CAS (Consolidated Account Statement)

Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) is a unified portfolio summary document issued jointly by India's two depositories — NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) and CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited) — providing a single view of an investor's mutual fund folios, demat-held securities, and depository-held investments across all intermediaries, identified by PAN.

Definition

CAS is mandated by SEBI under Regulation 36 of the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 (as amended) and SEBI Circular dated December 2011 establishing the joint CAS framework. From 1 April 2021, SEBI enhanced the CAS to include: (1) all mutual fund folio holdings (open-ended, close-ended, ETFs); (2) securities held in demat form (equities, bonds, ETF units); and (3) NPS (National Pension System) account balances where PAN is registered. CAS is issued monthly — emailed to the registered email address by the 10th of the following month — but only for months where there has been a financial transaction (purchase, redemption, switch, SIP instalment) in any linked folio or demat account. If there is no activity in a calendar month, CAS is not issued for that month; instead, an annual CAS is issued by February/March for all PAN-linked holdings regardless of activity.

The CAS does not cover: physical mutual fund units (older certificates), PPF/EPF/NSC/bank FD balances, real estate, or gold holdings. It is a depository-and-registrar aggregated view — not a comprehensive net-worth statement. Two separate CAS variants exist: NSDL CAS and CDSL CAS — each reflects the entire PAN's portfolio as both depositories share data under the joint framework. Investors receive CAS from whichever depository their primary demat account is registered with.

Why it matters for investors

CAS is the authoritative, tamper-proof record of mutual fund holdings issued directly by the depositories — not by any AMC or distributor. For NRIs, who may hold folios across multiple AMCs and manage portfolios remotely, CAS provides a single consolidated document for tax filing, portfolio review, and estate planning purposes. The transaction history in CAS (each purchase/redemption/switch with date, NAV, and units) forms the primary audit trail for computing capital gains in ITR. Income Tax portals may auto-populate CAS data into the Annual Information Statement (AIS), reducing manual computation burden.

CAS also enables verification of all MFD-facilitated transactions: every transaction executed under an ARN is reflected in CAS. If an investor suspects unauthorized transactions, CAS provides the timestamped transaction record to raise a dispute. For NRIs holding both NRE-linked and NRO-linked folios, CAS consolidates both under the PAN — but the tax treatment of each folio's gains differs based on the account source.

Worked example

Scenario: Neha is an NRI who holds: (a) 3 MF folios across 2 AMCs via her NRO account; (b) 500 shares of Infosys in her demat account; (c) units of Nifty BeES ETF in her demat. She wants to verify her portfolio before filing ITR.

CAS provides:

• All 3 MF folios — current units, current NAV, current value, and transaction history (purchase date, cost NAV, units)
• 500 Infosys shares — acquisition date, cost, current market value, any corporate actions (bonus, split)
• Nifty BeES units — similar holding detail
• Total portfolio value as of CAS date

Using CAS for capital gains: For each MF folio, CAS transaction dates and cost NAVs feed directly into LTCG/STCG computation. If Neha redeemed a folio in March 2025, the CAS for March 2025 shows the redemption date and number of units redeemed — the cost-basis is taken from earlier CAS purchase records.

Note: CAS reflects depository records. Always cross-verify against AMC account statements for complete accuracy. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.

See also

• PAN — the universal identifier that links all folios and demat accounts into one CAS
• LTCG — CAS transaction history is the primary input for capital gains computation
• KYC — KYC registration links PAN to the CAS email delivery mechanism
• NRI Investing in India — Complete Guide
• NRO Account — NRO-linked MF folios appear in CAS alongside NRE-linked folios

Primary source

SEBI Circular on Consolidated Account Statement (December 2011, updated March 2021): sebi.gov.in — CAS Norms (2021). NSDL CAS: nsdl.co.in/CAS.php. CDSL CAS: cdslindia.com/Investors/CAS.aspx.

Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully. ARN-314872. Content is informational and not investment advice.