New Delhi: Market regulator Sebi has overhauled its more than three-decade-old stockbroker regulations, allowing brokers to carry out activities under the framework of other financial regulators, in a move aimed at providing ease of compliance as well as ease of doing business.
The new rule — replacing Sebi’s (Stock Brokers) Regulations 1992 with the Sebi (Stock Brokers) Regulations 2026 (SB Regulation) — simplified regulatory language, removed outdated provisions, and introduced clearer definitions.
Under the new rule, Sebi, in its notification on Wednesday, said, “A stock broker may carry out an activity under the regulatory framework of the other financial sector regulator or any other specified authority in the manner as may be specified by the Board. Such activity shall fall under the purview of the concerned financial sector regulator or authority.”
SB Regulations have been organised into eleven chapters, comprehensively covering critical aspects of the regulatory framework for stock brokers. Some schedules (not required at present) have been altogether deleted, and the relevant ones have been integrated as chapters in the regulations to enhance ease of readability and understanding of the regulations.
In other things, it has offered rationalisation of the criteria for stock brokers to be identified as qualified stock brokers so that the brokers meeting criteria such as a large number of active clients and greater trading volume etc., are covered for enhanced supervision and compliance. SEBI noted that the total word count has been reduced from the existing 18846 words to 9073 words.
The SB regulations are expected to enhance ease of compliance by ensuring simplified language and overall structured provisions, updated with the continually evolving compliance requirements.
