Banking law · Rules / RBI instruments
RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC)
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 18 September 2026
RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC): legal basis, scope, operative controls, evidence and primary source.
Cross-linked RBI Master DirectionPrimary source linkedAct bridge mapped
Status update (20 Sep 2026)
RBI repealed the Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016 on 28 November 2025 and replaced it with entity-specific KYC Directions, 2025 (for example the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer) Directions, 2025). The framework described below is the 2016 structure; identify the Direction issued for the specific regulated entity and use its text for any current compliance question.
Instrument identity and legal basis
Official source: Open the primary instrument / official index
Scope and operative requirement map
Operative requirement 1
Sets customer acceptance, identification, beneficial-owner, ongoing due-diligence and monitoring controls for regulated entities.
Operative requirement 2
KYC obligations derive from multiple statutes; the Banking Regulation Act page should link rather than misdescribe the Master Direction as a rule made under this Act.
Operative requirement 3
Use the current amended Master Direction and PMLA/PML Rules for customer-specific decisions.
Working workflow
Confirm that RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC) applies to the bank, product, transaction and review date.
Open the primary source for RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC) and record its issue/modified date and any supersession note.
Map only the operative paragraphs of RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC) that affect the process; assign an owner and evidence item to each.
Update policy, system, contract/customer document, board approval or return as required by RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC).
Test a live sample and retain the evidence plus regulatory filing/approval acknowledgement before closing the review.
Practical implementation example
A bank onboards a non-individual customer with layered ownership. The KYC file identifies the customer and beneficial owner under the current Master Direction/PML Rules, documents risk classification and ongoing due-diligence triggers, and preserves the source documents used to resolve ownership/control.
Professional result: implementation is closed only when the current official instrument, applicability conclusion and operational evidence agree.
Forms, returns, annexures and filing portals
- Use only forms, returns and RBI channels expressly specified for RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC).
Electronic filing: retain the current RBI portal acknowledgement where the operative instrument requires submission.
Open official instrument / prescribed filing source
Use only forms, annexures or electronic returns actually prescribed by the current official instrument. A Finin2min working aid is not an official regulatory form.
Evidence checklist
- current official copy or RBI/Gazette source for RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC).
- applicability memo tying the bank/product to RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC).
- paragraph-by-paragraph implementation matrix for the requirements actually engaged.
- board/policy/system/customer-document evidence created by the implementation.
- filing/return/approval acknowledgement where RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC) requires regulatory submission.
Banking Regulation Act sections connected to this instrument
Cross-links show relevance only; each instrument retains the legal basis stated in its own official text.
Amendment / version discipline
Use the RBI Master Direction — Know Your Customer (KYC) version effective on the event date; record amendments or supersession.
Related on Finin2min
Disclaimer
Educational reference. Verify the current official instrument and entity-specific RBI requirements before implementation.