Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents
12 questions. Each answer is explained.
Question 1 of 10Practice · Series II-B — Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents - Mutual Fund
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Learn these topics
More units in NISM Series II-B
- Introduction to Securities5
- Characteristic of Equities7
- Characteristics of Debt Securities7
- Characteristics of Other Securities5
- SEBI- Role and Regulations6
- Registrars and Transfer Agents Regulations12
- Basics of Mutual Funds14
- Structure and Constituents of Mutual Funds11
- Mutual Fund Products12
- Operational Concepts of Mutual Funds14
- Investors in Mutual Funds10
- Banking Operations in Mutual Funds12
- Financial Transactions12
- Non-Financial Transactions11
Exam format
| Questions | 100 · 1 mark each |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 min · 2 hours |
| Pass mark | 50% · 50 of 100 marks |
| Negative marking | None · a wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark |
| Certificate validity | 3 years · from the date of the examination |
| Marks for this unit | 25 of 100 marks (25%) |
That figure belongs to one published unit covered under these headings — Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents and Registrars and Transfer Agents Regulations and Basics of Mutual Funds — so the marks belong to the whole group. They are quoted together because no source divides them among its headings.
Source: March 2025 Annexure I, Units 6 to 8 (Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents to Basics of Mutual Funds): 25%
NISM Series II-B Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents - Mutual Fund
Exam rules read on NISM's site on 31 October 2026. Check the current rules on NISM's site (opens in a new tab)
What these answers assume, and when it was last checked
Each question uses the rules listed below. We last checked them on 5 September 2026. A Budget or SEBI circular can change a rate, lot size or expiry day. If a rule changes before your exam, treat the linked questions as out of date and check NISM's current workbook.
- NSE uses Tuesday expiry and BSE uses Thursday expiry. This applies from 1 September 2025.
- The January 2026 index lot sizes are NIFTY 65, BANKNIFTY 30, FINNIFTY 60, MIDCPNIFTY 120 and NIFTYNXT50 25.
- The October 2024 SEBI framework sets a minimum index contract value of Rs 15–20 lakh. Each exchange may list one weekly benchmark index.
- Option buyers pay the premium upfront from 1 February 2025. A short index option has an extra 2% Extreme Loss Margin on expiry day from 20 November 2024.
- Equity short-term capital gains are taxed at 20%. Long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% above Rs 1.25 lakh. Both rates apply from 23 July 2024.
- F&O income is non-speculative business income in ITR-3. NSE equity derivatives trade from 9:15 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.
- The final ten-minute session began on 3 August 2026. It aligns with the cash market Closing Auction Session.
- Most Securities Transaction Tax questions test the base and who pays. On an option sale, it is the premium and the seller pays. On a futures sale, it is the traded value and the seller pays.
- On exercise, Securities Transaction Tax uses intrinsic value: settlement price minus strike price. The buyer pays it.
- Two questions test the current rate. From 1 April 2026, option sales carry 0.15% on the premium and futures sales carry 0.05% on traded price. The earlier rates were 0.10% and 0.02% from 1 October 2024.
- This section uses the T+1 rolling settlement cycle. Obligations are fixed on T+1. A short delivery goes to buy-in auction on T+1 and settles on T+2.
- The trade-for-trade surveillance segment uses direct close-out. Funds pay in by 10:30 a.m. and pay out on or after 1:30 p.m. on settlement day.
- Securities pay in to the settlement pool by 10:30 a.m. They pay out directly to the client’s demat account by 3:30 p.m.
- The 3:30 p.m. deadline replaced 1:30 p.m. under SEBI’s 10 October 2024 circular. Direct client credit was required by SEBI’s 5 June 2024 circular.
- The optional T+0 cycle trades until 1:30 p.m. Obligations are fixed by 2:30 p.m. on the trade day. An early pay-in shortage is closed out directly.
- Cash-market Value at Risk margin is six times exponentially weighted moving-average volatility. It has a 9% floor for Group I, a 21.5% floor for Group II, and a fixed 50% or 75% level for Group III.
