Significant beneficial ownership filings by listed companies – SEBI extends timelines!

On 8 February 2019, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) released the Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Amendment Rules 2019 (New SBO Rules) to revise and amend the Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) 2018 (Old SBO Rules). As per the New SBO Rules, the first SBO-related filing is due on 12 May 2019. Vide circular No SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2018/0000000149 dated 7 December 2018, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had made it compulsory for all listed companies to make disclosures about details pertaining to significant beneficial owners (SBO) of their shares on a quarterly basis, along with their shareholding pattern in the format prescribed by the SEBI. The changes were slated to come into effect after the quarter ending on 31 March 2019 and the SEBI circular dated 7 December 2018 referred back to the Old SBO Rules for the purpose of interpretation.

Pursuant to the MCA introducing the New SBO Rules, the SEBI has, vide circular No SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2019/36 dated 12 March 2019 replaced the 7 December 2018 circular and extended the deadline for making the first quarterly disclosure to after the quarter ending on 30 June 2019. Further, the SEBI circular dated 12 March 2019 has also brought the disclosure format in line with the format set out under the New SBO Rules.

• Sameer Sah (Partner) and Varun Narayan (Associate)

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