Markets regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) has suggested a comprehensive revamp of trading rules at stock exchanges to streamline provisions and simplify compliance for market participants. The proposal includes merging various rules on trading, price bands, circuit breakers, bulk and block deal disclosures, call auctions, and liquidity enhancement schemes. SEBI has recommended a total of 54 changes, consolidating rules for both equity and commodity segments into a unified framework.
The consultation paper advocates merging rules related to margin trading facility, unique client codes, PAN requirements, trading hours, and daily price limits. It also suggests combining disclosure provisions for bulk and block deals and enhancing clarity on bulk deal disclosures disseminated at the client level. Additionally, SEBI proposes separating provisions applicable to clearing corporations into a dedicated master circular to prevent regulatory overlap.
To enhance transparency and reduce manual reporting, SEBI suggests merging bulk and block deal disclosures and shifting dissemination to the client PAN level. The proposal also includes presenting market-wide circuit breaker rules, dynamic price band flexing, IPO price bands, and call auction procedures in a simplified format with redundant examples removed. The overarching goal of these revisions is to simplify regulatory requirements, eliminate redundant provisions, and promote ease of doing business while reducing compliance burdens on exchanges.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had previously announced initiatives to simplify, ease, and reduce compliance costs for participants in the financial sector through a consultative approach.