- Extreme Loss Margin is 3.5% for a share and 2% for a broad-market-index exchange traded fund. Mark-to-market margin is collected before the next day’s trading. The trade-for-trade segment has 100% upfront margin.
- Close-out uses the higher of the highest price from trade day to auction day and 20% above the auction day’s official close.
- A funds shortage costs 0.07% a day. The trading facility is withdrawn at a shortage of Rs 5 lakh or more.
- SCORES allows 21 calendar days, then two 15-day review levels. Online Dispute Resolution moves from conciliation to arbitration after the market participant and SCORES steps.
- At NSE, the Investor Protection Fund limit is Rs 35 lakh per investor for each defaulting or expelled member. This applies to claims arising after 13 August 2024.
- A Basic Services Demat Account has no annual maintenance charge up to Rs 4 lakh of holdings. It costs up to Rs 100 above that, until the Rs 10 lakh eligibility ceiling. These slabs apply from 1 September 2024.
- The rupee pairs are USD-INR, EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR. The cross-currency pairs are EUR-USD, GBP-USD and USD-JPY.
- Each contract covers 1,000 units of the foreign currency, except JPY-INR. JPY-INR covers 100,000 yen and is quoted in rupees per 100 yen.
- The tick is 0.25 paise, or Rs 0.0025. It equals Rs 2.50 a contract.
- Rupee pairs trade from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A monthly contract stops trading at 12:30 p.m. two working days before the expiry month’s last business day.
- Final settlement is in cash at the FBIL reference rate on expiry day. FBIL, Financial Benchmarks India, has published this rate in place of the Reserve Bank since 2018. Premium-style European options are quoted in rupees. The buyer pays the premium in cash on T+1.
- Daily settlement is on T+1 and final settlement is on T+2.
- NSE Clearing circular 026/2020 sets SPAN margin plus Extreme Loss Margin. The futures margin is 0.50% for USD-INR, 0.15% for EUR-INR, 0.25% for GBP-INR and 0.35% for JPY-INR. A short option has 0.75%. These figures apply from 1 June 2020.
- A USD-INR client may hold 6% of total open interest or USD 20 million, whichever is higher. A trading member may hold 15% or USD 100 million.
- A resident user has one USD 100 million equivalent limit across all rupee pairs and exchanges. No document is needed below that limit, but a valid underlying contracted exposure must still exist. This clarification applies from 3 May 2024.
- The currency segment has no Securities Transaction Tax.
The exam figures (questions, time, pass mark, negative marking and certificate validity) come from NISM's own pages, read on 31 October 2026. Timed practice uses the same figures. Study with the official workbook as well.
The written-out answers on this page are hidden while your timed set runs.
All 12 questions on Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents, with answers
Q1What is a core function of a mutual fund registrar and transfer agent?
Option A. Setting national interest rates
Why it is wrong: Monetary policy is not an RTA function.
Option B. Guaranteeing scheme returns
Why it is wrong: RTAs cannot guarantee investment returns.
Option C. Selecting the fund's portfolio securities
Why it is wrong: Portfolio selection belongs to the fund manager.
Option D. Maintaining investor and transaction records — Correct answer
Answer: D. An RTA maintains investor records and supports processing of mutual fund transactions.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think about who maintains investor accounts.
II-B-031easyconceptual
Q2Why must an RTA reconcile unit allotment records with accepted subscriptions?
Option A. To prevent mismatches in investor balances — Correct answer
Option B. To set equity market prices
Why it is wrong: Stock prices come from trading.
Option C. To decide statutory tax rates
Why it is wrong: Tax rates are set under law.
Option D. To choose the fund's next investment
Why it is wrong: Portfolio investment decisions are outside this RTA task.
Answer: A. Reconciling money received with units allotted helps detect missing or incorrect transactions.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Consider what happens if cash and units are recorded differently.
II-B-032mediumconceptual
Q3What is an investor folio in a mutual fund?
Option A. A bank's lending licence issued for the investor's loans
Why it is wrong: A folio is unrelated to bank licensing.
