BSE shares fall 19% after SEBI order on regulatory fee for options contract; check details

Shares of the BSE, one of the two prime stock exchanges of the country, fell by 19% during the early trading hours on Monday, April 29. The decline was linked to a SEBI order issued on April 26, that asked the bourse to pay regulatory fee on options contract based on "notional value", instead of premium value.

Shortly after the opening bell, the shares of BSE were valued at ₹2,612 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This was down around 19% as compared to the last closing price, and also marked the sharpest intraday plunge for the bourse since it has been listed.

On April 28, a day before the start of the week’s trading session, BSE said in a regulatory filing that it was “currently evaluating the validity, or otherwise, of the claim as per SEBI communication”.

What did the SEBI order on regulatory fees say?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, in its letter issued to the BSE, said the exchange has been paying regulatory fee on annual turnover considering premium value for option contracts, instead of notional value.

The bourse is advised to pay the same on “notional value”, and must also “pay the differential regulatory fee for the past periods along with applicable interest”. The rate of interest has been pegged at 15%.

What is the amount BSE has been asked to pay now?

BSE, in a regulatory filing on April 28, said “if it is ascertained that the said amount is payable”, then the total differential SEBI regulatory fees for the past periods – i.e. from FY 2006-07 to FY 2022-23 – would be approximately “₹68.64 crore plus GST”. This includes an interest of ₹30.34 crore, it added.

Meanwhile, the differential regulatory fee for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, “if liable, could be around ₹96.30 crore plus GST”, the exchange noted.

BSE further said that it has already paid a regulatory fee for FY 2023-24 of ₹1.66 crore plus GST, calculated on the basis of premium value.