SEBI Proposes Relaxation in Geo-Tagging Rules for NRI KYC Verification

Mumbai, October 24: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a new proposal for NRIs for their KYC or re-KYC process. As per the proposed rule, SEBI has eased the geo-tagging requirement for non-resident Indian (NRI) clients during their KYC or re-KYC process conducted through digital onboarding or video client identification (V-CIP).

NRIs Need Not Be Physically Present

SEBI released a draft circular yesterday and announced a new proposal that includes the removal of the need for NRIs to be physically present in India during digital KYC verification. The proposal comes after numerous industry representatives have previously called for simplifying the compliance procedures for overseas investors. Now, SEBI has sought comments from the public on the proposal, which they can submit until November 13, 2025.

Solving The Current Problem

Currently, it is mandated that NRIs must be physically present in India during their KYC process using geo-tagging features in their verification applications. However, the proposed change will ease norms related to geo-tagging for existing NRI clients while undergoing re-KYC or KYC modification. However, as per SEBI, intermediaries are still required to verify that the latitude and longitude mentioned in the client’s proof of address match the GPS coordinates captured during the KYC process.

Furthermore, SEBI has also communicated that applications used for the video identification process must use certain security safeguards. These include random action prompts to prevent pre-recorded interactions, time stamping, and protection against spoofed IP addresses.

Disclaimer: At HDFC SKY, we take utmost care and due diligence in curating and presenting news and market-related content. However, inadvertent errors or omissions may occasionally occur.

If you have any concerns, questions, or wish to point out any discrepancies in our content, please feel free to write to us at content@hdfcsec.com.

Please note that the information shared is intended solely for informational purposes and does not make any investment recommendations