India’s markets regulator, Sebi, has broadened the scope for online bond platform providers, allowing them to distribute GIFT-IFSC regulated securities and bonds under various tax laws, aiming to facilitate easier access and greater product variety for investors.
India’s markets regulator has widened the scope of online bond platform providers, allowing them to distribute securities regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority in GIFT-IFSC, in a move aimed at making the framework easier to use, Business Standard reported. The Securities and Exchange Board of India also said these platforms may now offer bonds issued under Section 54EC of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and Section 85 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
The revised rules mean online bond platform providers can deal in products overseen by several major financial regulators, including Sebi, the Reserve Bank of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, IFSCA and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, according to the report. Sebi has also required that any such instruments comply with Foreign Exchange Management Act rules, including overseas investment limits and the Liberalised Remittance Scheme.
The change follows Sebi’s earlier proposal to expand the platform model after requests linked to IFSCA, which had highlighted a gap in the existing framework, according to Business Standard and related reports. Those earlier reports said the regulator wanted to give investors access to a broader range of products while keeping them clearly labelled as domestic or overseas instruments.
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