SEBI has told all registered intermediaries, stock exchanges and depositories that their FATCA and CRS reporting now runs under India’s new income tax law. The circular, dated November 11, 2026, matters mainly to brokers, depositories and other firms that must report foreign-linked accounts. For ordinary investors, the visible effect is likely to be at account opening and KYC.
What changed
The Income-tax Act, 2025, read with the Income-tax Rules, 2026, replaced the 1961 Act and the 1962 Rules from April 1, 2026. SEBI’s circular says the reporting requirements for FATCA and CRS accounts are now revised under Section 508 of the 2025 Act, read with Rules 238, 239 and 240 and Form 166 of the 2026 Rules. FATCA and CRS are the frameworks under which financial institutions identify and report accounts held by tax residents of other countries.
What intermediaries must do
Intermediaries that qualify as Reporting Financial Institutions must comply with Rules 238 to 240 and follow the Guidance Note on FATCA and CRS issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The circular asks them to update four things:
- self-certification collection, to capture the validity indicator
- controlling-person identification, to capture roles such as settlor, trustee, protector and beneficiary
- account classification, to capture account type and whether an account is pre-existing or new
- Form 166 XML generation software, to include all new mandatory fields
SEBI warns that missing required fields will cause validation errors on the Income Tax portal. Intermediaries must also upload the FATCA and CRS certification they collect from clients to the systems of KYC Registration Agencies. The circular says the responsibility for obtaining and reporting this certification lies solely with the intermediaries.
What it means for investors
The circular does not set a new deadline for investors or ask existing investors to do anything directly. If your broker or depository asks you to update a self-certification, the reason is likely this change. Check the request comes through your broker’s official app or website before sharing details.
Source: SEBI circular HO/38/14/(18)2026-MIRSD-POD2/I/25560/2026, dated November 11, 2026, published on sebi.gov.in. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice.
