Section 52A: Establishment of Central KYC Registry

52A. Establishment of Central KYC Registry (1) Notwithstanding section 51A(4) and any other enactment, the Bank may, for the purpose of collecting KYC records submitted to KYC institutions by their customers, Acts 2018 235 establish a Central KYC Registry and require any KYC institution to furnish to the Registry, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, such information as it may require for the purpose of maintaining the Registry. (2) Any duty of confidentiality which may have been imposed on any KYC institution under any enactment shall not apply where the information is required for transmission to the Registry. (3) Every KYC institution shall inform its customers that their KYC records shall be submitted to the Registry. (4) Where it appears to the Bank that any KYC institution has refrained from complying, or negligently failed to comply, with any requirement imposed under this section, the Bank may – (a) by directive, require the KYC institution to remedy the situation; (b) impose such penalty or charge not exceeding 50, 000 rupees for each day on which such breach occurs and the penalty may be recovered by deduction from any balance of the KYC institution with, or as money owing to, the Bank as if it were a civil debt; or (c) in the absence of any reasonable excuse, proceed against the KYC institution under section 11 or 17 of the Banking Act on grounds that it is carrying on business in a manner which is contrary to the interests of the public or, in the case of any other KYC institution, refer the matter to the relevant supervisory authority for such action as it may deem appropriate. 236 Acts 2018 (5) Neither the Bank nor any KYC institution shall be liable to any prosecution, action or suit in respect of any matter or thing done by them in the discharge, in good faith, of their functions under this section. (6) The Bank may, for the purpose of this section, make such regulations or issue such instructions or guidelines as it deems necessary. (7) In this section – “Central KYC Registry” or “Registry” means the central registry established under subsection (1); “KYC institution” means any institution or person, duly licensed by the Bank or the Financial Services Commission established under the Financial Services Act which or who is required to verify the identity of its or his customers under the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act; “KYC records” means the records, including the electronic records, relied upon by a KYC institution in carrying out customer due diligence verification.