SEBI Tightens Block Deal Rules; Raises Minimum Trade Size to ₹25 Crore and Introduces Dual Trading Windows

New Delhi | October 9, 2025 – The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) re-designed the block deal system of Stock Exchanges, increasing the minimum value of trade to ₹25 crore and providing two time-limited windows of trading with narrower price bands and more tighter price limits for disclosure with a purpose to raise greater transparency as well as efficiency in execution in large transactions.

Key Highlights of the Revised Framework

The new system also facilitates the functioning of the stock exchanges from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with two separate block deal windows, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

• Morning Session: It quotes between 8:45 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., with the previous day’s closing price serving as the reference point.
• Afternoon Session: Runs from 2:05 p.m. until 2:20 p.m., with prices correlated with the volume weighted average of trades that were conducted from 1:45 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.

The exchanges will publish the relevant VWAP from 2:00 p.m. to 2:05 p.m. for trading.

Tightened Price Bands and Settlement Norms

SEBI directed that block deals must remain within ±3% of the reference price during trading for each day. All such transactions must result in delivery, and reversal or squaring off of trades is also strictly prohibited.

The minimum ticket size for transactions was raised from ₹10 crore to ₹25 crore, aligning the framework with the regulator’s aim of promoting integrity in the market and minimizing potential misuse.

Enhanced Disclosures and Implementation Timeline

The stock exchanges must disclose full details of block deals consisting of the scrip name, the name of the client, the quantity of securities traded, and the price. The new rules shall also include block deals that take place in the voluntary T+0 Settlement cycle. The revamp follows feedback from public hearings, suggestions from a task force, and scrutiny by SEBI’s Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC).

Market infrastructure entities, i.e., exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories, have also been instructed to make system updates, amend byelaws, and notify market entities before implementation. The new framework will take effect after 60 days of the issuance of the circular.

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