SEBI on Tuesday issued a new circular to simplify the onboarding process of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and avoid duplication of data. The market regulator has said that applicants can choose a full Common Application Form (CAF) or a shortened version with only unique fields.

For applicants who choose the abbreviated version, the rest of the data will be automatically filled in by the depository system or it can be turned off. SEBI's circular said that this will happen only when this information is already present in the CAF module.
 

Applicants will have to give consent to fill this information automatically in advance. They will also have the option to check this information properly. SEBI has said that this will come into effect three months after the circular is issued. According to the master circular issued by SEBI in May, all FPI applicants currently have to submit the complete CAF along with the registration documents. SEBI said that for some categories like multiple funds with the same investment manager, sub-funds of the master fund or schemes of insurance companies, the depositories already have the necessary information available in the CAF module. Based on this data, the need to ask for these details again from the applicants will now end. SEBI also said that FPIs will now have the option to fill the full CAF or choose a shortened version in which they will have to fill only a few details. Designated Depository Participants (DDPs) have been given the responsibility of automatically displaying accurate information in the CAF module of every applicant. According to this circular of SEBI, it will be the responsibility of CDSSD to set guidelines for this entire process so that this entire framework can be made clear and simple.