Markets regulator SEBI has relaxed norms for debt securities issued on a private placement basis, allowing an issuer to have up to 17 International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) maturing in a single financial year.
An International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) is a unique 12-character alphanumeric code used globally to identify specific securities, such as bonds, stocks, derivatives, and mutual funds.
Under the revised norms, six ISINs will be available for the issuance of the capital gains tax debt securities by the authorised issuers under section 54EC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on a private placement basis, Sebi said in a circular on Wednesday.
12 ISINs for plain vanilla debt
Of the 17 ISINs, a maximum of 12 ISINs can mature in a financial year for plain vanilla debt securities, covering both secured and unsecured instruments, it added.
Sebi said that if the total outstanding amount across these 12 ISINs maturing in a financial year reaches Rs 15,000 crore, then one additional ISIN may be permitted for every additional issuance of Rs 3,000 crore.
Five ISINs for structured debt
A maximum of five ISINs maturing in a financial year, will be allowed for structured debt securities, market-linked debt securities, floating rate bonds, zero coupon bonds and debt capital instruments (Tier II bonds).
Existing ISINs pertaining to these bonds will be grandfathered to avoid any unintended breach of ISIN cap, Sebi said.
The regulator further excluded Government of India serviced/extra budgetary resources bonds and environment, social and governance debt securities while calculating the applicable ISIN limits for an issuer.
The provisions of this circular will come into force with immediate effect, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said.