SEBI registered fee-only advisor Abhishek Kumar explains why we must check our KYC status and when it must be re-validated.
About the author: Abhishek is part of a freefincal’s curated list of fee-only financial advisors and a fee-only India member. His journey has been published earlier: Fee-only Advisor Abhishek Kumar’s tap dancing to financial freedom.
Most people who have been college students in their lives would have experienced a phenomenon where people delay things until right before the deadline. There is a word for that – Student Syndrome. In my college days, many students, including yours truly used even to miss the deadline. This phenomenon has also carried on in other aspects of life. We don’t even meet the deadline and then face the consequence of missing it.
The deadline for mutual fund (MF) investors to re-do their KYC if their KYC was not based on an officially valid document (OVD), which includes an Aadhaar card, passport, or voter ID card, among others, is over, and many MF investors are facing the brunt of missing the deadline. So, if you had completed your KYC using non-OVD, such as bank statements and utility bills, your KYC would no longer be valid after this deadline.
Why was SEBI asking to redo the KYC, and how does it affect your MF investments?
SEBI issued a master circular on KYC norms for the security market (dated October 12, 2023). As part of the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, MF investors were asked to redo the KYC by March 31, 2024, if it was previously done using non-OVD. So, after the deadline, although one could continue with existing MF investments, one could not invest in new MF units through a new AMC or other intermediary. For a list of OVDs, refer to pages 9 to 11 of SEBI’s master circular on KYC.
The easiest way to do this is to go to www.cvlkra.com and click “KYC Inquiry” on the homepage. Afterwards, input your PAN number and complete the captcha. If you see the status under the column “KYC Status” as “KYC Validated,” then you are good. If you don’t see that specific status, you can also check which document was previously used to complete KYC under the “Address Proof” column, as shown below.
If the status says “KYC registered”, you can continue investing in your existing funds, but if you wish to buy a fund from a new AMC, you must do a fresh KYC with Aaadhar or any other approved OVD. If the status says, “KYC on hold” or “KYC rejected”, then a fresh KYC is needed for any transaction.
The difficult way to ascertain KYC status would be to call the respective asset management company (AMC) or registrar and transfer agents (RTA) helpline numbers. So, I suggest the former route unless you are the kind of person who would like the churn experience in reaching out to AMC or RTA representatives through their helpline.
How can you redo your KYC? One can do so by both offline and online processes. In the offline process, one must submit a physical KYC form (along with the OVD) either to one of the mutual fund houses or the RTAs such as CAMS or Kfintech. Afterwards, this information is passed on to the KYC registration agencies (KRAs) such as NDML, CVL, etc., and then the updated KYC is reflected across all MF investments made under that PAN across all AMCs.
Depending on the KYC status of the investor, re-KYC can be done online on the website of a few fund houses, such as UTI. Like in re-KYC done offline mode, the updated KYC will reflect in your MF investments across all AMCs. In both processes, ensure that your PAN and Aadhar are linked; otherwise, you will face a problem completing the process. Also, we have learned that some RTAs do not consider the driving license to be OVD, although SEBI’s master circular on KYC lists it as OVD. So, we advise you to complete it through Aadhar-based validation to avoid such issues.
So, if you missed the bus, now would be the time to come out of your inertia and complete the re-KYC process so that you don’t have an issue making new MF investments going forward due to the KYC issue.
Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
Podcast: Let’s Get RICH With PATTU! Every single Indian CAN grow their wealth!
You can watch podcast episodes on the OfSpin Media Friends YouTube Channel.
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with the form below.
- Hit ‘reply’ to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!
About The Author
Dr. M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter, Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We have all made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it and teach him several key ideas of decision-making and money management is the narrative. What readers say!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. – Arun.
Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & it’s content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.
Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)