Citi Securities Services, a division of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, which offers securities and fund services to multinationals, financial institutions, and public sector organisations, has enabled registration of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) online.
FPIs have to register with SEBI to obtain a PAN, in addition to opening a bank account and a demat securities account in India. Earlier, this had to be done by filling out a physical form known as the Common Application Form (CAF).
On January 28 this year, the Indian government announced the creation of CAF as a single window entity. SEBI operationalised CAF through its notification on February 4, which was followed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which issued guidelines regarding PAN allotment through CAF on February 7.
“CAF automates, simplifies and consolidates multiple requirements and is, therefore, expected to significantly reduce timelines, cost, and effort, for FPIs seeking to invest in India through the FPI route,” said Aditya Sharma, Head of Prime, Futures & Securities Services, Citi, South Asia.The online portal of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has facilitated FPI registration.