Ahmedabad: The GIFT City International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has cancelled the licence of a broker-dealer after finding that a company was operating data and IT-enabled services that do not fall within the scope of securities or commodity derivatives business. The company, which had received its broker-dealer registration in 2022, came under scrutiny after regulatory inspections found serious irregularities. According to the order, officials made two visits to the registered office in GIFT City and found the premises closed on both occasions. The regulator also found that the entity had no investor clients on record and was not conducting its licensed trading operations from GIFT City.Instead, the company was found to be earning its revenue entirely from data and IT services, an activity not permitted under its broker-dealer registration in the international financial services centre. When trading-related activity was undertaken, it was handled from locations outside GIFT City, raising further concerns about compliance with licence conditions.The enforcement panel cancelled the registration on April 6, 2026, marking one of the strongest signals yet from the regulator that entities cannot use GIFT City merely as a nominal base while pursuing unrelated businesses.The action is being seen as important for the credibility of GIFT City, which has been positioning itself as India’s international financial hub for global banks, brokers, fund managers and investors. As the centre expands, regulators appear keen to ensure that only genuine financial activity is conducted under its framework, experts said.Ajay Jaisingh, co-founder at STA Global (IFSC) LLP, said, “GIFT City is at an inflection point. Global investors and intermediaries are watching closely, and what they want to see is not just tax benefits. They want a jurisdiction with credibility and a regulatory backbone. This action by IFSCA shows exactly that. If you are here, you must be genuinely here, with people, infrastructure, and the right business. That standard, consistently enforced, is what will make GIFT City a truly world-class financial centre.”
