BSE extends window to submit Aadhaar for new MF investors

New Delhi: To ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules, leading stock exchange BSE on Thursday extended the deadline for new mutual fund investors to submit PAN and Aadhaar till April 1, 2018, failing which their folios would be closed.

"The effective date for mandatory submission of PAN and Aadhaar number with requisite documents at the time of opening new folio or account, will now be April 1, 2018 instead of February 15, 2018.

"Accordingly, no new folio account will be opened without the said documents effective April 1, 2018," BSE said in a statement.

For new mutual fund accounts opened from February 15, investors were required to submit PAN and Aadhaar at the time of opening of such folios.

Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts, though one investor can have multiple accounts.

In case of the existing mutual fund (MF) folios and for accounts opened thereafter up to February 14, investors need to submit such information by March-end this year. BSE runs mutual fund distribution platform BSE StAR MF.

The move follows the government's amendment of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules with regard to collection of Aadhaar from clients, in June.

In October, the exchange had asked its brokers to submit details about preparedness for furnishing Aadhaar details of their clients by month-end in order to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules.

In compliance with the PML norms, banks have already sought Aadhaar details from customers.