8 September 2026
SEBI gives pre-2025 Angel Funds until 31 March 2027 to go accredited-investor-only, a day before the old deadline fell
Has SEBI extended the deadline for Angel Funds to raise only from accredited investors?
Yes, for Angel Funds registered on or before 10 September 2025. A circular dated 7 September 2026 moves their deadline to implement the accredited-investor mandate from 8 September 2026 to 31 March 2027, and moves the date after which they may not accept contribution from non-accredited investors to the same day. The 200-investor interim cap continues.
What changed
SEBI issued circular HO/19/34/11(7)2025-AFD-POD1/I/20626/2026 on 7 September 2026, addressed to all Alternative Investment Funds. It extends the date by which Angel Funds registered on or before 10 September 2025 must raise only from accredited investors, from 8 September 2026 to 31 March 2027.
The circular came a day before the deadline it moves, and it comes into force with immediate effect.
What it says
Para 8.1.2 of the AIF Master Circular of 3 June 2026 is substituted. The new text keeps the structure of the old and changes the date in two places:
| Obligation | Was | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Implement the accredited-investor mandate | 8 September 2026 | 31 March 2027 |
| Stop accepting contribution from non-accredited investors | after 8 September 2026 | after 31 March 2027 |
| Cap on non-accredited investors offered an opportunity in the interim | 200 | 200, unchanged |
| Existing investors | Continue to hold investments already made, per the PPM | Unchanged |
SEBI attributes the change to "representation from the AIF industry requesting additional time for the then existing Angel Funds to meet the Accredited Investor mandate", and frames it as ease of compliance. The circular is issued under section 11(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992, read with regulations 19D(1) and 36 of the AIF Regulations.
Who this reaches
Only Angel Funds that already held registration on 10 September 2025. Para 8.1.1 is untouched, so an Angel Fund registered after that date must still on-board and offer opportunities to accredited investors only, from the start, with no transitional period. The manager's obligation under para 8.1.3 to verify accreditation at the point of accepting contribution — a valid certificate, or deemed status under regulation 2(1)(ab) — also stands.
What is not settled
Two deadlines fell on 8 September 2026, and only one of them moved.
Para 8.2.2 requires an Angel Fund existing as on 10 September 2025 that has not declared first close to do so on or before 8 September 2026. Para 8.2.3 provides the consequence: refile the private placement memorandum with SEBI and pay the fee again. Paragraph 6 of the new circular states that all other provisions of Chapter 8 remain unchanged, and the first-close timeline sits in para 8.2, not 8.1.
On the face of the two documents, a pre-2025 Angel Fund that has not declared first close still had to do so by 8 September 2026, while having until 31 March 2027 to complete its transition to accredited investors. The circular does not address the overlap, and SEBI has not said whether the first-close timeline will be revisited.
Sources
- Relaxation in timeline with respect to Accredited Investor mandate for Angel Funds — HO/19/34/11(7)2025-AFD-POD1/I/20626/2026 — SEBI, 7 September 2026 · primary
- Relaxation in timeline with respect to Accredited Investor mandate for Angel Funds, full text, 3 pages — SEBI, 7 September 2026 · primary
- Master Circular for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Chapter 8, paras 8.1 and 8.2 — SEBI, 30 July 2026 · primary
Dated 8 September 2026. The dateline is the date of the instrument this item reports, not the date the page was written. This page reports what a document says. It is information, not legal, tax or investment advice, and it is not a recommendation about any fund.