The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased compliance procedures for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), allowing Indian banks to accept original certified copies of specified KYC documents that have been certified by authorised officials overseas.
The change, issued through the RBI (Commercial Banks–Know Your Customer) Amendment Directions, 2026, took effect immediately and extends to FPIs a facility previously available to non‑resident Indians and persons of Indian origin.
Banks could accept original certified copies of KYC documents provided they are certified by authorities recognised under the RBI framework, the statement said.
Authorised officials of overseas branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks registered in India, branches of overseas banks with which Indian banks have relationships, a Notary Public abroad, a Court Magistrate, a Judge, or an Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the country where the non-resident customer resides are among authorities who can certify specified documents.
Hence, FPI based overseas do not have to arrange for the relevant documents to be certified through a process in India and instead could use one of the recognised overseas certification channels before submitting the original certified copy to the Indian bank.
RBI’s amendment, however, maintained the underlying requirement for banks to conduct KYC checks on FPIs.
The amendment also retained RBI’s existing definition of a certified copy. The bank must compare the copy of the proof of possession of Aadhaar, where offline verification could not be conducted, or other officially valid document produced by the customer, with the original.
An authorised officer of the bank must record the comparison on the copy in accordance with the applicable provisions.
FPI outflows had reached Rs 23,676 crore this month till Friday via selling through the exchanges, indicating that flows into India again turned negative after the positive flows in July and August.
FPI flows will be significantly influenced by the ongoing Iran-US conflict and the consequent impact on crude prices. Elevated crude prices and the high US bond yields (US 10-year yield at 5 per cent) are negatives for Indian equity market and FPI flows but, the resilient Indian economy and expectations of better earnings growth are positives.
