Market intermediaries can now register online with Sebi portal

New Delhi: Stock brokers, merchant bankers and other market intermediaries can now register online, with regulator Sebi operationalising a portal for the purpose.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has operationalised the portal for intermediaries to submit all the registration applications online.

In a circular, the watchdog said the portal has been operationalised for eight categories of market intermediaries.

They are stock brokers, sub-brokers, merchant bankers, underwriters, registrar to an issue and share transfer agents, debenture trustees, bankers to an issue and credit rating agency.

The portal would include "online application for registration, processing of application, grant of final registration, application for surrender/ cancellation, submission of periodical reports, requests for change of name/ address/ other details."

The intermediary portal would be operational for depository participants from May 31, the circular said.

"Henceforth, all applications for registration/ surrender/ other requests shall be made through Sebi intermediary portal only," it said.

The applications in respect of stock brokers, sub-broker and depository participants would continue to be made through the stock exchanges and depositories, it added.

"The applicants will be separately required to submit relevant documents viz declarations/ undertakings required as a part of application forms prescribed in relevant regulations, in physical form, only for records without impacting the online processing of applications for registration," the circular said.

Presenting the Budget for 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced that the process of registration of financial market intermediaries would be made fully online by Sebi.