Option B. An account reference grouping investor holdings and transactions — Correct answer
Option C. A guarantee of a fixed return on every scheme the investor holds
Why it is wrong: A folio is record identification, not a return promise.
Option D. A share trading exchange where investors buy and sell units
Why it is wrong: A folio is not a marketplace.
Answer: B. A folio is the record under which an investor's mutual fund holdings and transactions are tracked.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think of the account used for servicing holdings.
II-B-033easyconceptual
Q4An investor reports that a purchase is missing from the statement. What should the RTA check first?
Option A. The next dividend declaration for the scheme
Why it is wrong: A dividend does not verify the missing purchase.
Option B. Today's unrelated stock prices on the exchange
Why it is wrong: Market prices do not show whether the purchase was recorded.
Option C. Application, payment and allotment records — Correct answer
Option D. Other investors' personal accounts and folios
Why it is wrong: Those records are confidential and irrelevant.
Answer: C. The RTA should reconcile the specific application, payment status and unit-allotment records.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Trace the transaction from request to payment to units.
II-B-034mediumapplication
Q5What is the main role of an Investor Service Centre operated by an RTA?
Option A. Choosing the investor's tax residency for reporting
Why it is wrong: Residency must be established through applicable rules and declarations.
Option B. Managing the fund's equity portfolio on a daily basis
Why it is wrong: Investment management sits with the AMC.
Option C. Announcing central bank policy changes to investors
Why it is wrong: Monetary decisions belong elsewhere.
Option D. Receiving and resolving investor service requests — Correct answer
Answer: D. An Investor Service Centre provides a channel for investor transactions and service queries.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think about an investor-facing support point.
II-B-035easyconceptual
Q6What does an Official Point of Acceptance help establish?
Option A. Formal receipt of a transaction request — Correct answer
Option B. Investor credit score for loan approval
Why it is wrong: Credit scores do not determine formal request receipt.
Option C. Guaranteed allotment profit on the units
Why it is wrong: Receipt does not imply profit.
Option D. Final market closing price of the day
Why it is wrong: Market prices are unrelated to the receipt location.
Answer: A. An Official Point of Acceptance is an authorised place or channel for receiving transaction requests.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Consider the documented arrival of an application.
II-B-036easyconceptual
Q7Why is accurate time stamping important when an RTA receives a mutual fund request?
Option A. It sets the issuer's corporate tax rate for the financial year
Why it is wrong: Tax rates do not come from application time stamps.
Option B. It helps determine eligibility for applicable NAV processing — Correct answer
Option C. It guarantees the investor a higher NAV than the previous day
Why it is wrong: Recording time does not promise an advantageous NAV.
Option D. It replaces payment confirmation from the investor's bank
Why it is wrong: Funds availability may still have to be established.
Answer: B. A valid receipt time is important for applying the scheme's transaction and NAV rules.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think about the order in which requests arrive.
II-B-037mediumconceptual
Q8How do a depository and an RTA generally differ for dematerialised mutual fund units?
Option A. Depository directly chooses portfolio trades while the RTA only prints account statements
Why it is wrong: Portfolio trades are decided by investment management.
Option B. RTA is the central bank and the depository acts as the fund's investment manager
Why it is wrong: An RTA is a servicing intermediary, not a bank regulator.
Option C. Depository maintains beneficial ownership accounts while RTA maintains issuer or fund records — Correct answer
Option D. Both independently set scheme NAV and each publishes its own figure for the same units
Why it is wrong: NAV is calculated under fund accounting and scheme rules.
Answer: C. Depositories maintain demat ownership accounts and RTAs coordinate fund records with them.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Separate the demat account system from the fund register.
II-B-038hardconceptual
Q9An investor's demat holding and fund register show different units. Which action best protects record accuracy?
Option A. Edit the investor's balance quickly in the register without an audit trail
Why it is wrong: Undocumented changes undermine controls.
Option B. Ignore the discrepancy until the investor asks for redemption
Why it is wrong: An unresolved mismatch can harm transactions.
