IFSCA Approves Regulatory Relaxations Across Funds | Intermediaries | GICs

Press Release Dated 23.12.2025

1. Regulatory Context

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), at its 26th meeting held on December 22, 2025, approved a series of amendments across multiple regulatory frameworks governing financial activities in GIFT IFSC.

These amendments reflect IFSCA’s continued effort to refine regulations based on industry feedback, address operational bottlenecks, and strengthen GIFT IFSC’s position as a global hub for high-value financial services.

2. Regulatory Frameworks Covered

The approvals span amendments across the following key regulatory domains:

• Fund Management Framework
• Capital Market Intermediaries
• Global In-House Centres (GICs)
• Book-keeping, Accounting, Taxation and Financial Crime Compliance (BATF) Services

Each set of amendments is tailored to the unique operational and compliance challenges faced by entities operating in IFSC.

3. Key Objectives of the Amendments

The regulatory changes aim to:

• Address operational challenges encountered by regulated entities
• Enhance ease of doing business through simplification and procedural clarity
• Provide greater regulatory flexibility without diluting supervisory oversight
• Support the scaling and diversification of high-value financial services
• Improve regulatory alignment with global best practices

4. Focus Areas of Reform

4.1 Fund Management

Amendments in the fund management framework are designed to:

• Improve operational efficiency for fund managers
• Facilitate product innovation and fund structuring
• Enhance investor access and cross-border fund flows

4.2 Capital Market Intermediaries

Changes relating to capital market intermediaries focus on:

• Streamlining registration and compliance processes
• Reducing procedural friction
• Supporting market development and intermediary participation in IFSC

4.3 Global In-House Centres (GICs)

The approved amendments seek to:

• Strengthen GIFT IFSC’s attractiveness as a destination for GICs
• Enable financial institutions to centralise high-value functions such as risk, treasury, analytics, compliance, and operations
• Provide clarity on permissible activities and regulatory expectations

4.4 BATF Services (Book-keeping, Accounting, Taxation & Financial Crime Compliance)

For BATF service providers, the amendments aim to:

• Encourage growth of specialised professional services in IFSC
• Provide regulatory certainty for outsourced and shared services
• Support development of compliance, AML/CFT, and financial crime risk management ecosystems

5. Strategic Significance for GIFT IFSC

The approvals reinforce IFSCA’s strategy to:

• Position GIFT IFSC as a globally competitive financial centre
• Attract international capital, institutions, and talent
• Promote innovation while maintaining robust regulatory standards
• Build a deep ecosystem covering funds, markets, intermediaries, and professional services

6. Next Steps

Detailed notifications, circulars, or amendments to regulations are expected to be issued by IFSCA to operationalise the approved changes. Regulated entities should closely monitor:

• Final regulatory texts
• Transitional provisions, if any
• Effective dates and compliance timelines

7. Key Takeaway

At its 26th meeting, IFSCA approved multi-sector regulatory amendments aimed at enhancing flexibility, operational ease, and growth potential across fund management, capital markets, GICs, and professional services—further strengthening GIFT IFSC’s role as a premier international financial hub.

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