The proposed paperless mechanism will also be made available for submission of inspection and action taken reports, periodic filings and payment of fees for all kinds of market intermediaries, a senior official said.
So far, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has implemented online registration mechanism for commodity derivative brokers and a similar system is underway for equity market brokers, while such facilities would be extended for all kinds of market intermediaries soon, he added.
The proposed system would help make it easier for the existing and new market intermediaries to complete their registration and other regulatory filings with Sebi much faster and in a cost-effective way.
The entities that need to get registered with Sebi to do business include brokers, merchant bankers, debenture trustees, mutual funds, domestic and foreign portfolio managers, rating agencies, registrar and share transfer agents, alternative investment funds, depository participants, investor associations, research analysts, venture capital funds and collective investment schemes, among others.
It is mandatory for such entities to get registered with Sebi before doing business to ensure that the investors’ interest is safeguarded.
Sebi is estimated to have earned an income of about Rs 350 crore in fees from intermediaries during 2015-16, which it expects to rise to Rs 393 crore in the current fiscal largely due to increase in the number of entities.
