CIRCULARS
- Fee structure for International Trade Finance Service (ITFS) operators/ Applicants desirous to set up an ITFS in IFSC
Vide circular bearing number IFSCA-FCR0FCR/3/2023-Banking/2024-25/002 dated 07.03.2025, in reference to the "Guidelines on setting up and operation of International Trade Finance Service Platform, 2024" dated December 23, 2024 a fee structure has been provided which shall be applicable to all ITFS operators/ applicants who are desirous of setting up an ITFS with effect from April 01, 2025. It further stated that all other provisions given in the circular on "Fee structure for the entities undertaking or intending to undertake permissible activities in IFSC" dated 17.05.2023 (as amended) shall continue to apply. CLICK HERE
- Circular on Contribution to Settlement Guarantee Fund
Vide circular bearing number FSCA/CMD-DMIIT/SGF/2024-25/001 dated 07.03.2025, In context of the recently notified amendments to the IFSCA (Market Infrastructure Institutions) Regulations, 2021, Regulation 31 specifies that the SGF of a Clearing Corporation may have contribution from the Clearing Corporation, Stock Exchange and the Clearing Members. It has been further stated in the MII Regulations that cash and bank balance, fixed deposits, government securities and other instruments as may be specified by the Authority from time-to-time shall be considered as 'liquid assets' for the purpose of calculation of net-worth of a Clearing Corporation. In this regard it has been clarified that the contribution of a Clearing Corporation to its Settlement Guarantee Fund (SGF) shall be considered a part of its net-worth. Additionally, the interest on cash contribution to the SGF shall also accrue to the SGF and will be pro-rata attributed to the contributors in proportion to their contribution. CLICK HERE
- Guidelines Issued on Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience for Regulated Entities in IFSCs
Vide circular bearing number IFSCA-CSD0MSC/13/2025-DCS dated 10.03.2025, certain guidelines on cyber security and cyber resilience were provided which intended to lay down IFSCA's broad expectations from its Regulated Entities (RE). The key components of the guidelines are categorised into Governance, Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Framework, Third-Party Risk Management, Communication and Awareness and Audit. The guidelines provided for "Governance" highlights the need for having adequate government mechanisms in place with a clear set of roles and responsibilities to manage cyber risk. REs needs to ensure that their governing board and senior management possesses sufficient expertise and knowledge to manage cyber security so that a strong culture of cyber risk management is cultivated and there exists awareness at all levels of staff within an entity. Additionally, the REs shall appoint a CISO or designate senior employee/ management personnel to identify and reduce cyber security risks, respond to incidents and direct the establishment and implementation of procedures as approved by the RE's "Oversight Body" which should consist of stakeholders involved in governance of REs cyber risk management mechanism.
Guidelines regarding "Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience Framework", are to be formulated in order to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their IT assets. The aim of this framework is to promote RE's ability to anticipate, withstand, contain, and recover from cyber-attacks by taking an integrated and comprehensive view of the potential cyber threats. The framework should establish the roles and responsibilities of the Oversight Body, the Designated Officer, the employees and other stakeholders, including clear communication lines to be adhered to, during a cyber incident and should be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure that the framework stays relevant. The REs shall also formulate an information security (IS) policy which needs to be based on certain basic principles such as the identification and classification of assets (maintaining detailed inventory of both logical and physical IT assets), protection (implementing security controls, aligned with international best practices and cyber security and cyber resilience standards like NIST, ISO 27000, etc, to minimize the likelihood and impact of cyber-attacks), access control (managing access rights to IT assets on a 'need to know' basis following the principles of 'least privilege' and 'segregation of duties' along with enforcing authentication methods which are robust enough to ensure compliance to access control policies), physical security (REs need to ensure adequate physical security by having measures like secure location of critical data, restricted access to data centres etc. in place), Vulnerability assessment and Penetration Testing (needs to be conducted once a year to detect vulnerabilities in IT environment), recovery (REs need to have recovery policies in place so that losses can be limited in case of severe business disruption), incident management (REs shall clearly define the term "cyber incident" and shall implement processes for preventing, detecting, analysing and responding to such cyber incidents) and audit trail.
Guidelines discussing "Third-Party Risk Management" focuses on adopting a collaborative security approach with their third-party vendors/ external partners, by clearly outlining shared expectations for data security, incident reporting and adherence to relevant security standards.
In terms of "Communication and Awareness", the guidelines provide for establishing accessible channels for employees to report any suspicious activity, vulnerabilities and potential cyber incidents.
