The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 23, 2026, notified measures to ease doing business, including relaxations in certain reporting requirements for certain stock brokers and the removal of the requirement to report demat accounts.
The following has been stated:
• It has amended provisions relating to enhanced supervision of stock brokers and depository participants under the Master Circular dated June 17, 2025, to simplify compliance and improve regulatory efficiency. The circular clarifies that brokers who are also banks or primary dealers are required to report only those bank and demat accounts used for stock broking activities, and are exempt from tagging/reporting accounts used for other activities.
• It also introduces clearer rules for naming/tagging of accounts, reporting timelines (within 7 days for opening/closure of bank accounts), and mandates coordination between stock exchanges and depositories for sharing demat account details.
• Non-compliance will attract penal action.
• These amendments aim to ease compliance burden and harmonize reporting requirements, and will come into effect from April 17, 2026.
[Notification no. - HO/38/11/(1)2026-MIRSD-POD/I/7656/2026]
