SEBI has released a draft Investor Charter for KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) and seeks public comments. The charter aims to enhance investor awareness regarding KRA services, investor rights, and grievance redressal mechanisms. It outlines KRA services like KYC registration, status tracking, and data protection, while also detailing investor rights, including data privacy and access to grievance redressal. Investors are provided with “Dos and Don’ts” to ensure smooth KYC compliance. The charter also describes a multi-tiered grievance redressal process, starting with direct complaints to KRAs, followed by escalation through the SCORES portal, and finally, dispute resolution via the SMART Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) portal. SEBI encourages stakeholders to submit their comments and suggestions on the draft charter by April 25, 2025, through the provided online link.
Securities and Exchange Board of India
DRAFT CIRCULAR FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS
Investor Charter for KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agencies (KRAs)
Apr 04, 2025| Reports : Reports for Public Comments
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Background
1. KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agencies (KRAs) facilitates processing, storage and incidental services of KYC records in the securities market.
2. In order to facilitate investor awareness about various activities where an investor/client has to deal with KRAs for availing Investor Service Requests, SEBI has proposed to developed an Investor Charter for KRAs, inter-alia, detailing the services provided to Investors, Rights of Investors, various activities of KRAs, Dos and Don’ts for Investors and Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
Public Comments:
Draft circular on “Investor Charter for KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agencies (KRAs)” is placed at Annexure. The comments/ suggestions should be submitted latest by April 25, 2025, through the following link:
https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/publiccommentv2/PublicCommentAction.do?doPubl icComments=yes
In case of any technical issue in submitting your comment through web based public comments form, you may write to consultationMIRSD@sebi.gov.in with the subject: “Public comments on Investor Charter for Stock Brokers”.
Annexure
DRAFT CIRCULAR
SEBI/HO/MIRSD/PODFATF/P/CIR/2025/XXX
DD-MM-YYYY
To,
All KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agencies (KRAs)
Dear Sir/Madam,
Subject: Investor Charter for KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agencies (KRAs) on their Websites
1. In order to facilitate investor awareness about various activities where an investor/client has to deal with KRAs for availing Investor Service Requests, SEBI has developed an Investor Charter for KRAs, inter-alia, detailing the services provided to Investors, Rights of Investors, various activities of KRAs, Dos and Don’ts for Investors and Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
2. In this regard, all the registered KRAs shall take necessary steps to bring the Investor Charter, as provided at ‘Annexure – A’ to the notice of existing and new investors by way of:
a. disseminating the Investor Charter on their websites / through e-mail;
b. displaying the Investor charter at prominent places in offices etc.
3. These disclosure requirements are in addition to those already mandated by SEBI.
4. This circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of Chapter IV of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities markets and shall come into effect from the date of this circular.
5. The Circular is issued with the approval of the competent authority.
6. This circular is available at www.sebi.gov.in under the link “Legal — Circulars”.
Yours faithfully,
Annexure A
“DRAFT”
INVESTOR CHARTER – KYC {KNOW YOUR CLIENT} REGISTRATION AGENCIES (KRAs)
VISION
- To be investor service oriented, market wide repository, facilitating timely processing, storage and incidental services of KYC records in the securities market, maintaining the highest standards of data security and record quality.
MISSION
- To enable centralized management and safekeeping of KYC data and reducing the burden of repeat KYC while ensuring uniform KYC compliance across the securities market.
- To enable seamless and efficient client on-boarding, ensuring real-time updation of unique client’s KYC record and automated dissemination of updates to all linked SEBI Registered Intermediaries
- To foster a secure, efficient, and compliance-driven ecosystem, setting global benchmark for data integrity and operational excellence.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY KRAs TO INVESTORS
- KYC Registration and Modification: KRA facilitates registration and modification of KYC records of investors in securities market through SEBI Registered Intermediaries, ensuring verification and validation of the investor’s identity.
- KYC Status Tracking: KRA provides ease of access to investors/ SEBI Registered Intermediaries to track status of KYC registration and modification, online.
