March 30, 2020 circular remaining unchanged; DDPs and custodians are required to notify their FPI clients and to continue applying the authorized relaxed document acceptance and verification measures under the regulator's powers to protect investors and accommodate AML record keeping flexibility.

Defaulted debt securities: transactions permitted after issuer or debenture trustee intimation, with mandatory disclosure and timelines.
Issuers must promptly intimate payment status of debt securities; Stock Exchanges suspend trading two working days before redemption and Depositories restrict transfers on and after maturity until status is determined. If issuers do not notify, Debenture Trustees shall assess and report payment status within nine working days of maturity. Upon intimation of default, Depositories and Exchanges shall lift restrictions within two working days, flag the ISIN as "ISIN-defaulted in redemption," disseminate the status, permit reporting of OTC trades with explicit default warnings, and notify account holders of the defaulted status.

Virtual unitholder meetings permitted; framework ensures two-way participation, remote e-voting, transcript publication and safeguards.
InvITs and REITs may hold unitholder meetings via video conferencing or other audio visual means under a specified procedural framework: maintain and upload meeting transcripts; ensure two way participation with capacity for at least one thousand unitholders or actual unitholder count; provide remote e voting before the meeting and e voting during the meeting for eligible present unitholders; chairperson to record that reasonable efforts were made to enable participation; at least one independent director and the auditor or authorised representative must attend; notices must disclose access instructions, e voting procedures for unregistered email holders, helpline details, and be posted on the InvIT/REIT website and stock exchanges where listed.

Extension of compliance timelines for intermediaries extends multiple reporting and certification deadlines and limited exemptions.
SEBI extends timelines for compliance by trading members, clearing members and depository participants: key reporting and certification obligations - including client funding reporting, AI/ML reporting, margin trading compliance certificates, internal audit and net worth certificates, call recordings, enhanced supervision submissions and KYC uploads to KRA systems - are deferred, generally to July 31, 2020; PAN updates for key personnel are allowed three months from the due date. Other conditions of the prior circulars continue to apply and exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories must disseminate these extensions.

Audit of PPM compliance required annually, with findings reported to trustees, manager and SEBI within six months.
SEBI requires an annual Audit of PPM compliance at each financial year-end, with audit findings and corrective steps reported to the Trustee/Board/Designated Partners, the Manager's Board and SEBI within six months; AIFs that have not raised funds must instead submit a Chartered Accountant's certificate of no fund-raising within the same period. For 2019-20 the compliance deadline is December 31, 2020. Associations representing at least one-third of AIFs may notify Benchmarking Agencies for mandatory AIF benchmarking agreements, and the timeline for initial industry benchmarks and AIF performance-versus-benchmark reports is extended to October 1, 2020.

Sponsor investment requirement mandates placement into growth option, with alternate dividend options specified, effective immediately.
The sponsor or asset management company must make the prescribed minimum investment in the scheme's growth option; if growth is unavailable, the investment must be made in the dividend reinvestment option, and if that is unavailable then in the dividend option. The specification is effective immediately and issued under the regulator's powers to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Fast Track FPO eligibility relaxations permit a reduced offer-size threshold and disclosure-based exceptions for regulatory and audit matters.
Temporary relaxations permit issuers satisfying modified Regulation 155 criteria to use the fast track FPO route by reducing the minimum offer size threshold; requiring specific disclosures for show-cause or prosecution proceedings and their potential adverse impacts; recognising fulfilment of settlement terms where SEBI consent or settlement mechanisms were used; and mandating disclosure or restatement of audited accounts to reflect quantifiable audit qualifications, with appropriate disclosure where impact cannot be ascertained.

Relaxation of listing timelines for debt securities extended to ease disclosure and issuance compliance during the pandemic.
SEBI grants a relaxation of timelines for listing Non-Convertible Debentures, Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares and Commercial Papers by extending the permissible issuance date tied to financials as of September 30, 2019; the amendment revises Clause 5 of the earlier COVID-19 relief circular, is subject to the Companies Act and rules, requires stock exchanges to notify listed entities and takes immediate effect.

Regulatory sandbox allows SEBI-registered entities to live-test FinTech solutions with limited exemptions, reporting and revocation safeguards.
SEBI's Regulatory Sandbox permits SEBI registered entities to live test FinTech solutions on limited real customers under safeguards. Applicants must satisfy eligibility criteria-innovation, need for live testing, prior offline testing, user benefits, risk management, testing readiness and post test deployment plans-and submit a CEO certified application. SEBI reviews suitability within 30 working days, determines test conditions, and may grant testing authorisation for up to 12 months. Selective regulatory relaxations or a limited certificate of registration may be granted, but core investor protection, KYC and AML requirements remain non derogable. Reporting, record keeping and revocation provisions apply.

Mutual fund physical holdings restricted; disposal timelines required for gold/silver and other commodities under new rules.
SEBI restricts mutual fund schemes from investing in physical goods except in gold via Gold ETFs, but permits holding underlying goods only when physical settlement of exchange-traded commodity derivatives occurs; such holdings must be disposed of within prescribed timelines-gold and silver within 180 days, and other commodities by the immediate next expiry day of the same contract series or, if the Final Expiry Date precedes that, within 30 days-while all other conditions of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

Relaxation of filing timelines for alternative and venture capital funds allowing delayed submission of specified monthly regulatory filings.
AIFs and VCFs may submit regulatory filings for the months ending March, April, May and June 2020 on or before August 07, 2020, under the authority of Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, with immediate effect; the Circular is published on the regulator's website under Legal Framework and Circulars.