Sebi, CBDT ease PAN rules for foreign investors after onboarding concerns

Capital markets regulator Sebi and the Central Board of Direct Taxes have eased several PAN-related compliance requirements for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) after concerns emerged over difficulties in onboarding under the previously notified income-tax rules.

In a statement issued on Friday, Sebi said CBDT has provided multiple clarifications to simplify the PAN allotment process for FPIs following stakeholder feedback on the new Income-tax Rules, 2026 and revised PAN application forms notified in March this year.

The issue had arisen after the updated PAN forms introduced additional mandatory fields including taxpayer identification number details, representative assessee information and compulsory mobile number disclosure requirements.

Foreign investors and market intermediaries had raised concerns that many of these requirements were difficult to comply with across multiple jurisdictions, potentially complicating the onboarding process for FPIs investing in Indian markets.

Sebi said it actively engaged with CBDT after receiving representations from stakeholders to ensure that the PAN issuance framework remained smooth and investor-friendly.

Under the revised clarifications, CBDT said the name of the authorised signatory mentioned in the Common Application Form (CAF) would be sufficient for the representative assessee or authorised representative field in PAN applications.The tax department also clarified that the liability of the authorised signatory would remain limited only to the purpose of applying for PAN and that no supporting documents related to the authorised signatory or representative assessee would be required.CBDT further eased address and contact-related compliance requirements. According to the clarification, if details such as mobile number, landline number or email address of the authorised signatory are unavailable, FPIs may provide their own contact information instead.

In another relief measure, CBDT said that if PAN, Aadhaar or passport details of the authorised signatory are unavailable, the FPI registration number can be furnished in the application.

The tax authority also addressed concerns around taxpayer identification numbers for jurisdictions where such systems do not exist.

CBDT clarified that in cases where TIN or an equivalent number is not applicable, applicants may fill the field using the value “0000000000”. Additionally, if an FPI does not have a mobile number, it may provide a landline number instead while furnishing contact details.

Sebi said the latest measures are aimed at ensuring continued ease of onboarding for foreign portfolio investors.

FPIs currently use a single Common Application Form for multiple regulatory processes including Sebi registration, opening bank and demat accounts and obtaining PAN registration in India.