Sebi asks brokers to inform most important terms and conditions to clients

New Delhi: For ease of understanding, capital markets regulator Sebi on Monday asked brokers to inform a standard "most important terms and conditions" to the clients, which will be acknowledged by them.

The form, nature of communication, documentation, and detailed standards for implementation of "most important terms and conditions or MITC" will be published by January 1, 2024, by the Brokers' Industry Standards Forum (ISF), under the aegis of stock exchanges, in consultation with Sebi, according to a circular by the regulator. In case ISF is unable to publish the document, in whole or in part, then Sebi, at its discretion, will publish standards in respect of the same.

For the onboarding of new clients, the date of the implementation and compliance by the market participants will be April 1 and for existing clients, the MITC will inform clients through email or any other suitable mode of communication by June 1. In May, Sebi prescribed the uniform documents for formalizing the broker-client relationship.

These documents included an account opening form, rights and obligations, risk disclosure documents, guidance notes, policies and procedures, and tariff sheets. A copy of these documents is required to be provided by the broker to the clients free of charge. Generally, these documents are voluminous and investors may lose focus on critical aspects of the relationship with the broker. Accordingly, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) came out with the decision of informing most important terms and conditions to clients.