FPIs, trading companies tap Sebi, centre for tax breather

At a meeting with Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and officials of Department of Economic Affairs here on Wednesday, the high-frequency trading firms said that Reserve Bank of India‘s stern regulations on leverage would force them to shift exposures from entities here to FPIs.

Read more: Most active funds beat benchmark indices last year: Motilal Oswal StudyThe meeting -attended by senior advisors and two European custodian banks representing FPIs and a few MNC trading subsidiaries- comes two months after India eliminated taxes on government securities (G-Secs) for FPIs.

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Since April RBI prohibited banks from funding brokers for proprietary trade or investment, and, more significantly, stipulated that credit to brokers must be backed by 100% collateral.

“No such leverage restriction exists offshore. And since traders here can’t take guarantees from banks overseas, some trades would be routed through FPIs. No one gains from this. The government gets less tax and the market sees less market-making and liquidity-providing trades. And the trading entities can’t cut deals through or as FPIs which they can as a domestic entity,” a person familiar with the discussions told ET.Despite higher tax on Indian subsidiaries — compared with zero tax on derivative profits for FPIs in treaty-friendly jurisdictions like Mauritius and Singapore — several foreign traders have set up shop here to overcome restrictions applicable to FPIs. These include strict position limits for futures and options trades, and the conditions under for short-selling.

“The DEA officials didn’t say anything but were willing to listen – probably after the increase in inflows following tax cuts on G-Secs, though the delay in inclusion of G-secs in Bloomberg index may disappointment many,” said another person.

India scrapped taxes on G-Secs for FPIs through a June ordinance with effect from April 1, 2026. With this, interest withholding tax, along with short-term and long-term capital gains taxes were removed.

“It’s widely felt that rationalisation of STT along with other charges and levies would make transaction charge more competitive. There’s also demand to reduce capital gains tax which has risen over the years, but I don’t know to what extent the government is open to this,” said an industry official who attended the meeting.

STT, applying on stocks, derivatives, and equity-oriented mutual funds, is collected by exchanges directly at the time of transaction. Introduced in 2004 as a small turnover tax after abolishing the long-term capital gains tax, STT continued even after long-term capital gains tax was brought back and tax on equity profits was raised. STT on equity derivatives was hiked in 2026 but it may not have led to a fall in retail losses in F&O.

“Through there was no one from CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes), the new uncertainty post Tiger Global was mentioned,” said a source. The Supreme Court verdict on the US investment firm has unsettled foreign investors, changing the way they interpret treaties and indirect transfers.