SEBI Switches FPI And FVCI Fees To Rupees, Revises Registration Charges With Six-Month Transition

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified changes to the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) Regulations. It has shifted from US dollar-denominated fees to a rupee-based payment structure for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign venture capital investors (FVCIs).

The regulator has also revised the registration charges and given entities six months to transition to the new structure.

What Changes And By How Much

The revised fee structure replaces dollar amounts with rupee equivalents across all major charge categories:

• Standard registration fee: From $1,000 to ₹90,000 in eligible foreign exchange equivalent

• Category-I FPI and FVCI registration charges: From $2,500 to ₹2.3 lakh

• Late fee and continuance fee: Revised in line with the same rupee-denominated approach.

Designated depository participants, which handle FPI trades in India, will be required to remit fees to SEBI within five working days of the grant of registration.

The fee paid by custodians has also been revised. Instead of an annual payment of ₹10 lakh, they will now pay ₹85,000 every month.

Why The Switch

The regulator pointed to operational problems with the existing dollar-denominated fee structure. Manual accounting and invoicing for fees received in US dollars was time-consuming, lacked real-time accounting visibility and was causing delays in financial reporting. The shift to rupees is designed to simplify those processes.

In FY26, SEBI collected a total of $12.98 million in fees from FPIs and FVCIs for registration, continuation and other charges, including applicable Goods and Services Tax.

Mutual Fund Intraday Borrowing Also Notified

Separately, SEBI has notified changes to Mutual Fund Regulations formalising the expansion of intraday borrowing permissions. Mutual funds can now use intraday borrowing to bridge timing differences arising from pay-in and pay-out settlement mismatches across asset classes, foreign exchange settlements and other transactions, in addition to the existing permission to borrow up to 20% of net assets for unitholder redemptions.

Asset management companies must repay all intraday borrowings by end of day and comply with overnight borrowing conversion norms if needed.

Common Application Form Update

The common application form for FPI registration will now also capture the date of birth or date of incorporation. The addition follows a March notification from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and is intended to facilitate permanent account number (PAN) applications under the updated framework.

Also Read- China's Share In India's Auto Component Imports Climbs To 36% In FY26: ACMA