Sebi’s UDiFF cuts reporting formats from 200 to 23, members to save ₹200 crore

The unified distilled file formats (UDiFF) introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for ease of doing business are expected to save the market ecosystem an estimated ₹200 crore over the next five years.

To streamline processes, enhance ease of business and encourage innovation, Sebi launched an initiative to harmonize, simplify and standardize reporting formats. This effort reduced the number of formats from over 200 to just 23.

Reporting requirements for brokerages and other members will be reduced by 90%, while the entry costs for fintechs will be lowered, according to a Sebi press release on Thursday.

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Sebi’s reporting system is aimed at trading members, clearing members and depository participants, collectively called as members.

The members were required to submit multiple daily reports for processing various transactions with their respective market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), such as exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories. Each MII had its own proprietary report formats, leading to over 200 different formats being filed by members every day for transaction processing.

The introduction of the new reporting format has reduced this number to just 23 formats daily. These new formats were rolled out in parallel with the old system over two quarters, and the old formats have now been phased out in stages, Sebi said.

Key benefits

The key benefits of the new reporting system, as listed by Sebi, include:

Ease of doing business: Greater ease of business and operational efficiency through standardized reporting, with a 90% reduction in reporting formats for brokers, depository participants and clearing members.

Cost savings: The market ecosystem is expected to save over ₹200 crore in operational expenses over the next five years.

Fostering innovation: Lower integration costs with MIIs make it easier for new fintech firms to enter the market.

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Seamless transition: An interoperable interface between MIIs and members enabled a smooth transition without additional development costs.

Streamlined information flow: Standardized formats have improved the flow of information between MIIs.

Future-ready flexibility: The new file formats are adaptable to accommodate future changes.

Citing benefits to businesses, especially brokerages, Anand K Rathi, co-founder of Mira Money, said the UDiFF implemented was revolutionary as it could help “save up to 90% of my time and cost.”

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