Sebi eases KYC norms for NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals, allows digital onboarding from overseas

The move is aimed at reducing compliance requirements for overseas investors seeking to access the securities markets.

The regulator said individuals residing in countries compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) can submit KYC information and supporting documents digitally without being physically present in the country. The existing requirement that clients must be located in India during digital KYC had restricted overseas investors from completing the process remotely.

The regulator has also made KYC records portable across intermediaries, even if every individual attribute in the record has not been validated.

KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) will tag individual attributes as validated when they have been verified against official or source databases.

Intermediaries will also be allowed to rely on KYC undertaken by other Sebi-registered intermediaries or entities regulated by other financial sector regulators, based on records available with KRAs or the Central KYC Records Registry. However, the intermediary onboarding the client will retain ultimate responsibility for KYC and enhanced due diligence.

The regulator has also eased documentation requirements. Intermediaries can verify PAN details through the Income Tax database without insisting on the original PAN card or a physical copy. Overseas addresses will be accepted as proof of address. Where physical in-person verification is not feasible, intermediaries can undertake Video In-Person Verification (VIPV).