The Security and Exchange Board of India on 17th November 2022, notified the timeline for declaration of first close of schemes of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). In terms of Regulation 12(4) of AIF Regulations, the first close of the scheme shall be declared by an AIF in the manner as may be specified by SEBI from time to time.
- The First Close of a scheme shall be declared not later than 12 months from the date of SEBI communication for taking the PPM of the scheme on record. In case of open ended schemes of Category III AIFs, the First Close shall refer to the close of their Initial Offer Period.
- Corpus of the scheme at the time of declaring its First Close shall not be less than the minimum corpus prescribed in AIF Regulations for the respective category/sub-category of the AIF.
- The commitment provided by sponsor or manager at the time of declaration of First Close, to the extent to meet the aforesaid minimum corpus requirement, shall not be reduced or withdrawn or transferred, post First Close.
- Existing schemes of AIFs, who have not declared their First Close, shall declare their First Close not later than 12 months from the date of this circular
- The First Close of Large Value Fund for Accredited Investors (“LVF”) scheme shall be declared not later than 12 months from the date of grant of registration of the AIF or date of filing of PPM of scheme with SEBI, whichever is later. Existing LVF schemes shall declare their First Close not later than 12 months from the date of this circular.
- In case the First Close of a scheme is not declared within the timeline prescribed above, the AIF shall file a fresh application for launch of the said scheme as per applicable provisions of AIF Regulations by paying requisite fee to SEBI.
Further in terms of Regulation 13(4) of AIF Regulations, the manner of calculating the tenure of a close ended scheme of an AIF, including the manner of modification of the tenure has been specified under this circular and as per Regulation 20(13), in case of change of Sponsor or Manager, or change in control of the AIF, Sponsor or Manager, prior approval from the Board shall be taken by the AIF, subject to levy of fees and any other conditions as may be specified by SEBI from time to time has also been notified.
