Transfer of Share from one Demat account to another is similar to the transfer of money from one bank account to another. Often one opens a Demat account and then later one finds a Demat account which is more suitable For example One may have opened an account with a Full-service broker like ICICIDirect but then discount brokers like Zerodha came and to save brokerage one may transfer shares in Demat account to another or one likes the interface of a broker or there is a change in investment strategy. This process can be online or offline. It depends on the depository CDSL or NSDL of your Demat Accounts. The transfer may either be intra-depository or inter-depository. The transfer may be online or offline. Why do people transfer shares? What are the tax implications on transferring? What is the process of transferring shares?

Reasons for transferring the Demat Account

• Switching of a broker, For example, to reduce brokerage fees by moving from your current broker to a discount broker.
• Consolidate your holdings from various accounts into a single account. Often open several demat accounts over a period of time, making it increasingly tedious to keep track of each of the separate accounts
• Separate the shares to different accounts to meet various long-term financial goals, like children’s education or retirement planning.

You may transfer shares from one Demat account to another either manually or via online procedure.

There are no tax implications when you transfer the shares from your Demat account to another account held in your name. But if you gift the shares 

The broker may levy certain transfer fees, but if you are closing the Demat account and the target account details with PAN are the same then there is no transfer fee. The transfer fees vary from one DP to another.

Depository systems: NSDL CDSL

If you need to move shares from one Demat account to another, you need to know about depository systems. In India, there are two depository systems: NSDL(National Securities Depository Limited ) & CDSL(Central Depository Services Limited).   For example, Zerodha is on CDSL while ICICIDirect is on NSDL.

Article What are NSDL and CDSL? What is the difference between NSDL & CDSL? explains what is depository in detail

The NSDL Demat account number starts with the letter IN and is followed by 14-digit numeric numbers.

The CDSL Demat account number is a 16-digit numeric number.

DP ID is a unique number or code allocated to every Depository Participant. The first 8-digits of your Demat account number is your DP ID where the last 8-digits of your Demat account number is the Customer/Client ID of the account holder.

The transfer may either be intra-depository or inter-depository.

• Intra-depository transfer, the shares move from one account to another held within the same depository.
• Inter-depository transfers happen when shares are moved from one depository to another.

Tax on Transfer of shares

When share transfers are in the name of the same person, there is no tax liability. Capital gains will be calculated from the date of original purchase and not the transfer date.

If you transfer shares to your spouse or children and supported by a valid gift deed, there is no tax liability. The capital gains in case of sale are also applicable from the date of original purchase.

If you transfer the shares to another person, you will need to provide a clear and legitimate reason for the same. 

But f you re-transfer the shares received via a previous transfer, there will be a capital gains tax liability on the same.

Manual transfer of Shares: Delivery Information Slip 

To manually transfer shares one requires the Delivery Information Slip (DIS) from your Broker.  Just as you have cheque book for your bank account, the DIS is for DEMAT account. DIS can be used for all transfers and transactions on your Demat account as per your requirement. But mostly is used for transferring shares from one DEMAT to another.

Transfer shares using DIS slip

In DIS one needs to fill in the Demat account number to which you want to transfer, ISIN number(International securities identification number) of the share that you needs to transfer, and the quantity you need to transfer as shown in the image below

The electronic delivery instruction slip (e-DIS) facility can be used by all the customers, who have not provided us Power of Attorney (POA), to debit shares from a Demat account and execute sell transactions.

DIS booklets are given to clients only on request.

• For intra-depository transfers, you need to opt for the “Off-market transfer” option,
• For Inter depository you need to choose the “Inter-depository transfer” option. 

2. Sign the slip. It is important that your signature matches the records of the broker. If account is joint then all account holders have to sign.
3. Submit the DIS to your current broker to initiate the transfer procedure.

If your brokers are with CDSL, you can use CDSL ‘EASIEST’ platform, for the transfer of shares to Trusted account.

Register on CDSL site at https://web.cdslindia.com/myeasi/Home/Login and provide the existing Demat account details.

Add trusted accounts which is basically the Demat account to which the shares will be transferred. Upon successful addition of this account after 24 hours, one can transfer stocks, securities from the old account.

What is CDSL Easiest

CDSL Easiest to transfer shares online

How to use CDSL Easiest

What is ISIN number?

Reliance code on BSE: 500325, on NSE is RELIANCE, but its ISIN is INE002A01018

INF200K01099 is ISIN of SBI MUTUAL FUND-ETF GOLD GROWTH OP-OPEN

INE752E01010 is ISIN of  POWER FINANCE CORPORATION LTD.-SR-I 8.2 BD 01FB22 FVRS1000 LOA UPTO 08MR12

IN0020150101 is ISIN of CENTRAL GOVERNMENT LOAN-18127 SGB 08FB16 I 2.75 FV RS 2600

ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) is a unique 12-digit alphanumeric identification number that uniquely identifies a stock, bond, debenture etc.

An ISIN is not the same as the ticker symbol, which identifies the stock at the exchange level and is used for trading purposes. Just like in school,college, Roll number is assigned and is used for tracking attendance, marks of students. ISIN is like Roll number

ISINs are used for clearing and settlement. The numbers have a consistent format so that institutional investors can track their holdings consistently across markets worldwide.

The National Numbering Agency (NNA), a country-specific organization, is responsible for allocating ISINs for all the securities issued in the country.

In India to obtain an ISIN, a company has to approach a SEBI.  SEBI has appointed NSDL(National Securities Depository Limited) to issue ISIN for stocks. For government securities, the allotment of the ISIN code is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

You can search ISIN using ISIN lookup at NSDL site. Just enter a few letters from the company name and would get the ISIN. If you know the ISIN number, you can find out the details of the company.

To know about ISIN number you can read our article

How did I transfer my shares from ICICIDirect to Zerodha

I did not want to close my ICICIDirect account but wanted to save brokerage. I just wanted to transfer my shares.

Register for e-Instruction facility of ICICIBank

I registered for the e-Instruction facility of ICICIDirect.

I visited the nearest ICICI Bank branch with my proof of Identity.

I filled the e-Instruction form with details of my Zerodha account.

Remember The CDSL Demat account number is a 16-digit numeric number. The NSDL Demat account number starts with the letter IN and is followed by 14-digit numeric numbers. The first 8-digits of your Demat account number is your DP ID where the last 8-digits of your Demat account number is the Customer/Client ID of the account holder.

Within the day my request was approved.

ICICIDirect e instruction form

How to transfer shares from ICICIDirect to Zerodha

Log in to the ICICIBank website

Select Demat Services

In Demat select E-instruction

Select Interdepoistory transfer

Select the ISIN Lookup. You can enter the name of the company and you would get many ISIN. You need to select one that you own. I found it easier to use the ISIN which I got from my ICICIdirect account. Select the ISIN

I saw the number of shares I had as Total available Balance

I entered how many shares I want to transfer in the Quantity field

The date I want the shares to be transferred, the Execution date which I chose the same day as I was doing it in the morning

Selected the reason as transfer to my own account

In the Consideration field, I added 0(zero)

Clicked on Submit.

Got the message on the screen that the request has been accepted.

Transfer shares from ICICIDirect using e Instruction

Soon I got a mail from NSDL Helpdesk <nsdl-cas@nsdl.com> for confirming the transfer.

I clicked on the link given in the email. Entered my PAN.

Saw a list of pending instructions

Approved it.

Got mail from NSDL that my shares have been transferred.

Saw the shares in my Zerodha account with a warning message that the buy price is not mentioned.

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Did you transfer your shares from One Demat account to another? Did you do it online or offline? What process did you follow