SEBI · Mutual Funds · 12 October 2026
Regulatory status: Notified, not yet in force. The Regulations come into force on the one hundred eightieth day from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. The Gazette issue is dated 9 October 2026.
A schedule that sits inside the Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026 is about to disappear — and the advertisement rules it carried will be found elsewhere. SEBI has omitted the Fifth Schedule and pointed two provisions of the Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026 to Chapter IIID of the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008 — the new Common Advertisement Code. The change is made by the Mutual Funds (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notified on 8 October 2026.
Quick Answer: On 8 October 2026, SEBI notified the (Mutual Funds) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (F. No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/324), published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary on 9 October 2026. Regulation 28 and regulation 81(l) — the two provisions that policed mutual fund advertisements through the Fifth Schedule — will now point to the Common Advertisement Code in Chapter IIID of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008. The Fifth Schedule itself is deleted. In force from the 180th day of Gazette publication.
Quick Reference
What Changed? — old vs new
📝 In Plain English: two rules in the Mutual Funds Regulations used to say "advertisements must follow the code in the Fifth Schedule". That Schedule is being removed, and the same rules will now say "follow the code in Chapter IIID of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008". It is a change of address for the rulebook — and the new address is shared with every other intermediary category.
Why Does This Matter?
The notification itself gives no reason — but the context is on the public record. On the same day, 8 October 2026, SEBI notified the (Intermediaries) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (F. No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/323), which inserted Chapter IIID (Regulations 16G to 16Q) — a Common Advertisement Code — into the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008. That common code covers stock brokers, depository participants, investment advisers, research analysts, mutual funds, AMCs and portfolio managers under one rulebook: uniform definition of "advertisement", mandatory disclosures, celebrity endorsements only at brand level with prior approval, and bans on guaranteed-return claims, dark patterns and misleading comparisons.
Keeping a separate MF advertisement code in the Fifth Schedule alongside the new common code would have meant two overlapping rulebooks for the same ads. This amendment removes the duplication. For practitioners, the practical point is where to look: after the effective date, MF advertisement compliance is tested against Chapter IIID of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008 — not a schedule that no longer exists.
Who Is Affected?
Applicability: the amendment operates on the Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026, so mutual funds, asset management companies, trustees and sponsors working under that framework — and anyone applying regulations 28 and 81(l) — should track the cross-reference shift.
Exemptions: none are stated in the notification.
Entity-specific conditions: none are stated in the amendment.
What Does Each Provision of the Amendment Say?
Regulation 1: Short title
The amendment may be called the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026.
Regulation 2: Commencement
The Regulations come into force on the one hundred eightieth day from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. This is a deferred commencement — unlike amendments that apply straight from publication, the market gets roughly six months' lead time.
Regulation 3(I): Regulation 28, Chapter V
The words "in the Fifth Schedule" are substituted with "in Chapter IIID of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008". Regulation 28 is the provision requiring AMC advertisements to conform to the Advertisement Code — so the conformity obligation now points at the common code.
Regulation 3(II): Regulation 81(l), Chapter XVI
The words "in Fifth Schedule" are substituted with "in Chapter IIID of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008". (The notified text omits the article "the" here, unlike in regulation 28 — reproduced as notified.) Regulation 81 lists defaults attracting regulatory action; clause (l) is the advertisement-contravention default, so the enforcement reference moves in step.
Regulation 3(III): Fifth Schedule
The Fifth Schedule is omitted — the MF-specific Advertisement Code is deleted from the regulations entirely.
When Does It Apply?
Date computation (editorial). The source gives the rule but not the calendar date. Treating 9 October 2026 as the publication date and excluding the day of publication from the count, the 180th day falls on 7 April 2027. Counting conventions can differ by a day, so confirm against SEBI's own communication before relying on it for compliance planning.
Until the effective date, the existing text of regulations 28 and 81(l) and the Fifth Schedule continues to read as it currently does — the natural consequence of a deferred commencement.
What Should Practitioners Do Before the Effective Date?
The operative change is a cross-reference, so the useful preparation is a document review rather than a process overhaul — but it should not be skipped, because policies citing a deleted Schedule will point nowhere.
The notification prescribes no form, filing or penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did SEBI change in the Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026 on 8 October 2026?
SEBI replaced the references to the Fifth Schedule in regulations 28 and 81(l) with references to Chapter IIID of the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008 — the Common Advertisement Code — and omitted the Fifth Schedule.
When do the Mutual Funds (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 come into force?
On the one hundred eightieth day from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. The Gazette issue is dated 9 October 2026.
Which provisions of the MF Regulations, 2026 are amended?
Regulation 28 in Chapter V and regulation 81(l) in Chapter XVI are amended, and the Fifth Schedule is omitted.
What replaces the Fifth Schedule?
Regulations 28 and 81(l) will refer to Chapter IIID of the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008 — the Common Advertisement Code inserted by the companion (Intermediaries) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 notified the same day.
Does the amendment change any substantive requirement?
The notification text makes no substantive change beyond the two substitutions and the omission. Whether every clause of the old Fifth Schedule code maps exactly onto Chapter IIID should be checked by comparing the two texts directly.
Under what power did SEBI make this amendment?
Section 30 read with section 11(2)(c) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
Is there a transition period or exemption?
The notification states neither. The only built-in lead time is the 180-day gap between publication and commencement.
Which earlier notifications does this amendment build on?
The Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026 were published on 15 January 2026 (No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/294) and last amended on 7 July 2026 (No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/307).
CorpLawUpdates Analysis
For compliance teams, the immediate issue is traceability. Policies, checklists and agreements that cite the Fifth Schedule will point to a provision that no longer exists once the amendment commences — they need re-pointing to Chapter IIID of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008. The 180-day window is ample for that review.
The open question is substantive equivalence: the notification is silent on whether Chapter IIID mirrors the Fifth Schedule clause-for-clause, so compare the texts directly rather than assuming the change is purely cosmetic. Also worth watching is any SEBI circular accompanying the amendment, since the notification itself carries no explanatory note beyond the history of the Regulations.
📎 Source Note
Document: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026
References: F. No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/324; Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, No. 609; CG-MH-E-10102026-277042; [ADVT.-III/4/Exty./378/2026-27]
Dates: Notified 8 October 2026; Gazette dated 9 October 2026
Signatory: Amit Pradhan, Executive Director
Primary source: SEBI — (Mutual Funds) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Readers should verify the applicable primary regulatory source before taking action.