- Solicited/ Unsolicited Feeds: KRA empowers investor to update their KYC information with any of the SEBI Registered Intermediary for utilisation of their KYC details across the securities market at the behest of the investor. For this purpose, KRAs promptly disseminates updated KYC information of an investor to the relevant linked SEBI Registered Intermediary for further processing.
- Alert Mechanism KRA sends alerts (SMS/Email/physical) at concurrent interval to the investors at the time of processing registration, modification of download of KYC records.
- Verification of KYC attributes KRA verifies KYC attributes of investors’ KYC records with official databases for PAN (except for PAN exempt records), Aadhaar, Name, Address. Additionally Email Id and Mobile Number are also been verified. Depending on the status of verification/validation of KYCs attributes, KRA assigns status to KYC as either:
- KYC Validated: The validated records are allowed portability i.e. the client need not undergo the KYC process again when he approaches different intermediary in securities market and the intermediary shall fetch the validated records from the KRA database.
- KYC Registered: Investor is required to perform KYC each time, investor approach a new SEBI Registered Intermediary.
- KYC On-Hold/Rejected: This may be owing to deficiency in the KYC documents such as PAN validation failure, Mobile number and Email Id not verified, etc. Such clients shall be allowed to transact further in the securities market subject to verification of attributes.
- Data Protection and Privacy: KRA implements safeguards to maintain KYC data privacy, security, and confidentiality.
INVESTORS have RIGHT to:
- Assurance of privacy and protection for KYC data, with limited access to authorized SEBI Registered Intermediaries only.
- Verify and ensure that KYC information is accurate and updated.
- Access to prompt grievance redressal mechanism for complaints or issues arising from KYC process in securities market.
- Avail guidance from KRA on KYC related processes for securities market.
- Access to privacy policy, use of information policy, website policy of KRA for awareness of the investors.
- View their KYC status online and carry out necessary updates through SEBI Registered Intermediary.
- Avail facility of delinking the KYC record from an intermediary on reporting closure of account based relationship by such intermediary.
DOs AND DON’Ts FOR INVESTORS: Investors are encouraged to take the following actions to ensure seamless KYC compliance:
DO’s for Investors:
- Submit valid, accurate, and complete documentation during KYC registration or modification process.
- Notify SEBI Registered Intermediary of any changes in KYC details (such as address, contact details, etc.) to maintain the accuracy of the KYC information and perform re-KYC, as and when required.
- In case investor receives alert from KRAs, about registration, modification or KYC record download, which is not associated with any of the investor-induced transaction(s), investors should promptly communicate to KRA on the designated email ID.
- Know about the Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism and ensure that grievances are taken up with the concerned entities within the time limits prescribed.
DONT’s for Investors:
- Do not deal with unauthorized person(s) for any investor service request such as updation of KYC details (address, email ID, mobile number etc).
- Do not share One Time Password (OTP), specimen signature, KYC documents etc. with unknown person(s)
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL – MODES AND ESCALATION MECHANISM
I] DIRECT COMPLAINT TO KRA:
- Investor can dial on helpline numbers of KRA for any query or concern.
- Investor shall check the website of KRAs for the dedicated grievance e-mail ID and other relevant details of the grievance redressal division / compliance officer for registering grievance(s).
- The investor/SEBI Registered Intermediary may initially lodge their grievance directly with the KYC Registration Agency (KRA) on dedicated e-mail ID or through physical letter with the details of issue being faced.
- Upon receipt of the grievance, KRA after due verification shall send intimation of redressal of complaint via e-mail / physical letter as applicable, within 21 days from the date of receipt of such grievance.
II] ESCALATION VIA SCORES PORTAL:
- In case the grievance remains unresolved or the investor/SEBI Registered Intermediary is not satisfied with the redressal, then they may escalate the issue to SEBI electronically through SEBI Complaints Redress System – SCORES (a web based centralized grievance redressal system of SEBI at (https://scores.gov.in/)
III] DISPUTE RESOLUTION VIA ODR PORTAL:
- In case the grievance continues to be unresolved even after utilizing the SCORES escalation process, the investor/SEBI Registered Intermediary may initiate dispute resolution through the SMART Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Portal to seek the resolution at (https://smartodr.in/login)
