Sebi clarifies on reports pertaining T+0 system mandatory for all

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday clarified on media reports pertaining to making the T+0 system mandatory for all.

"This has been erroneously reported in a section of the press as Sebi bats for making the T+0 system mandatory for all," the regulator said in a statement.

In a statement issued, the regulator clarified that its chief Madhabi Puri Buch was discussing the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility, not the T+0 settlement cycle.

The ASBA facility ensures that the investor's fund gets moved only when the allotment is completed.

At an NSE event on Tuesday, the Sebi chairperson released a report on "Indian Capital Markets: Transformative Shifts Achieved through technology and reforms".

The report referred to potential annual benefit of Rs 2,800 crore if ASBA for the secondary market were to be adopted fully by retail investors.

"In this context, a question was posed to the Sebi chairperson on the ASBA facility being optional due to which retail investors still do not have access to this facility despite such significant potential savings.

"To this question, the chairperson replied that, to begin with, perhaps Sebi might take a proposal to its board to make it mandatory for the Qualified Stock Brokers to offer ASBA as an option to their clients," the statement noted.

Going by the statement, the chairperson emphasised that the "option as to whether to use ASBA for their trading shall still remain with the clients".

Now, this has been erroneously reported by some media outlets as Sebi advocating for a mandatory T+0 system for everyone, the regulator said.