The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on July 07, 2026, issued the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employees' Service) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, further to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employees' Service) Regulations, 2001.
They shall come into force on July 11, 2026.
The following has been amended, namely:
• The amendment revises the definitions of dependents, family members, relatives, professional interest, relational interest, permitted and non-permitted investments, and establishes the Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC). Employees are now required to disclose negotiations for future employment within one month, while former employees are prohibited from appearing before or against SEBI in any quasi-judicial, settlement, or approval matter for two years after leaving the organization.
• The amendment also introduces comprehensive restrictions on investments by employees and their family members by prohibiting fresh investments in equity, equity-convertible instruments, and equity or commodity derivatives, while allowing specified exemptions such as professionally managed pooled investment vehicles, REITs, InvITs, employee stock options of spouses, and discretionary portfolio management services. Employees joining SEBI shall either liquidate, freeze, or follow approved mechanisms for disposing of existing non-permitted investments. Additionally, the gift acceptance threshold has been increased from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 for gifts received from any one person.
• Further, SEBI has introduced a detailed interest disclosure and recusal framework, requiring employees to periodically disclose information relating to family members, relatives, financial investments, liabilities, immovable properties, professional interests, rental contracts, and specified financial transactions. Employees shall recuse themselves from matters involving actual or perceived conflicts of interest arising from family, professional, relational, or investment interests, with a digital mechanism to record disclosures and recusals.
[Notification no. - SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/311]
