Stock Markets: Zerodha, a stock broking firm, issued a notice on April 2, urging its clients to close their FX derivatives positions by April 5 in adherence to the new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations. The firm emphasized that traders must have exposure to the underlying currency to engage in currency derivatives trading on the stock exchange, as per the RBI guidelines.
Clients were instructed to ensure the closure of open positions before April 5 to remain compliant with the RBI rules. Effective April 4, clients could exit their current positions but were restricted from initiating new positions in currencies unless they submitted a declaration form.
The RBI mandated traders to have an underlying contracted exposure to foreign currency to trade in the currency derivatives segment. For traders with exposures exceeding $100 million, designating a custodian participant or an authorized dealer was compulsory, while those with smaller exposures needed to provide a declaration stating currency trading was for hedging contracted exposure.
Failure to furnish this declaration would lead to the inability to initiate new positions in the currency segment from April 4 onwards, although exiting existing positions remained permissible.
Clients were advised to closely monitor open positions due to potential liquidity issues leading up to April 5, when the RBI circular would take effect. As per RBI guidelines, contracted exposure refers to currency risk arising from current or capital account transactions permitted under the FEMA, 1999 or any rules or regulations made thereunder.
To submit the declaration form, follow these steps:
- Download the declaration form in PDF format.
- Sign the declaration form electronically (e-sign) or with a wet signature.
- Create a ticket on this platform to upload the signed form as a soft copy.