Sebi Clarifies Compliance Officer Position in Company Hierarchy

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday clarified the term 'level' under disclosure regulations for listed entities, stating that it refers to the Compliance Officer's position within a company's organisational hierarchy.

This means the Compliance Officer should report directly to the Managing Director (MD) or Whole-Time Director(s) who are part of the Board.

In the absence of such directors, the Compliance Officer should be not more than one level below the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Manager, or any other person responsible for the day-to-day operations, Sebi said in its latest circular, proving clarification on the position of the Compliance Officer under the LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) norms.

The clarification comes after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) received queries seeking clarification on the term 'level' used in this regulation.

As per the amendment introduced through the Third Amendment Regulations, 2024, the Compliance Officer must be in full-time employment with the listed entity, positioned one level below the Board of Directors, and designated as Key Managerial Personnel.

In a separate circular, Sebi extended the deadline to finalise the implementation standards by one month till May 1, 202 with regards to safer participation of retail investors in algorithmic trading.

The Broker's Industry Standards Forum (ISF), in consultation with Sebi and under the guidance of stock exchanges, was supposed to finalise the implementation standards by April 1, 2025.

However, Sebi received a request from exchanges to extend the deadline, as some issues require more discussions with the Brokers' ISF. To ensure smooth implementation without affecting market operations or investors, Sebi has decided to make the implementation standards effective from May 1, 2025.