SEBI Enables KRA Information Sharing With IFSCA-Regulated Entities in New August 20 Circular
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has allowed entities regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to access the systems of SEBI-registered KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) for carrying out KYC of their clients. The change was made by SEBI Circular No. HO/38/15/(7)2026-MIRSD-POD/I/19255/2026 dated 20 August 2026, addressed to all KRAs, and took effect immediately.
What the circular does
Regulation 16A(1) of the SEBI (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations, 2011 lets entities regulated by other financial sector regulators, as specified by SEBI, access the KRA system for undertaking KYC. Through the circular, SEBI has specified IFSCA as such a regulator. The stated aim is interoperability: information held by SEBI-registered KRAs can now be shared with IFSCA-regulated entities in GIFT IFSC.
The circular was issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992 read with Regulation 16A(1) of the KRA Regulations.
Conditions for IFSCA-regulated entities
Access comes with three conditions set out in the circular:
- every entity accessing a KRA system must follow the provisions of the SEBI KRA Regulations that apply to undertaking KYC of clients;
- it must follow SEBI's Master Circular on Know Your Client (KYC) norms for the securities market dated 12 October 2023, as amended from time to time;
- where the client is a Foreign Portfolio Investor, it must also follow the data security guidelines in SEBI's Master Circular for Foreign Portfolio Investors dated 30 May 2024.
The circular does not prescribe any fee or implementation timeline. It applies from its date of issue.
How it fits with IFSCA's own KRA rules
IFSCA has its own framework in the IFSCA (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations, 2025, notified as F. No. IFSCA/GN/2025/004 dated 11 April 2025. Under those regulations:
- a KRA in the IFSC must be a company set up in the IFSC with a net worth of at least USD 1 million at all times;
- eligible applicants include wholly owned subsidiaries of stock exchanges or depositories and of SEBI-regulated KRA-type entities, and a branch of a SEBI-regulated KRA-type entity may also register;
- regulated entities must upload KYC information to the KRA system within 3 working days of completing KYC, unless IFSCA specifies another timeline;
- Regulation 24 provides for connectivity among IFSC KRAs and allows connectivity with KRAs registered with other financial sector regulators to achieve interoperability.
SEBI's circular supplies the matching permission from the mainland side, so that KYC records already on SEBI-registered KRAs can be used by entities operating in GIFT IFSC.
Who should act
- SEBI-registered KRAs, which need to enable access for IFSCA-regulated entities on the terms of the circular.
- Brokers, fund managers, banking units and other IFSCA-regulated entities that onboard clients who already have KYC records with a SEBI KRA.
- Compliance, AML and onboarding teams, and the CAs and advisers who review KYC processes for GIFT IFSC entities.
Access to KRA data does not replace an entity's own client due diligence, record-keeping and reporting duties. Firms should map their onboarding process to the 2023 KYC Master Circular, apply the FPI data security guidelines where relevant, and keep audit trails of every KRA record fetched and used.
Updated on 27 September 2026: Verified against the SEBI circular text; added the legal basis under Regulation 16A(1), the three conditions for access, the immediate effective date and the matching provisions of the IFSCA (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations, 2025.
