Regulation 26J - Eligibility criteria - Securities and Exchange Board of India (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014

1 [ Eligibility criteria. 26J . (1) For the purpose of the grant of certificate to the trust, the Board shall consider all matters relevant to the activities of the trust as an SM REIT. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the Board shall consider the following, namely, (a) the applicant is the investment manager on behalf of the trust and the instrument of trust is in the form of a deed duly registered in India under the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908; (b) the trust deed has its main objective as undertaking activity of SM REIT through one or more schemes in accordance with these regulations and includes responsibilities of the trustee in accordance with these regulations; (c) separate persons have been designated as investment manager of the SM REIT and trustee of the SM REIT under these regulations; (d) with regard to the investment manager, (i) the investment manager is clearly identified in the application for grant of certificate of registration to the Board and in the scheme offer document; (ii) the investment manager has a net worth of not less than rupees twenty crore: Provided that not less than rupees ten crores of net worth of the investment manager is in the form of positive liquid net worth; (iii) the investment manager has at least two years experience in the real estate industry or real estate fund management: Provided that in case the investment manager is unable to meet the above requirement, it shall employ at least two key managerial personnel, each of whom have not less than five years experience in the real estate industry or real estate fund management; (iv) not less than half of the directors of the investment manager are independent and are not directors of the manager or investment manager of another REIT or SM REIT, as the case may be; and (v) the investment manager has entered into an investment management agreement with the trustee, which provides for the responsibilities of the investment manager in accordance with these regulations; (e) the trustee is not an associate of the investment manager; (f) no unit holder of the scheme of the SM REIT enjoys superior voting or any other rights over another unit holder in the same scheme and there are no multiple classes of units of scheme of the SM REIT; (g) the rights of each unitholder in the scheme are pro-rata and pari-passu; (h) the applicant has clearly described at the time of application for registration, details pertaining to proposed activities of the SM REIT; (i) the SM REIT and the parties to the SM REIT are fit and proper persons based on the criteria as specified in Schedule II of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008; (j) whether any previous application for grant of certificate by the applicant or the parties to the SM REIT or their directors, for registration as a REIT or an SM REIT, has been rejected by the Board; and (k) whether any disciplinary action has been taken by the Board or any other regulatory authority against the SM REIT or the parties to the SM REIT or their promoters or directors under any Act or the regulations or circulars issued thereunder. ] ************** NOTES:- 1. Inserted vide Notification No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2024/166 dated 08-03-2024