PTI New Delhi

In a bid to ease investor compliance and eliminate inconsistencies in documentation, Sebi has proposed doubling the monetary threshold for simplified documentation required to issue duplicate securities to Rs 10 lakh from the current Rs 5 lakh.

"Due to non-standardization of documents and different approaches followed by RTAs/listed companies, investors feel the pain of going for varied documentation for various listed companies," Sebi noted. The regulator also noted that the existing Rs 5 lakh threshold for availing simplified documentation, where investors are exempted from filing copies of FIRs, police complaints, court orders or newspaper advertisements, was set several years ago. Since then, India's securities market has grown significantly in terms of market capitalisation, investor participation, and average portfolio sizes.

Given this expansion, Sebi noted that the value of individual security holdings has risen materially. As a result, retaining the earlier limit no longer aligns with current market realities and ends up creating avoidable procedural hurdles for investors.

"In view of the above and to provide ease of investment and procedural convenience to investors, it is proposed to increase the limits for simplified documentation for issuance of duplicate securities from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh," Sebi said in its consultation paper.