Option C. Send the holding to another investor whose name looks similar
Why it is wrong: Reallocation without evidence is improper.
Option D. Reconcile RTA and depository data before correcting the discrepancy — Correct answer
Answer: D. Reconciling underlying RTA and depository records before making an authorised correction preserves control evidence.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think about matching two independent records safely.
II-B-039hardapplication
Q10Why are some RTAs classified as Qualified RTAs?
Option A. Their large or critical servicing role requires enhanced oversight — Correct answer
Option B. They guarantee all investor returns on the schemes they service
Why it is wrong: Enhanced classification is not return insurance.
Option C. They are exempt from cyber controls that apply to smaller RTAs
Why it is wrong: Important intermediaries normally face stronger controls.
Option D. They set mutual fund investment objectives for the AMCs they serve
Why it is wrong: Fund objectives are defined by fund documents and management.
Answer: A. QRTAs are significant servicing intermediaries subject to enhanced monitoring and resilience expectations.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Consider operational importance to the securities market.
II-B-040mediumconceptual
Q11An investor requests an updated bank mandate. Which role best fits the RTA?
Option A. Change the fund's benchmark to match the investor's new bank
Why it is wrong: Benchmark selection is unrelated to bank mandate servicing.
Option B. Validate supporting documents and update authorised investor records — Correct answer
Option C. Ignore fraud-control procedures so that the change is made faster
Why it is wrong: Payment details require careful validation.
Option D. Select the investor's preferred equity stocks for the scheme portfolio
Why it is wrong: An RTA does not provide discretionary stock selection.
Answer: B. The RTA processes bank-mandate changes only after required checks and authorisation.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think of record updates and fraud prevention.
II-B-041mediumapplication
Q12An RTA's investor database is unavailable during a redemption surge. Which concern is most immediate?
Option A. Raising the scheme's management fee to cover the outage
Why it is wrong: Fees do not resolve the service failure.
Option B. Forecasting next month's interest rates for debt schemes
Why it is wrong: Forecasting does not restore investor transaction records.
Option C. Service continuity and accurate transaction recovery — Correct answer
Option D. Improving the fund's equity alpha against its benchmark
Why it is wrong: Portfolio alpha is not the immediate operations issue.
Answer: C. Business continuity and recoverable transaction records are essential when critical RTA systems fail.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Think about investor access and reliable record recovery.
II-B-042hardapplication
Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents: common questions
How many practice questions are there on Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents?
12 questions, all written out on this page with the correct answer and why each other option is wrong. This unit is one of the 15 practice topics for NISM Series II-B, which has 150 questions in total.
Are these real NISM Series II-B questions on Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents?
No. LearnNifty wrote every question from NISM's public syllabus. NISM does not publish its question bank, so nobody can offer you the real paper. Use these questions to check that an idea has gone in. Use the official NISM workbook to see what is examined.
How much of the NISM Series II-B exam is Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents?
NISM's published syllabus outline gives it 25 of the paper's 100 marks, or 25% of the exam. That figure covers one published unit taught here under more than one heading (Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents and Registrars and Transfer Agents Regulations and Basics of Mutual Funds). So it is the marks for the group, not for this page alone. No source splits it, so it is not split here. The published unit it comes from: March 2025 Annexure I, Units 6 to 8 (Basics of Registrars and Transfer Agents to Basics of Mutual Funds): 25%
Does negative marking apply to NISM Series II-B?
No. NISM applies no negative marking to Series II-B. A wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark you did not earn, so a blank is never better than an attempt. Timed practice here uses the same rule.
Are these practice questions kept up to date?
Each question is written against the rules printed on this page, last checked on 5 September 2026. A Budget or a SEBI circular can change a rate, a lot size or an expiry day. If one of those rules changes before your exam, treat the questions that use it as out of date. Then check NISM's current workbook.
Registrars and Transfer Agents Regulations
12 questions on Registrars and Transfer Agents Regulations. Its quiz opens on that unit.
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