Strategic Management and Corporate Finance · An Overview on Listing and Issuance of Securities in International Financial Services Centre

Listing of Securities on International Exchanges in IFSC

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Listing in an IFSC means getting securities admitted for trading on a stock exchange set up in an International Financial Services Centre, such as GIFT City. The IFSCA regulates it, using powers of SEBI and other regulators. To answer, state the law, apply it to the facts, and conclude.

Understand Listing of Securities on International Exchanges in IFSC

An International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is a centre set up under section 18 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005. India's first is at GIFT City, Gujarat. Exchanges there, such as India INX and NSE IFSC, let issuers list securities and trade them mainly in foreign currency.

The regulator is the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), a body corporate with perpetual succession, a common seal and the power to sue and be sued. It is established by the Central Government by notification under section 4 of the IFSCA Act, 2019.

Securities are a financial product under section 3(1)(d). So is any other product or instrument the Central Government notifies. Buying, selling or subscribing to securities, underwriting their issue and maintaining records of ownership are financial services under section 3(1)(e). A unit in the IFSC that renders such services is a financial institution.

Section 13(1) is the core. Powers that an appropriate regulator, listed in the First Schedule, has under the Acts named there are exercised in the IFSC by the Authority. This applies to the regulation of financial products, services and institutions. So a listing question in an IFSC is answered under IFSCA rules, not by going to SEBI.

Section 31 adds flexibility. The Central Government may notify that a Central Act, or its rules, does not apply in an IFSC, or applies with exceptions and modifications. This is how Indian company law and securities law are adapted for IFSC listings. The detailed eligibility conditions sit in IFSCA regulations. Learn them from your ICSI study material, because this page does not reproduce figures that the supplied text does not carry.

Key rules to remember

Financial product: Securities, insurance contracts, deposits, credit arrangements, foreign currency contracts (other than immediate-settlement currency exchange) and notified products; Section 3(1)(d). Listed equity and debt are securities, so they fall in this definition.
Transfer of regulatory powers: Powers of the appropriate regulator under the First Schedule Acts, in the IFSC → exercised by IFSCA; Section 13(1). It applies in so far as it relates to regulating financial products, services or institutions.
Procedure and penalty provisions: Procedure, inspection, adjudication and penalty provisions of the parent Acts apply mutatis mutandis; Section 13(4). Covers filing, inspection, investigation, compounding, appeals and fines.
Penalty currency: Penalty collected in foreign currency equivalent; sums credited to Consolidated Fund of India in rupees; Section 13(5) and (6). The exchange rate is the RBI-notified rate on the date of the order.
Power to modify enactments: Central Government notification → Act does not apply, or applies with modifications, in an IFSC; Section 31(1). A draft is laid before Parliament for thirty days under section 31(2).
Regulations: IFSCA may make regulations consistent with the Act and rules; Section 28(1). Section 28(2)(f) covers the foreign currency for IFSC transactions.

How to solve Listing of Securities on International Exchanges in IFSC questions

Listing questions are case-based. Use the same order each time: provision, facts, conclusion.

1Identify the issuer, the security (equity or debt), the exchange and whether it is in an IFSC.
2State that the IFSCA is the regulator in the IFSC and cite section 13(1) of the IFSCA Act, 2019.
3Classify the security as a financial product under section 3(1)(d) and the activity as a financial service under section 3(1)(e).
4Name the relevant IFSCA regulation and state its eligibility conditions as taught in your study material. Do not invent figures.
5Check any exemption or modification of Indian law, which comes through a section 31 notification.
6Apply each condition to the facts one by one, and note any gap.
7Give a clear conclusion, then the compliance steps: application to the exchange, disclosures, and post-listing filings.
8If penalties are asked, add section 13(4)-(6): parent Act procedure, foreign-currency collection, credit to the Consolidated Fund in rupees.

Quickest way: Four-line listing answer

When to use it: Use this when you are short of time on a 5 or 10 mark theory or case question.

Line 1: define the IFSC (section 18, SEZ Act, 2005) and name IFSCA as regulator.
Line 2: cite section 13(1) for the transfer of powers and section 3(1)(d) for securities as financial products.
Line 3: list the eligibility and disclosure conditions from the IFSCA regulation, then apply them to the facts.
Line 4: conclude with the permitted or not permitted answer and one compliance point.

Common mistakes in Listing of Securities on International Exchanges in IFSC

Saying SEBI approves listing on an IFSC exchange.
Students link all listing with SEBI from domestic chapters.
Fix: Write that under section 13(1) IFSCA exercises the relevant powers in the IFSC.
Quoting eligibility figures from memory without being sure.
Students mix IFSCA rules with SEBI ICDR thresholds.
Fix: State conditions only as you know them from the study material. Otherwise describe the principle and apply it to the facts.
Confusing section 13 with section 31.
Both deal with other laws in IFSCs.
Fix: Section 13 transfers regulators' powers to IFSCA. Section 31 lets the Central Government disapply or modify other Central Acts.
Saying penalties are collected in rupees.
Students assume the Indian currency is default.
Fix: Under section 13(5) they are collected in the foreign currency equivalent. Under section 13(6) the sums are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India in rupees.
Treating India INX and NSE IFSC as the same thing as domestic exchanges.
The names sound familiar.
Fix: Present them as exchanges in the IFSC, regulated by IFSCA, and write the answer in that framework.

Worked examples

Example 1

Bharat Infra Ltd, an Indian company, wants to list bonds on an exchange in GIFT City IFSC. Its CFO asks which authority regulates the listing and why. Advise.

Show the solution

Provision: section 13(1) of the IFSCA Act, 2019 says powers of an appropriate regulator under the First Schedule Acts are exercised by the Authority in the IFSC, in so far as they relate to regulating financial products, services or institutions.
Facts: bonds are securities, so a financial product under section 3(1)(d)(i). Listing and trading are financial services under section 3(1)(e). The exchange is in an IFSC.
Analysis: the regulatory powers over this listing therefore lie with IFSCA, not SEBI.
Practical point: the company should follow the IFSCA regulations on listing and disclosure, and check whether any section 31 notification modifies an Indian law that applies to it.

Answer: IFSCA regulates the listing, because section 13(1) vests the relevant regulators' powers in it within the IFSC. Bharat Infra should comply with IFSCA regulations and the exchange's requirements.

Example 2

IFSCA imposes a penalty on a listed IFSC entity for a contravention. In what currency is it collected, and where do the proceeds go?

Show the solution

Provision: section 13(5) says penalties, fines, fees and settlement amounts are collected in the foreign currency equivalent of the penalty imposed.
The rate of exchange is the one notified by the RBI on the date of the order imposing the penalty.
Section 13(6): all sums realised by way of penalties or fines under the Act are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India in Indian rupees.
Procedure for adjudication and recovery follows the parent Act, mutatis mutandis, under section 13(4).

Answer: The penalty is collected in the foreign currency equivalent, converted at the RBI-notified rate on the order date. The sums are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India in rupees.

Exam tips

Open every answer with the IFSCA Act section: 13(1) for regulator, 3(1)(d) for securities.
Quote section numbers only for the provisions in this page, and describe other rules in plain words.
Use the provision-facts-conclusion layout, with one practical compliance point at the end.
Keep section 13 (powers of IFSCA) and section 31 (modification of other Acts) separate in your answer.

Practice questions from An Overview on Listing and Issuance of Securities in International Financial Services Centre

Listing of Securities on International Exchanges in IFSC: frequently asked questions

Which regulator governs listing of securities in an IFSC?

The International Financial Services Centres Authority. Section 13(1) of the IFSCA Act, 2019 lets it exercise, in the IFSC, the powers of the appropriate regulators named in the First Schedule over financial products, services and institutions.

Are securities a financial product under the IFSCA Act?

Yes. Section 3(1)(d) lists securities first among financial products. It also covers insurance contracts, deposits, credit arrangements and certain foreign currency contracts.

Can Indian laws be modified for IFSC listings?

Yes. Under section 31 the Central Government can notify that a Central Act does not apply in an IFSC, or applies with modifications. The draft notification is laid before Parliament for thirty days.

Do I need to memorise IFSCA eligibility figures for the exam?

Learn the conditions in your ICSI study material and the current regulation. Since answers are descriptive, show the principle and apply it to the facts. Do not quote a figure you are unsure about.