Union Budget 2025-26 (Full) + Finance Bill, 2025

VI. Simplified regime for fund managers based in IFSC

Section 9A inter alia provides that the fund management activity carried out through an eligible fund manager acting on behalf of eligible investment fund shall not constitute business connection in India, subject to the conditions mentioned therein.

2. One of the conditions at clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 9A inter alia provides that the eligible investment fund shall fulfil the condition that the aggregate participation or investment in the fund, directly or indirectly, by persons resident in India does not exceed five per cent of the corpus of the fund.

3. Sub-section (8A) of section 9A inter alia provides that the Central Government may by notification specify that any one or more of the conditions specified in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4), shall not apply or shall apply with such modifications, in case of an eligible investment fund and its eligible fund manager, if such fund manager is located in an IFSC and has commenced its operations on or before the 31st day of March, 2024.

4. It has been represented that there a need to provide a specific simplified regime for IFSC based fund managers, managing funds situated in other jurisdiction so that fund managers in IFSC are at par with the fund management entities in competing foreign jurisdiction.

5. It is proposed to amend the provisions of section 9A so that –

(I) The condition at clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 9A is rationalised for all the eligible investment funds whether or not their eligible fund managers are based in IFSC, by determining the aggregate participation or investment in the fund as on the 1st day of April and the 1st day of October of the previous year and in case the said condition at clause (c) is not satisfied on either of the said days, it shall be provided that it will satisfy the same condition within four months of the said days;

(II) In view of the rationalisation above, the condition at clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 9A shall not be modified for any eligible investment fund and its eligible fund manager; and

(III) The other conditions (a) to (m) can be relaxed for a eligible investment fund where the date of commencement of operations by its eligible fund manager located in IFSC for the purposes of sub-section (8A) of section 9A is on or before 31st day of March, 2030.

6. These amendments will take effect from the 1st day of April, 2025.

[Clause 5]

 

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Full Text:

Union Budget 2025-26 (Full) + Finance Bill, 2025

Business connection exemption for IFSC fund managers streamlined with timing relief and relaxed conditions for qualifying managers. Amendments to Section 9A rationalise the resident participation condition by testing aggregate participation on 1 April and 1 October of the previous year, with a four month period to cure deficiencies. Clause (c) will otherwise remain unmodified for all eligible funds and managers. Additionally, clauses (a)-(m) may be relaxed for eligible funds whose IFSC based eligible fund managers commenced operations on or before the specified commencement date under sub section (8A). The amendments take effect from 1 April 2025.