The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on August 4, 2026, issued a Consultation Paper seeking public comments on a proposed regulatory framework for the issuance of Depository Receipts (DRs) against units of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Publicly Listed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). Stakeholders have been invited to submit comments by August 25, 2026.
The consultation paper notes that while the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014 and the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 already permit the issuance of DRs against eligible securities, including units of REITs and InvITs, the SEBI REIT Regulations and InvIT Regulations presently lack an enabling provision for such issuances. SEBI has therefore proposed amending these regulations to expressly permit the issuance of DRs for REITs and Publicly Listed InvITs, while excluding Privately Listed InvITs due to their investor eligibility and trading lot restrictions.
The consultation paper further proposes inserting enabling provisions in the REIT and InvIT Regulations and introducing a detailed operational framework through a SEBI circular, largely based on the existing framework for equity depository receipts. The proposal aims to provide foreign investors with an additional investment avenue by enabling trading of REIT and InvIT-backed DRs in foreign currency on permitted international exchanges, thereby facilitating greater foreign capital participation in India's REIT and InvIT markets.
