Sebi takes steps to boost ease of doing biz, compliance reporting

With an aim to promote ease of doing business and compliance reporting, Sebi on Tuesday came out with measures for centralization of certifications under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) at KYC Registration Agencies.

Under this, the regulator has directed intermediaries, who are reporting to financial institutions (RFI), to upload the certifications under FATCA and CRS obtained from the clients in the system of KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) from July 1.

The existing certifications obtained from clients prior to July 1, 2024 will be uploaded by the intermediaries onto the systems of KRAs within a period of 90 days of implementation of the new rule, Sebi said in its circular.

The onus of obtaining and reporting the FATCA and CRS certification and related compliances will lie with the respective intermediaries.

Going by Sebi's circulars issued in 2015, and guidance note on FATCA and CRS norms laid down by the Ministry of Finance, RFI needs to obtain a self-certification from the client, as part of the account opening documentation, to determine the client's residence for tax purposes.

In its circular on Tuesday, the markets regulator said intermediaries will have to confirm the reasonableness of such certification based on the information obtained in respect of account opening, including any documentation obtained in accordance with Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 and need to update the self-certification, as and when, there is a change reported by the client.

The KRAs are required to develop their mechanism, in coordination with each other and need to follow uniform internal guidelines in consultation with Sebi.