Sample Read
32.
36.
8.
CREDIT INFORMATION COMPANIES RULES, 2006
12.
13.
14.
17. Orders and directions in certain cases
CHAPTER III
STEPS AND SECURITY SAFEGUARDS TO BE TAKEN BY CREDIT INSTITUTIONS FOR ENSURING ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND PROTECTION OF DATA
18. Steps for security and safeguards to be taken by credit institution
CHAPTER IV
STEPS AND SECURITY SAFEGUARDS TO BE TAKEN BY CREDIT INFORMATION COMPANIES AND SPECIFIED USERS FOR ENSURING ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND PROTECTION OF DATA
CONTENTS
CREDIT INFORMATION COMPANIES REGULATIONS, 2006
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement 52
2. Definitions 52
CHAPTER II SPECIFIED USERS
3. Specified user 53
CHAPTER III
REGISTRATION OF COMPANIES AS CREDIT INFORMATION COMPANIES
4. Submission of application by companies for grant of certificate of registration 54
5. Grant of certificate of registration 54
CHAPTER IV
BUSINESS OF CREDIT INFORMATION COMPANIES
6. Form of business in which credit information companies may engage 55
CHAPTER V
COLLECTION, FURNISHING OF CREDIT INFORMATION AND PURPOSES THEREOF
7. Form of notice for collection and furnishing of credit information 55
8. Extension of time for providing credit information 56
9. Permissible uses of credit information 56
CHAPTER VI
PRIVACY PRINCIPLES
10. Privacy principles for specified user 57
11. Principles and procedures relating to personal data 58
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII
MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FEES
12. Fees 59
Form A : Application for grant of certificate of registration 60
Form B : Certificate of registration as credit information company 62
Form C : Notice for submission of credit information 62
Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005
[30 OF 2005]*
An Act to provide for regulation of credit information companies and to facilitate efficient distribution of credit and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
Short title, extent and commencement.
1. (1) This Act may be called the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
(2)It extends to the whole of India.
(3)It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision. Definitions.
2. 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 a credit institution and includes a client of a credit institution;
(c)“client” includes—
*Dated 23-6-2005.
1.With effect from 14-12-2006.
S. 2
(i) a guarantor or a person who proposes to give guarantee or security for a borrower of a credit institution; or
(ii) a person—
(A) who has obtained or seeks to obtain financial assistance from a credit institution, by way 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) of section 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956), or by issue of commercial paper, depository receipt or any other instrument;
(
C) whose financial standing has been assessed or is proposed to be assessed by a credit institution or any other person or institution as may, by notification, be directed by the Reserve Bank;
(d) “credit information” means any information relating to—
(i) the amounts and the nature of loans or advances, amounts outstanding under credit cards and 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 any borrower 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 be granted by a credit institution for any of its borrowers;
(iv) the creditworthiness of any borrower of a credit institution;
(v) any other matter which the Reserve Bank may, consider necessary for inclusion in the credit 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 Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956)2 and which has been granted a certificate of registration under sub-section (2) of section 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 the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
2. Now see the Companies Act, 2013.
3[(iia) a factor as defined under clause (i) of section 2 of the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011 (12 of 2012);]
(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 Financial Corporation Act, 1951 (63 of 1951);
(v) the housing finance institution referred to in clause (d) of section 2 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 (53 of 1987);
(vi) the companies engaged in the business of credit cards and other similar cards and companies dealing with distribution of credit in any other manner;
(vii) any other institution which the Reserve Bank may specify, from time to time, for the purposes 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 other obligations 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 Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
(l) “specified user” means any credit institution, credit information company being a member under sub-section (3) of section 15, and includes such other person or institution as may be specified by regulations made, from time to time, by the Reserve Bank for the purpose of obtaining credit information from a credit information company;
(m) words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) or the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) or the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956)† shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.
COMMENTS
SECTION NOTES
2.1 Definition of “Borrower” [Section 2(b)]
“Borrower” means any person who has been granted a loan or any other credit facility by a credit institution.
“Borrower” includes a client of a credit institution.
3. Inserted by the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011, w.e.f. 1-2-2012.
*Now see section 2(72) of the Companies Act, 2013.
†Now see the Companies Act, 2013.
Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act 2005 with Rules –Bare Act with Section Notes
AUTHOR : Taxmann’s Editorial Board
PUBLISHER : Taxmann
DATE OF PUBLICATION : January 2026
EDITION : 2026 Edition
ISBN NO : 9789371263993
No. of Pages : 76
BINDING TYPE : Paperback
DESCRIPTION
Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act 2005 with Rules [Bare Act with Section Notes] by Taxmann is an authoritative statutory publication that presents India’s complete legal framework governing the regulation, supervision, and functioning of credit information companies (credit bureaus). The 2026 Edition consolidates the updated text of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act 2005, along with the Credit Information Companies Rules 2006 and the Credit Information Companies Regulations 2006, presented in a structured Bare Act format and supported by concise section-wise explanatory notes. The law is stated as updated and in force, ensuring reliability and contemporaneity. This publication is indispensable for a wide range of professionals and stakeholders engaged with credit systems, financial regulation, and data governance, including:
• Advocates & Legal Practitioners
• Judges & Judicial Officers
• Banks, NBFCs & Financial Institutions
• Credit Information Companies (Credit Bureaus)
• Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants & Company Secretaries
• Compliance Officers, Risk Managers & Policy Professionals
• Academicians, Researchers & Law Students
The Present Publication is the 2026 Edition, covering the amended and updated text of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act [Act No. 30 of 2005] and Rules, with the following noteworthy features:
• [Complete Statutory Text] Includes the Act, Rules, and Regulations in full, as amended and applicable to date
• [Pre-amendment Provisions] Earlier versions of amended provisions are reproduced through precise amendment footnotes for historical and transitional understanding
• [Section-wise Expert Notes] Concise, practice-oriented notes explaining legislative intent, compliance obligations, RBI oversight, and enforcement triggers
• [Latest Case Law] Select High Court and Supreme Court rulings on wilful-defaulter declarations, credit-report correction, privacy violations, arbitration under section 18, and RBI penalty powers
• [Subject Index & Cross-references] Detailed alphabetical index with cross-links to chapters, rules, regulations, and allied enactments (RBI Act, Banking Regulation Act, IBC, IFSC Authority Act)
• [User-centric Aids] Summaries of borrower rights, inspection and audit powers, dispute resolution mechanisms, and statutory privacy principles under sections 19–21
• [Practice-ready Formatting] Clear Bare Act layout with aligned section notes, wide margins for annotations, and references to RBI circulars and Master Directions
• [Regulatory Update Indicators] Editorial markers highlighting provisions impacted by developments under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, IFSC framework, and recent RBI notifications