In the guidelines provided for audit which aims at providing independent assurance of effectiveness of RE's measures to its governing board, cyber risks shall be audited on a periodic basis. It is crucial to ensure that the auditor engaged by RE does not have any conflict of interest with the RE. Furthermore, in case of occurrence of any cyber incident, the RE is required to report the particulars of the incident to the authority on cyber-incidents@ifsca.gov.in with a copy to CISO, IFSCA, not later than 6 (six) hours from the detection of the incident.
These guidelines are to be implemented with the principle of proportionality, after taking into account the scale and complexity of operations, the nature of the activity the entity is engaged in, the interconnectedness with the financial ecosystem, and the corresponding cyber risks the entity is exposed to. CLICK HERE
PRESS RELEASES
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) High Risk and other monitored jurisdictions
Vide a press release dated 05.03.2025, FATF, in its public statement 'High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action' dated 21.02.2025, had called on its members and other jurisdictions to refer to the statement on these jurisdictions which was adopted in February 2020 and October 2022. FATF had earlier identified certain jurisdictions as having strategic deficiencies which have developed an action plan with the FATF to deal with them. As per the public statement, Philippines has been removed from the list of jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring based on the decision made at the February 21, 2025, FATF Plenary. CLICK HERE
- IFSCA Organised the Second Edition of Its Annual Chintan Shivir in Udaipur, Rajasthan
The report on the Second Edition of IFSCA's Annual Chintan Shivir dated 05.03.2025, detailed the success of the event which was designed to facilitate insightful discussions on emerging areas in finance whilst fostering valuable learning, team building and camaraderie. This event comprised of six dynamic brainstorming sessions, each delving into critical themes crucial for shaping the future of international finance and IFSCA's strategic positioning. The event concluded with enriching discussions on a wide array of topics ranging from AI and SupTech to emerging regulations. CLICK HERE
- Issuance of Public Consultation Paper for Enabling Operating Lease of Oilfield Equipment as A Financial Product
IFSCA issued a public consultation paper dated 07.03.2025 for enabling operating lease, including hybrid of operating and financial lease of oilfield equipment as a financial product under the provisions of IFSCA Act, 2019. According to Regulation no. 5(1)9(iii)(g) of IFSCA (Finance Company) Regulations, operating lease of any product or equipment as specified by the Authority is a non-core activity that can be undertaken by a Finance Company. The Authority's derives its power to specify any product or equipment from the Government of India notification No. SO 5199 (E) dated December 14, 2021. CLICK HERE
- Standing Committee on Insurance Constituted by IFSCA To Strengthen GIFT-IFSC's Position as A Global Insurance Hub
IFSCA notified on 24.03.2025, that a Standing Committee on Insurance (SCI) has been constituted to foster the development of the insurance and reinsurance eco-system withing GIFT-IFSC, thus furthering the objective of positioning it as a global hub for such an eco-system, ensuring that a world class regulatory framework exists to enhance the aim of ease of doing business. CLICK HERE
- Entities Intending on Incorporating New Company May Approach IFSCA Requesting for Necessary Help
In a public notice dated 25.03.2025, all entities who may be interested in setting up their business operations by forming a new company/LLP in GIFT IFSC, may approach IFSCA requesting necessary help in case they face any issue in the processing of e-forms for name reservation including incorporation of the company/ LLP in the Central Registry Centre. CLICK HERE
- IFSCA Authority Meeting
The 23rd meeting of the IFSCA Authority was held on 26.03.2025, wherein some key changes were approved in The IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2025 which would be replacing the IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries), 2021. The New Regulations provide the revised regulatory framework for registration, regulation and supervision of capital market intermediaries set up in the IFSC. Along with this, the Authority has approved the IFSCA (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations, 2025 wherein it would be mandatory for all the IFSCA regulated entities to upload the KYC records of their clients to the KRA, which leads to smooth onboarding of clients by regulated entities and also enhances efficiency with regards to Customer Due-Diligence. The Transition to IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025 was also approved by the authority proposing a one-time opportunity to extend the validity of the private placement memoranda whose validity has expired subject to certain conditions. CLICK HERE
- Office of Administrator releases FAQ Booklet related to SEZ Compliances for IFSC Units
A SEZ Compliance FAQ booklet was released by the office of administrator (IFSCA) on 28.03.2025 as a measure to provide an enhanced and comprehensive understanding of the provisions of SEZ Act/Rules in order to minimize the compliance burden and increase the overall regulatory clarity in GIFT-IFSC. CLICK HERE
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