Applicability and definitions
Identify entity, activity and exclusions.
Master Circular for Alternative Investment Funds (2026-06-03)
Paragraph-wise control map for AIFs; dated 2026-06-03.
2026-06-03AIFsCurrent circular inventory
Reviewed by Ravi Sisodia · Last reviewed 23 July 2026
What this circular covers
SEBI issued this Master Circular for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) — circular number SEBI/HO/19/34/11(6)2025-AFD-POD1/I/12928/2026 — on 3 June 2026, consolidating regulatory directives issued up to 31 May 2026 and superseding the previous master circular dated 7 May 2024, rescinding and folding in 31 earlier stand-alone circulars into one reference document under the SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012.
Notable substantive changes carried in this consolidation: mandatory NISM certification for key investment personnel and AIF compliance officers (the compliance-officer requirement takes effect from 1 January 2027), formal dematerialisation of AIF units (schemes must now issue units in demat form), and a new option for AIFs to enter a designated “dissolution period” or arrange in-specie distribution on tenure expiry, subject to 75%-by-value investor approval. The 8 paragraph-map entries below break this consolidation into operational checkpoints — applicability and registration (MC-01, MC-02), governance and the NISM-certified compliance-officer requirement (MC-03), investor onboarding (MC-04), operational conduct including valuation and dematerialisation (MC-05), disclosure and reporting (MC-06), inspection/audit readiness (MC-07), and the supersession table listing the 31 circulars this one replaces (MC-08).
Paragraph map
Registration and continuing conditions
Map eligibility, capital, fit-and-proper and infrastructure.
Governance and compliance officer
Assign Board, trustee, key-person and compliance responsibility.
Client/investor onboarding
Apply KYC, agreements, risk disclosure and suitability where applicable.
Operational conduct
Map permitted processes, segregation, conflicts and prohibited practices.
Disclosure and reporting
Build periodic/event/transaction filing and website controls.
Inspection, audit and records
Preserve books, system logs, certifications and inspection readiness.
Supersession and circular concordance
Identify consolidated circulars, saved actions and later amendments.
Official sources
Current law status: in force as of this review date, consolidating directives up to 31 May 2026; the compliance-officer NISM-certification requirement phases in from 1 January 2027. Verify for further amendments before relying on this page for a live compliance decision.