The move aims to further improve the BSDA facility to facilitate investment for investors and reduce compliance burden for Depository Participants (DPs).
It has been decided to exclude Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) bonds and delisted securities for calculating the threshold for BSDA, Sebi said in its circular.
This means that the value of these securities will not be considered while checking BSDA eligibility.
This decision follows the feedback received from market participants after the previous circular issued on June 28, 2024.
For illiquid securities, the DP will calculate the account value using the last available closing price. Additionally, DPs are now required to review BSDA eligibility of all accounts every quarter, instead of doing so occasionally.
The regulator has also mandated that if an investor is eligible for BSDA, the DP is required to open or convert the account into BSDA by default.
If the investor wants to maintain a regular demat account instead, he is required to provide his active consent through a verifiable and certified channel prescribed by the depositories.
Further, the DPO will have to revalue all existing demat accounts every quarter and convert all eligible accounts into BSDAs unless the investor specifically consents to continue the regular demat account.
For valuation purposes, the value of the holding will be based on the daily closing price or NAV. If prices are not available, the last traded price may be used.
For unlisted securities other than mutual fund units, face value may be considered. For illiquid securities, the last closing price will be used.
However, the price of suspended securities, delisted securities and ZCZP bonds will not be considered at all while determining BSDA eligibility.
These changes will come into effect from March 31, 2026, Sebi said.
A Basic Service Demat Account, or BSDA, is a more basic version of a regular demat account. The holding in BSDA is valued at Rs. Should be less than 10 lakhs. The facility was introduced by SEBI in 2012 to reduce the burden of demat charges on investors with small portfolios.
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