The Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.

(1) This Act may be called the Credit InformationCompanies (Regulation) Act, 2005. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such date 1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint: Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any referencein any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the cominginto force of that provision.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "board" means the Board of directors of a credit information company; (b) "borrower" means any person who has been granted loan or any other credit facility by acredit institution and includes a client of a credit institution; (c) "client" includes-- (i) a guarantor or a person who proposes to give guarantee or security for a borrower of acredit institution; or (ii) a person-- (A) who has obtained or seeks to obtain financial assistance from a credit institution, byway of loans, advances, hire purchase, leasing facility, letter of credit, guarantee facility,venture capital assistance or by way of credit cards or in any other form or manner; (B) who has raised or seeks to raise money by issue of security as defined in clause (h) ofsection 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956), or by issue ofcommercial paper, depository receipt or any other instrument; (C) whose financial standing has been assessed or is proposed to be assessed by a creditinstitution or any other person or institution as may, by notification, be directed by theReserve Bank; (d) "credit information" means any information relating to-- (i) the amounts and the nature of loans or advances, amounts outstanding under credit cardsand other credit facilities granted or to be granted, by a credit institution to any borrower; (ii) the nature of security taken or proposed to be taken by a credit institution from anyborrower for credit facilities granted or proposed to be granted to him; (iii) the guarantee furnished or any other non-fund based facility granted or proposed to begranted by a credit institution for any of its borrowers; (iv) the credit worthiness of any borrower of a credit institution; (v) any other matter which the Reserve Bank may, consider necessary for inclusion in thecredit information to be collected and maintained by credit information companies, and, specify,by notification, in this behalf; (e) "credit information company" means a company formed and registered under the CompaniesAct, 1956 (1 of 1956) and which has been granted a certificate of registration under sub-section (2) ofsection 5; (f) "credit institution" means a banking company and includes-- (i) a corresponding new bank, the State Bank of India, a subsidiary bank, a co-operative bank,the National Bank and regional rural bank; (ii) a non-banking financial company as defined under clause (f) of section 45-I of theReserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934); (iii) a public financial institution referred to in section 4A of the Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956); (iv) the financial corporation established by a State under section 3 of the State FinancialCorporation Act, 1951 (63 of 1951); (v) the housing finance institution referred to in clause (d) of section 2 of the NationalHousing Bank Act, 1987 (53 of 1987); (vi) the companies engaged in the business of credit cards and other similar cards andcompanies dealing with distribution of credit in any other manner; (vii) any other institution which the Reserve Bank may specify, from time to time, for thepurposes of this clause; (g) "credit scoring" means a system which enables a credit institution to assess the creditworthiness and capacity of a borrower to repay his loan and advances and discharge his otherobligations in respect of credit facility availed or to be availed by him; (h) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette of India; (i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (j) "regulations" means regulations made by the Reserve Bank under this Act; (k) "Reserve Bank" means the Reserve Bank of India constituted under section 3 of the ReserveBank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934); (l) "specified user" means any credit institution, credit information company being a memberunder sub-section (3) of section 15, and includes such other person or institution as may be specifiedby regulations made, from time to time, by the Reserve Bank for the purpose of obtaining creditinformation from a credit information company; (m) words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the ReserveBank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) or the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) or theCompanies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in thoseActs.

Save as otherwiseprovided in this Act, no company shall commence or carry on the business of credit information withoutobtaining a certificate of registration from the Reserve Bank under this Act.

(1) Every company which intends to commence the business ofcredit information shall make an application for registration to the Reserve Bank in such form and manneras may be specified by regulations. (2) Every credit information company, in existence on the commencement of this Act, before theexpiry of six months from such commencement, shall apply in writing to the Reserve Bank for obtaininga certificate of registration under this Act: Provided that in the case of a credit information company in existence on the commencement of thisAct, nothing in section 3 shall be deemed to prohibit such credit information company from carrying onthe business of a credit information company, until it is granted a certificate of registration or is by noticein writing informed by the Reserve Bank that a certificate of registration cannot be granted to it.

(1) The Reserve Bank may, for the purpose of consideringthe application of a company for grant of a certificate of registration to commence or carry on thebusiness of credit information, require to be satisfied, by an inspection of records or books of suchcompany or otherwise that the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:-- (a) that the applicant company has minimum capital structure referred to in section 8; (b) that the general character of the management or the proposed management of the applicantcompany shall not be prejudicial to the interest of its specified users, clients or borrowers, or othercredit information companies; (c) that any other condition, the fulfilment of which in the opinion of the Reserve Bank, shall benecessary to ensure that the commencement or carrying on of the business of credit information bythe applicant company shall not be detrimental or prejudicial to the public interest or banking policyor credit system or its specified users or clients or borrowers or other credit information companies orothers who would provide credit information to the credit information companies. (2) The Reserve Bank may, after being satisfied that the conditions as referred to in sub-section (1)are fulfilled, grant a certificate of registration to the applicant company to commence or carry on thebusiness of credit information, subject to such conditions which it may consider fit to impose and if thecompany fails to fulfil any of such conditions or any of the provisions of this Act, the application of thecompany shall be rejected: Provided that no application shall be rejected unless the applicant has been given an opportunity ofbeing heard. (3) The Reserve Bank may, having regard to the available business of credit information, the potentialand scope for expansion of existing credit information companies and other relevant factors, determinethe total number of the credit information companies which may be granted the certificates of registrationfor carrying on the business of credit information: Provided that the total number of such credit information companies so determined may, on beingsatisfied by the Reserve Bank, that there is change in available business of credit information, potentialand scope for expansion of existing credit information companies and other relevant factors relatingthereto, be reviewed by the Reserve Bank.