How-to HNI IPO application NII IPO Zerodha UPI ASBA limit bank ASBA Kite IPO IPO above 2 lakh

How to apply for an IPO in the HNI category on Zerodha

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 21 June 2026. Reading time ~12 min. Level: Intermediate.

Key facts

When you become an HNI	When your total application crosses Rs 2,00,000; Kite categorises it automatically, no separate HNI option
Payment up to Rs 5 lakh	UPI ASBA mandate on Kite, as for a retail bid
Payment above Rs 5 lakh	Your own bank's net-banking ASBA; Zerodha cannot process it
Cut-off price	Not allowed above Rs 2 lakh; you must enter a price within the band manually
After placing	An HNI bid can only be revised upward, never reduced or cancelled
HNI cut-off on Kite	Currently 4 PM on the last bidding day; bids after 3 PM go to the exchange on a best-effort basis

Procedure

Confirm your application crosses Rs 2 lakhMultiply lots by the band price. If the total exceeds Rs 2,00,000 the application is a non-institutional (HNI) bid and the HNI rules apply. There is no separate HNI button on Kite; the amount decides the category.
Decide the payment rail by application sizeUp to Rs 5,00,000, fund it by UPI mandate on Kite. Above Rs 5,00,000, you must use your bank’s net-banking ASBA, because SEBI caps UPI ASBA at Rs 5 lakh and Zerodha is not a bank.
Open the IPO on Kite (for applications up to Rs 5 lakh)On the Kite web or app, go to Bids, then IPO, and tap Apply on the open issue. Enter your UPI ID linked to the bank account holding the funds.
Enter lots and a manual price, uncheck cut-offEnter the number of lots and a price within the band. Uncheck the cut-off-price box; an HNI bid above Rs 2 lakh cannot use cut-off and the price must be entered by hand.
Approve the UPI mandateSubmit the bid, then approve the collect mandate in your UPI app before its expiry. The application amount is blocked, not debited, until allotment.
For above Rs 5 lakh, apply through bank net-banking ASBALog in to your bank’s net banking, open its IPO or ASBA section, enter your Zerodha 16-digit CDSL demat ID and DP details, place up to three bids, and submit. Funds are blocked in your bank account.
Verify the bid and keep funds blockedCheck the bid status on Kite (UPI route) or in your bank’s IPO order book (ASBA route). Keep the blocked amount untouched until allotment; allotted shares land in your Zerodha demat on listing.

This guide explains how to apply for an initial public offering in the high-net-worth-individual (HNI) category, formally the non-institutional investor (NII) category, on Zerodha . It is for an investor who wants to apply for more than Rs 2,00,000 in a single issue and needs to know which payment rail to use, how the Kite flow differs from a retail bid, and why an application above Rs 5,00,000 cannot be placed on Kite at all.

The HNI route is not a different screen on Kite. It is the same IPO application form, with three rules that switch on the moment the application value crosses Rs 2,00,000: the cut-off price option disappears, the bid becomes upward-only, and above Rs 5,00,000 the UPI ASBA payment rail can no longer carry the blocked amount. Understanding those three switches is the whole of applying as an HNI.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes and is written independently. WebNotes operates a Zerodha account-opening referral programme, disclosed on the pages that carry the referral link; this guide does not carry it and earns no referral commission from the procedure described here.

Step-by-step procedure

The numbered infobox at the top sets out the sequence. The sections below expand the parts that catch HNI applicants out: the Rs 5 lakh funding wall, the manual price, and the bank-ASBA route that runs outside Kite.

1. Confirm your application crosses Rs 2 lakh

Multiply the number of lots by the price you intend to bid (use the top of the band to be safe). If the total is Rs 2,00,001 or more, the application is a non-institutional bid and the HNI rules apply. Kite does not show an HNI option; it categorises by amount. The IPO lot size and price band for the specific issue fix the smallest HNI application possible, since you cannot cross Rs 2 lakh with fewer lots than the arithmetic allows. The full set of IPO investor categories explains where the HNI bucket sits.

2. Decide the payment rail by application size

This is the decision that determines whether you can apply on Kite at all.

Up to Rs 5,00,000: fund the bid by UPI mandate on Kite, exactly as a retail applicant does. The NPCI per-transaction limit for IPO UPI ASBA is Rs 5 lakh, and SEBI implemented that ceiling for public issues from 1 May 2022.
Above Rs 5,00,000: you must use your own bank’s net-banking ASBA facility. Zerodha, as a stockbroker, does not offer banking services and cannot block more than the Rs 5 lakh UPI cap, so an application above Rs 5 lakh is impossible to place through Kite. This is the most common surprise for big HNIs and the leading reason an application is rejected, covered in HNI IPO application failure reasons .

A big-NII application, above Rs 10,00,000 by definition, always falls in the bank-ASBA route. A small-NII application of Rs 2 to 5 lakh can go through UPI on Kite; a small-NII application of Rs 5 to 10 lakh cannot.

3. Open the IPO on Kite (for applications up to Rs 5 lakh)

On Kite web or the app, open the Bids tab, then IPO, and tap Apply on the issue that is open for subscription. Enter the UPI ID linked to the bank account that holds the funds. Kite reuses the same IPO form as a retail bid; the difference is in what you enter next. If you do not use UPI or are applying above the cap, skip to step 6 and the apply for an IPO without UPI on Kite guide.

4. Enter lots and a manual price, uncheck cut-off

Enter the number of lots, in multiples of the lot size . Then enter a price within the band by hand and uncheck the cut-off-price box. SEBI does not allow a cut-off bid above Rs 2,00,000, so Kite will not accept an HNI application left on cut-off. Most HNIs bid at the upper end of the band, because a bid below the final issue price is treated as a non-eligible application and dropped before allotment. The book building process sets the final price within that band.

