New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), extending the review cycle to eight years for eligible investors and removing certain registration-related compliance requirements to reduce paperwork and promote ease of doing business, the market regulator said in a circular on Friday, news agency ANI reported.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

Under the existing framework, FPIs were required to undergo periodic KYC reviews every one or three years, depending on their jurisdiction, category and regulatory status. Under the revised framework, Category I FPIs from non-high-risk jurisdictions will undergo KYC reviews once every eight years, ANI reported. Informist reported the same change on Friday, saying SEBI had increased the KYC review period for FPIs to two to eight years, up from as low as one year currently, depending on the risk profile of the investor, with the eased norms effective December 1.

Source: Informist Media

8 yearsLongest new KYC review cycle, for eligible Category I and regulated Category II FPIs
1 December 2026Date the revised framework comes into force
2 yearsReview cycle for other Category II and most high-risk-jurisdiction FPIs
10 yearsUnchanged review cycle for SWAGAT-FI investors

For Category I FPIs from high-risk jurisdictions, those registered under Regulation 5(a)(i) will also be eligible for an eight-year review cycle, while other investors in this category will undergo reviews every two years. Regulated Category II FPIs from non-high-risk jurisdictions will be subject to KYC reviews every eight years, while other Category II investors will continue with reviews every two years; Category II FPIs from high-risk jurisdictions will also complete reviews every two years, according to the circular reported by ANI.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

SEBI clarified that the existing review requirements for government securities-only FPIs (GS-FPIs) and SWAGAT-FI (Single Window Automatic and Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors) FPIs will remain unchanged: GS-FPI reviews will continue to follow the periodicity applicable to their bank accounts under Reserve Bank of India guidelines, while SWAGAT-FI FPIs will retain their 10-year review cycle.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

Apart from extending the review period, SEBI has also removed the requirement for FPIs to intimate changes in previously submitted information or provide a no-change declaration at the time of continuing their registration. FPIs seeking to continue their registration for another three-year period — or 10 years in the case of SWAGAT-FI — will pay the applicable fees to their Designated Depository Participants, and must pay the continuance fee at least 15 days before the current validity of their registration expires, the regulator said.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse