Closure cum shifting of demat account

Central Depository Services Limited, vide Circular No. CDSL/OPS/DP/POLCY/2026/232 dated April 02, 2026, has announced an important update regarding Closure cum shifting of demat account.

Key Details of the Update –
• This communiqué refers to Communiqué no. CDSL/OPS/DP/POLCY/2025/451 dated July 04, 2025, through which Depository Participants (DPs) were informed about the Securities and Exchange Board of India advisory letter governing closure cum shifting of demat account procedures.
• With reference to point no. 9 of the earlier communiqué, Central Depository Services Limited has clarified that in cases of inter-depository or intra-depository closure cum transfer involving identical PAN holding pattern in the source and target demat accounts, across or within depositories, the process is now enabled without requiring a Client Master Report (CMR).
• Accordingly, for processing such closure cum shifting requests through CDSL systems, DPs are not required to obtain a copy of the CMR from the Beneficial Owner(s) (BOs) where the source and target accounts have the same PAN holding pattern.
• However, where the closure cum shifting request relates to demat account(s) in which the PAN of any holder / BO is not available in CDSL systems, the copy of the CMR must still be obtained from the BO(s) and verified by the DPs before processing such requests in the CDSL system.
• The clarification is therefore a process relaxation for transfers with identical PAN-based ownership pattern, while retaining documentary verification in cases where PAN data is unavailable in the depository records. This reduces operational friction for standard account transfer cases but preserves control checks for accounts with incomplete identification records.

Actions if Any –
• Depository Participants should process inter-depository / intra-depository closure cum transfer requests with identical PAN holding pattern without insisting on a Client Master Report, where the required PAN details are available in CDSL systems.
• Where the PAN of any holder / Beneficial Owner is not available in CDSL systems, DPs must obtain and verify the Client Master Report from the Beneficial Owner(s) before processing the closure cum shifting request.
• DPs are requested to take note of the clarification and ensure compliance with the revised processing requirement.