SEBI eases FPI onboarding by allowing digitally signed Power of Attorney

Under the revised rule, an FPI can give a Power of Attorney (PoA) to its custodian, specifying its address, and execute the document using a digital signature in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, SEBI said.

A Power of Attorney is a document through which a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) authorises its custodian to act on its behalf.

For an FPI, a custodian is a financial institution that safely holds and manages investors’ securities and assets. Custodians also act as designated depository participants to process FPI registrations, clear trades, manage settlements and report compliance to regulators.

This eliminates the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation of the Power of Attorney, thereby reducing the overall time taken for FPI onboarding and improving ease of doing business for FPI applicants, it added.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said the move is part of its continued efforts to digitalise the FPI onboarding process.

Over the years, SEBI has introduced several measures in this direction, including a Common Application Form (CAF) for FPI registration, PAN, bank and demat accounts, permitting Indian digital signatures for executing CAF and other registration documents, digital signature functionality within the CAF portal and granting registration based on scanned copies.The provisions of this circular will come into force with effect from August 20, 2026, it said.