Limited Quarterly Activity Report
Also written Quarterly Activity Report
The quarterly activity report every AIF files with SEBI within 15 calendar days of each quarter end — except the March quarter, whose data goes into the Comprehensive Annual Activity Report.
In plain language
Between annual filings SEBI still wants to know what each AIF is doing. The Limited Quarterly Activity Report is how it finds out.
The workbook's rule: all AIFs submit the report on a quarterly basis within 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter, in the revised format specified by SEBI, through the SEBI Intermediary Portal. However, no separate submission is required for the quarter ending March, because the Annual Activity Report already includes its data points.
The workbook says SEBI changed the frequency of Activity Report submission to provide ease of doing business. The result is a calendar of three limited quarterly reports and one comprehensive annual report each financial year.
How it works
Legal basis. Regulation 28 lets SEBI call for any report at any time; the quarterly report is one of the formats SEBI has prescribed under it. The workbook cites a SEBI circular of March 4, 2026 on Regulatory Reportings by AIFs for the current two-report scheme.
How it fits the year:
| Quarter ending | Limited Quarterly Activity Report | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 30 June | Required | 15 July |
| 30 September | Required | 15 October |
| 31 December | Required | 15 January |
| 31 March | Not required — Comprehensive Annual Activity Report covers it | Annual report within 30 days of 31 March |
Not the only quarterly filing. Category III AIFs also submit a report on leverage undertaken on a quarterly basis in a pre-defined format. Leverage here, per section 13.3 (Fund Reporting), is market borrowing at fund level using invested securities as collateral, with disclosure of the overall level and its sources — borrowing of cash, positions in derivatives or complex products.
Inoperative funds. Once a scheme is tagged Inoperative Fund, the Limited Quarterly Activity Report is exempt from the quarter subsequent to the quarter in which it is tagged — note, a quarter, whereas the annual report exemption starts from the next financial year.
A worked example
The fund and dates are illustrative; the rules are the workbook's.
Godavari Credit Fund, a Category II AIF, closes its quarter on 30 September 2026.
Quarter end 30 September 2026
+ 15 calendar days
Limited Quarterly Activity Report due by 15 October 2026
The compliance officer cannot count only working days: 15 October is the date whether or not weekends fall in between.
Inoperative tagging. Suppose SEBI grants the fund Inoperative Fund status on 20 November 2026 — during the October–December quarter.
| Quarter | Report required? |
|---|---|
| Jul–Sep 2026 (due 15 Oct) | Yes — before tagging |
| Oct–Dec 2026 (tagging quarter) | Yes — exemption starts only from the next quarter; due 15 January 2027 |
| Jan–Mar 2027 onwards | No — exempt |
The Annual Activity Report works on a different clock: the year of tagging is April 2026 – March 2027, so that annual report is still due by 30 April 2027, and the exemption applies from the year beginning April 2027.
For a Category III AIF the answer to "how many quarterly SEBI filings are there?" is two streams, not one: the Limited Quarterly Activity Report (three times a year) and the leverage report (every quarter).
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 13, section 13.2.4 (Submission of reports to SEBI), sets out the 15-day deadline and the March-quarter exception; section 13.5.1 (Inoperative Funds) gives the exemption timing. Chapter 13 sample question 2 tests that activity reporting is both annual and quarterly. Expect a deadline question and a "which quarter has no separate report" question.
Common exam traps
- 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter — not 30 days, not 15 working days.
- No separate report for the March quarter. That is the quarter folded into the annual report.
- All AIFs file it, all categories.
- The Category III leverage report is separate and is filed every quarter, including March.
- Inoperative exemption: from the quarter after tagging for this report; from the financial year after tagging for the annual report.
- Do not confuse it with quarterly reports to investors, which are a separate obligation under the fund's investor-reporting rules.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series XIX-CRelated terms
- Category III AIFThe AIF category for funds running diverse or complex trading strategies with leverage — hedge funds and their kin — and the only category denied tax pass-through status.
- LeverageControl of a large contract value for a small upfront outlay — premium for an option buyer, margin for a futures position — which multiplies percentage gains and percentage losses by the same factor.
- Compliance Test ReportThe annual self-certification an AIF manager prepares in SEBI's prescribed format, testing the fund against the AIF Regulations and routed through the sponsor and trustee for comment.
- Comprehensive Annual Activity ReportThe yearly activity report every AIF files with SEBI on the SEBI Intermediary Portal within 30 calendar days from the end of March; it also carries the March quarter's data.
- Inoperative FundA SEBI-granted status for an AIF scheme holding money beyond its fund life that wants to surrender registration, or keeping registration only for pending litigation — no new schemes, no management fees.