Custodian - Registration or eligibility

Finin2min Summary

• Custodian - Registration or eligibility is a source-controlled working page for SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996.
• It focuses on registration gateway, eligibility criteria, continuing conditions and refusal/surrender risks for custodians, clients, FPIs, mutual funds, depositories, compliance officers and operations teams.
• The bare-law spine is registration, capital adequacy, custodial services, client agreement, segregation, records, reports, inspection and code of conduct; this page narrows that spine to application, eligibility, certificate, renewal/continuation, fit-and-proper and fee clauses.
• The official source used for this batch is dated 1 January 2019, with later amendments to be checked in the legal listing; the SEBI regulation listing should still be checked before filing or advising.

Bare Law and Source Map

Section-wise / Para-wise Decode

• Applicability paragraph for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: first identify whether the person or transaction sits inside SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996 and whether any exemption, saving or transitional clause applies.
• Clause paragraph for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: read the numbered regulation, proviso, explanation and schedule dealing with application, eligibility, certificate, renewal/continuation, fit-and-proper and fee clauses; do not rely only on a heading or circular summary.
• Evidence paragraph for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: connect the clause to custody agreement, asset register, reconciliation, corporate action file, client report, system audit and exception log and record who supplied, reviewed and approved each document.
• Risk paragraph for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: the main practical failure pattern is asset segregation failure, delayed income distribution, inadequate reconciliation, weak disaster recovery or incomplete client agreement.
• Decision paragraph for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: state whether the action is permitted, restricted, reportable, approval-linked, disclosure-linked or prohibited, and cite the official source URL.

Linked Rules, Circulars and Notifications

• Custody compliance begins with safekeeping and segregation of client securities and related assets.
• The custodian must maintain systems, records and controls adequate for settlement, corporate action and client reporting.
• Client agreements and service standards should align with regulatory obligations and market infrastructure requirements.
• Inspection and code-of-conduct duties make operational failures regulatory issues, not only service defects.
• For Custodian - Registration or eligibility, the controlling question is whether registration gateway, eligibility criteria, continuing conditions and refusal/surrender risks has been tested against the official text and the facts actually on record.
• For Custodian work under Registration or eligibility, SEBI Act sections 11, 11B, 12, 15-I and 15HB/15HA may become relevant where registration, direction, inspection, adjudication or penalty consequences arise.

Before filing or issuing advice, check the SEBI regulations listing, the family source page, applicable master circulars, exchange or depository specifications and any SEBI order affecting the same fact pattern.

Workflow / Flow Chart

1. Step 1Confirm applicability of SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996 to the entity, role, security, investor/client and event date before using Custodian - Registration or eligibility.
2. Step 2Open the official source dated 1 January 2019, with later amendments to be checked in the legal listing and locate the exact clause family for application, eligibility, certificate, renewal/continuation, fit-and-proper and fee clauses.
3. Step 3Freeze the facts: parties, transaction, approval date, amount, security, investor/client class, filing channel and responsible officer.
4. Step 4Build the Custodian - Registration or eligibility evidence file using custody agreement, asset register, reconciliation, corporate action file, client report, system audit and exception log; mark each item as available, pending or not applicable.
5. Step 5Translate the legal requirement into one owner, one due date, one approval trail and one acknowledgement or retention record.
6. Step 6Check linked circulars, master circulars, exchange/depository specifications and enforcement orders before closing the advice.
7. Step 7Record deviations, board or trustee escalation, client/investor communication and remediation status in the working paper.

Exam and Advisory Case Studies

Case study: A compliance officer is asked to approve a Custodian action involving corporate-action credit delay. The short answer should not say only that SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996 applies. It should classify the party and transaction, locate application, eligibility, certificate, renewal/continuation, fit-and-proper and fee clauses, test the evidence pack against custody agreement, asset register, reconciliation, corporate action file, client report, system audit and exception log, identify the responsible officer and decide whether a filing, investor/client notice, trustee or board approval, or remediation note is needed.

Advisory build-out for Custodian - Registration or eligibility: prepare a one-page control sheet with columns for legal source, clause, fact proved, document reference, owner, due date, exception and closure evidence. Use the 1 January 2019, with later amendments to be checked in the legal listing source link for the current text and keep the SEBI regulations listing in the file for later source-currentness checks.

Q&A

Working Checklist

• Open and save the official SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996 source.
• Prepare a Registration or eligibility clause map with facts, documents and owner.
• Attach evidence from custody agreement, asset register, reconciliation, corporate action file, client report, system audit and exception log.
• Confirm linked circulars, master circulars, exchange/depository specifications and filing formats.
• Record closure evidence, investor/client communication and board/trustee/compliance approval where applicable.

Primary Official Sources

• Official SEBI source - SEBI Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996
  https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/regulations/apr-2017/sebi-custodian-of-securities-regulations-1996-last-amended-on-january-01-2019-_34729.htmlofficial primary
• SEBI current regulations listing
  https://sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/HomeAction.do?doListing=yes&sid=2&smid=0&ssid=3official register
• SEBI legal listing
  https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/HomeAction.do?doListingLegal=yes&sid=1&ssid=3official register
• SEBI Act, 1992
  https://www.sebi.gov.in/commondata/acts.pdfofficial act

Related Inter / Intra Links

• Custodian of Securities Regulations, 1996
• Case 02 Adjudication Order Register 2026
• Case 11 Sat Appeal Workflow