SEBI (Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993
4 questions. Each answer is explained.
Question 1 of 4Practice · Series III-A — Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund)
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Learn these topics
More units in NISM Series III-A
- Introduction to the Financial System8
- Regulatory Framework – General View14
- Introduction to Compliance6
- Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 199211
- Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and Rules, 19576
- SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 20089
- SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 20159
- SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, 20039
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 200211
- SEBI (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations, 20113
- SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 20195
- SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 19929
- SEBI (Merchant Bankers) Regulations 1992, etc.9
- SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 20189
- Depositories Act 19963
- SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations 20184
- SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 20143
- SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 20133
- SEBI (Debenture Trustees) Regulations, 19934
- SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 19994
- SEBI (Custodian) Regulations, 19964
- Proxy Advisors3
Exam format
| Questions | 100 · 1 mark each |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 min · 2 hours |
| Pass mark | 60% · 60 of 100 marks |
| Negative marking | 25% · 0.25 marks off per wrong answer |
| Certificate validity | 3 years · from the date of the examination |
| Marks for this unit | Not published by NISM |
NISM Series III-A Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Non-Fund)
Exam rules read on NISM's site on 17 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 If a rule changes before your exam, treat the linked questions as out of date and check NISM's current workbook.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 17 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 4 questions on SEBI (Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993, with answers
Q1Which issue intermediary primarily processes application records and supports the allotment administration process?
Option A. The credit rating agency
Why it is wrong: A rating agency provides credit opinions rather than administering equity applications.
Option B. The proxy adviser
Why it is wrong: A proxy adviser advises on shareholder voting rather than issue allotment records.
Option C. The registrar to the issue — Correct answer
Option D. The investor’s portfolio manager
Why it is wrong: A portfolio manager manages client portfolios rather than serving as the issue’s registrar by default.
Answer: C. The registrar to the issue processes relevant application records and performs allotment-related administrative work. Remember: The registrar’s role centres on reliable issue and investor records.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Confusing application administration with investment advice. Match the issue’s application data and allotment work to the relevant service provider.
III-A-126easyconceptual
Q2Which role primarily maintains and processes an issuer’s security-holder records and related transfer requests?
Option A. A research analyst
Why it is wrong: A research analyst prepares analysis rather than administering holder records.
Option B. A foreign-exchange dealer
Why it is wrong: Foreign-exchange dealing does not define the issuer’s transfer-agent function.
Option C. A share transfer agent — Correct answer
Option D. A debt underwriter
Why it is wrong: An underwriting commitment does not by itself make the underwriter the transfer agent.
Answer: C. A share transfer agent performs the relevant security-holder record and transfer-processing functions for the issuer. Remember: A transfer agent’s administrative role differs from custody, trading and research roles.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Assuming every intermediary that handles securities maintains the issuer’s register. Focus on ongoing holder records rather than research or financing commitments.
III-A-127easyconceptual
Q3A registrar is an associate of a corporate issuer under the applicable definition. May it act as registrar for that issuer’s securities issue?
Option A. Yes, a disclosure alone always removes the restriction
Why it is wrong: Disclosure does not override this express prohibition.
Option B. Yes, if the registrar charges no fee
Why it is wrong: Waiving the fee does not remove the associate relationship.
Option C. Yes, if the proposed issue is fully subscribed
Why it is wrong: Subscription levels do not create an exemption from the restriction.
Option D. No, the associate restriction prohibits that appointment — Correct answer
Answer: D. The registrar may not act for the associate issuer because regulation 16 imposes that restriction. Remember: Some conflicts require avoiding the appointment rather than adding a disclaimer.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Assuming every conflict can be resolved through disclosure alone. Distinguish an explicit appointment prohibition from a conflict that can merely be disclosed.
III-A-128mediumapplication
Q4A registrar’s management denies its compliance officer access needed to examine a breach. Which code requirement is undermined?
Option A. The requirement for an authorised share capital of a stated amount
Why it is wrong: The case concerns the officer’s access and powers rather than the firm’s capital.
Option B. The requirement to reconcile each investor’s allotment quantity
Why it is wrong: No allotment-quantity reconciliation problem is described.
Option C. Adequate freedom and powers for the compliance officer — Correct answer
Option D. The requirement to verify bank details before a refund
Why it is wrong: No refund bank-verification failure is described.
Answer: C. The code requires adequate freedom and powers so the compliance officer can discharge the duties effectively. Remember: The compliance officer must have practical authority and access, not merely a title.
Hint, shown before you answer in practice mode: Common mistake: Appointing an officer without giving the role usable powers. Consider whether the officer has the practical ability to perform the role.
III-A-129mediumapplication
SEBI (Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993: common questions
How many practice questions are there on SEBI (Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993?
4 questions, all written out on this page with the correct answer and why each other option is wrong. This unit is one of the 23 practice topics for NISM Series III-A, which has 150 questions in total.
Are these real NISM Series III-A questions on SEBI (Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993?
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.
Does negative marking apply to NISM Series III-A?
Yes. NISM takes off 25% of a question's marks for a wrong answer. On a 1-mark question that is 0.25 marks off. A blank question earns nothing and loses nothing, so a wrong guess costs marks on this paper. 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.
SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014
3 questions on SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014. Its quiz opens on that unit.
Open SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014Paper Trading Try it on the practice trading desk