The regulator said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued clarifications to facilitate smooth issuance of PAN to FPIs after market participants raised concerns over revised PAN application forms proposed in March. Sebi said it has actively engaged with the CBDT to remove compliance hurdles faced by foreign investors.
Under the new PAN application framework, additional fields such as Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and details and documents of representatives or authorized representatives were introduced, while some previously optional fields—including mobile numbers—were made mandatory, creating procedural difficulties for FPIs. After discussions, the CBDT has now issued a set of relaxations.
As part of the changes, the authorized signatory named in the Common Application Form (CAF) is treated as the authorized representative for PAN purposes without the need for separate supporting documents.
“In this regard, the responsibility of the AS (authorized signatory) named in the RA/AR field is limited only for the purpose of applying for PAN,” Sebi said in a statement. The regulator added that where the contact details of the authorized signatory are not available, FPIs can provide their own address, email and phone details in the application.
In case the PAN, Aadhaar or passport details of the authorized signatory are unavailable, FPIs may provide their FPI registration number. CBDT has also allowed FPIs from jurisdictions where TINs or equivalent identification numbers have not been issued to use the placeholder value ‘00000000000’ in the relevant field.
Further, landline numbers can be provided as an alternative where mobile numbers are not available, Sebi said. “This resonates with ongoing efforts to provide ease of onboarding to FPIs,” the regulator said. FPIs use a common application form to register with SEBI, open bank and demat accounts and obtain PAN.
As a trusted and reliable news source
Add now!
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)