Chapter I — Preliminary and Establishment of IFSCA
Extent of the Act, key definitions, and the constitution, composition and tenure of the International Financial Services Centres Authority.
Extent and application
The International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 applies to every International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) set up under Section 18 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 — currently GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), Gandhinagar, is the sole operational IFSC in India. The Act does not extend financial-sector jurisdiction beyond an approved IFSC; a unit operating outside an IFSC continues under the domestic-tariff-area regulator (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI or PFRDA) for the equivalent activity.
Key definitions
The Act defines a "Financial Product" (securities, deposits, contracts of insurance, pension schemes, units of collective investment schemes, and any other instrument notified by the Central Government) and "Financial Service" (an activity connected with a Financial Product, e.g. fund management, banking, insurance underwriting, capital-market intermediation). Getting a proposed activity correctly classified as a Financial Product/Service under this Act — rather than a general SEZ commercial activity — is the first gate before any IFSCA registration inquiry.
Constitution of the Authority
IFSCA is a body corporate constituted under Section 4, with perpetual succession and a common seal, headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar. It consolidates the regulatory functions that RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA would otherwise separately exercise over IFSC entities into a single unified regulator.
Composition and tenure
The Authority consists of a Chairperson, one member each nominated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA, two members from the Central Government, and two full-time or part-time members with expertise in the sector — appointed under Section 5 for a term not exceeding three years, eligible for reappointment, subject to the retirement age caps fixed under Section 6.