New Delhi — The Securities and Exchange Board of India has eased the onboarding process for foreign portfolio investors by allowing them to submit digitally signed Power of Attorney documents to their custodians.
Under the revised framework, an FPI can issue a Power of Attorney, or PoA, to its custodian by specifying its address and executing the document using a digital signature in accordance with India’s Information Technology Act, 2000.
“Towards SEBI’s continued digitalisation efforts, FPIs are now permitted to execute a Power of Attorney (PoA) through digital signatures in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000,” the regulator said.
A PoA allows an FPI’s custodian to act on the investor’s behalf. Custodians are financial institutions that hold and manage securities and other assets while also handling functions including FPI registrations, trade clearing, settlements and regulatory compliance reporting.
“Digitally signed PoA is envisaged to bring down the time taken in onboarding considerably as it eliminates the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation of PoA,” SEBI said.
The regulator said removing those requirements should shorten the FPI onboarding process and improve the ease of doing business for foreign investors.
The latest move is part of SEBI’s broader effort to digitize and simplify FPI registration. Previous measures include introducing a Common Application Form for FPI registration, PAN, bank and demat accounts, as well as allowing Indian digital signatures for the form and other registration documents.
SEBI has also introduced digital signature functionality within the Common Application Form portal and permitted registrations based on scanned copies of documents.
The new provisions take effect Aug. 20, 2026. (Source: IANS)
