Sebi revises charges related to basic services demat account

Annual maintenance charges levied on debt securities held through basic services demat accounts will be revised from June 1, according to Sebi.

The move is expected to further boost participation of retail investors in the debt market.

Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) offers limited services at a lower cost for retail investors.

"Based on representation received from market participants... it has been decided to revise the structure of charges for debt securities," Sebi said in a circular on Wednesday.

For debt securities worth up to Rs 1 lakh held through BSDA, there would no annual maintenance charge. A maximum charge of Rs 100 would be levied if the value of holdings is above Rs 1 lakh and up to Rs 2 lakh.

The revised charges would be effective from June 1.

Currently, a uniform annual maintenance charge of Rs 100 is levied on securities worth over Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 2 lakh irrespective of type of holding.

There is no such charge for holdings valued up to Rs 50,000.

In 2012, Sebi directed depository participants to make BSDA available for retail individual investors as part of efforts to reduce the cost of maintaining securities in demat accounts.