The National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange revised their fee structures effective October 1, 2024, after Sebi directed Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs)—including stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories—to follow a uniform rate for all clients. Earlier, they followed a slab-wise fee structure based on customers' trading volumes.
The exchanges have now set the rate at a midpoint of the range they used to follow previously. To clarify, let's examine the key changes in charges.
Changes in Transaction Charges
NSE
In the Cash Market, a flat fee of Rs 2.97 per lakh of traded value will be charged down from the previous range of Rs 2.97 to Rs 3.22 under the slab-wise structure.
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Equity Futures will charge a flat fee of Rs 1.73 per lakh of traded value, down from the earlier range of Rs 1.73 to Rs 1.88. In equity options, a flat fee of Rs 35.03 per lakh of premium value will be charged, compared to the previous range of Rs 29.50 to Rs 49.50.
BSE
On the BSE changes have been announced for the Sensex and Bankex Options: A flat fee of Rs 3,250 per crore of premium turnover value, compared to the earlier slab of Rs 500 to Rs 4,950 will be charged. For the BSE, transaction charges for Equity Futures, Sensex 50, and Stock Options remain unchanged.
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Impact on Market Players
Market onlookers say discount brokers like Groww, Upstox, Zerodha Angel One, Zerodha, and 5Paisa will feel the brunt of the Sebi circular. Under the previous slab-wise regime, they could pocket the difference between the transaction charges paid to the exchanges (lower due to high trading volumes) and the charges passed on to clients (typically higher).To illustrate with a random example, brokers may charge clients Rs 47.50 per lakh of premium value for equity options and pay a lower rate of Rs 27.50 per lakh when volumes exceed a certain threshold, keeping the difference for themselves. For stock exchanges, the reduced transaction charges for end-users (investors) could potentially increase trading volumes, which could positively impact the exchanges. However, the actual outcome is yet to be seen. BSE shares surged Rs 18 to Rs 3,663 after this announcement. Discount brokers such as Angel One, 5 Paisa, and Motilal Oswal surged Rs 31, Rs 5, and Rs 3 today. All these stocks are in green monthly.