Stock Market Rules From April 1: Starting April 1, 2026, a set of new stock market rules will come into effect that will impact the F&O trading, brokers, among others. Let's take a look in detail below:
STT Hike On F&O Trading
Starting April 1, 2026, STT on futures contracts will be hiked to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent. Similarly, STT on options premium and exercise of options will increase to 0.15 per cent from 0.1 per cent and 0.125 per cent, respectively
50:50 Margin Rule - Stock Market Rules
It means that a minimum of 50 per cent of the margin for F&O positions must be in cash. The remaining can come from non-cash collateral. Traders will need more cash for trade.
Bank Lending Rule For Brokers
Banks will be prohibited from lending for proprietary trading and will require 100 per cent collateral for other funding to brokers. Earlier, trading platforms were allowed to use bank financing to ramp up leverage.
New Algo Trading Rules - Stock Market Rules
As per SEBI, a static IP address will be mandatory for APIs for trading. All existing API will be deleted. As per SEBI, only one active API key will be linked to a static IP.
Share Buyback Tax Change
A flat 12 per cent surcharge will be applicable on capital gains from share buyback. Earlier, no surcharge was levied on taxable income up to Rs 50 lakhs from share buybacks. Taxable income between Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 1 crore attracted a 10 per cent surcharge.
