To streamline the Know Your Customer (KYC) process and enable ease of doing business, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has mandated KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) to integrate their systems with the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCRR). Sebi said that within six months from August 1, 2024, KRAs should upload verified KYC details of clients in the CKYCRR system.
“KRAs shall ensure that existing KYC records of legal entities and of individual clients are uploaded on to CKYCRR within a period of six months from August 1, 2024,” Sebi said in a release.
At present, the responsibility for uploading KYC details to CKYCRR vests with market intermediaries, such as stock brokers or registered investment advisors (RIAs), who deal with account-opening processes for clients.
The erstwhile master circular says: “As required under the Prevention of Money-Laundering (PML) Rules, registered intermediaries shall capture the KYC information for sharing with the CKYCRR in the template finalised by the Central Registry of Securitisation and Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI).”
However, Sebi later amended this master circular asking KRAs to take up this task. “Registered intermediaries shall continue to upload or modify the KYC information with proper authentication on the systems of KRA, as per the provisions of Sebi KRA Regulations, 2011,” the amended rule states.
Earlier, registered intermediaries had 10 days after the commencement of an account-based relationship with a client to file the electronic copy of the client’s KYC records with the CKYCRR. Now, KRAs should upload the verified or validated KYC information on to the CKYCRR system within seven days of receiving the same from intermediaries or any other timeline as notified under the PML Rules.
Sebi further said in the circular that registered intermediaries will continue to upload or modify KYC information with proper authentication through the KRA systems. According to the new guidelines, KRAs must upload verified or validated KYC information onto the CKYCRR within seven days of receiving it from intermediaries. “The KRAs shall integrate their systems with CKYCRR and commence the uploading of KYC records on CKYCRR from August 1, 2024,” Sebi said.
CKYCRR acts as a centralised repository of KYC information managed by CERSAI, where financial institutions including banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, and others can verify customer details, thus eliminating redundancy in the process.