5. Approve the UPI mandate

Submit the bid. Your bank sends a collect mandate to your UPI app; approve it before it expires, usually the same day. Approving the mandate blocks the application amount in your bank account; it is not debited. If the mandate times out or is declined, the bid lapses, the fix for which is in how to fix a UPI mandate timeout for an IPO . The funds stay blocked through the subscription period and are released on or shortly after allotment if you receive no shares, per how to release blocked IPO funds .

6. For above Rs 5 lakh, apply through bank net-banking ASBA

For an application above Rs 5,00,000, log in to your bank’s net banking and open its IPO or ASBA section (most large banks, including SBI, ICICI, and HDFC, have one). Enter your Zerodha demat details: the 16-digit CDSL demat ID, depository CDSL, and DP name Zerodha. Place up to three bids inside the form, enter the lots and a price within the band, and submit. The bank blocks the funds in your account; on allotment, the allotted shares are credited to your Zerodha demat account and you can sell them from Kite on listing day. The bank ASBA via netbanking article covers the SCSB list and the three-bid limit.

7. Verify the bid and keep funds blocked

Check the bid status: on the UPI route, in the IPO section on Kite; on the bank-ASBA route, in your bank’s IPO order book. Keep the blocked amount untouched until allotment. Allotted shares appear in your Zerodha holdings on listing day, and how to check IPO allotment on Zerodha shows where the status is published.

The Rs 5 lakh funding wall, in one place

The single fact that defines HNI applications on a broker platform is the Rs 5 lakh UPI ASBA cap.

Application value	Payment rail	Where you apply
Up to Rs 2,00,000	UPI mandate	Kite (retail category)
Rs 2,00,001 to Rs 5,00,000	UPI mandate	Kite (HNI category)
Above Rs 5,00,000	Bank net-banking ASBA	Your bank’s net banking, not Kite

SEBI raised the UPI ASBA limit to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh with effect from 1 May 2022, after the NPCI lifted the per-transaction UPI limit for IPO ASBA in December 2021. Above that, only a self-certified syndicate bank can block the funds, so the application leaves the broker rail entirely. Many HNIs apply through bank ASBA even below Rs 5 lakh, because a single bank-ASBA application can carry up to three bids and avoids the UPI mandate-timeout risk.

Why you cannot reduce or cancel an HNI bid

A non-institutional applicant can revise a bid only upward. SEBI’s ICDR prohibits deleting or reducing an HNI application once it is placed: a Rs 3 lakh bid can be raised to Rs 4 lakh, but it cannot be cut to Rs 2.5 lakh and it cannot be cancelled or withdrawn. Only retail applicants get the right to reduce or cancel. Plan the lots and price before you submit, because the only change available afterwards is to commit more money. How to modify an HNI IPO application covers the upward revision and the fresh mandate it triggers.

The earlier HNI cut-off on Kite

The HNI bidding window on Kite currently closes at 4 PM on the last day of the issue, ahead of the retail close. Bids collected after 3 PM are sent to the exchange on a best-effort basis, so a last-day HNI application, and any upward revision with its fresh mandate, should be placed and funded well before 3 PM. Cut-off times can change per issue, so confirm the closing time on the platform for the specific IPO.

Charges and tax

There is no brokerage on an IPO application or allotment at Zerodha ; the Zerodha IPO charges are nil for the application itself. The only costs arise when you sell the allotted shares: securities transaction tax , exchange and SEBI charges, GST , and stamp duty, plus brokerage on the sell leg per the Zerodha brokerage structure . A sale on listing day is a short-term transaction taxed under Section 111A ; the treatment is in tax on listing-day gains . For a large HNI position, the interest cost of any borrowed IPO funding usually dwarfs the trading charges, so factor that into the economics before applying.

What can go wrong

Trying to apply above Rs 5 lakh on Kite: impossible. Use your bank’s net-banking ASBA; Zerodha cannot block more than the Rs 5 lakh UPI cap.
Leaving the cut-off box ticked: an HNI bid above Rs 2 lakh cannot use cut-off. Enter a price within the band manually, usually at the top.
Bidding below the likely issue price: a bid under the final price is dropped as non-eligible before allotment. Bid at the cut-off-band top to stay in.
Expecting to cancel or reduce the bid: an HNI bid is upward-only. You cannot withdraw it or cut the amount once placed.
Missing the 4 PM HNI cut-off: the HNI window closes earlier than retail, and bids after 3 PM go to the exchange on a best-effort basis. Apply and approve the mandate before 3 PM on the last day.
Letting the UPI mandate expire: an unapproved mandate lapses and the bid fails. Approve it the same day, or apply through bank ASBA to avoid the mandate step.

External references

References

SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/DIL2/CIR/P/2022/45 dated 30 March 2022, increase of the UPI ASBA limit to Rs 5 lakh in public issues (effective 1 May 2022).
SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018, provisions on non-institutional bidding, cut-off price, and bid revision.
SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/DIL2/CIR/P/2021/2480/1/M dated 16 December 2021, NII sub-categorisation and allotment (effective 1 April 2022).
NPCI circular enhancing the per-transaction UPI limit for IPO ASBA from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, December 2021.
Zerodha support, applying for an IPO in the HNI category, and applying for an IPO through bank ASBA (as accessed June 2026).

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for an IPO in the HNI category on Zerodha?

Place a bid whose total crosses Rs 2,00,000. Kite categorises it as HNI automatically. Up to Rs 5 lakh you pay by UPI mandate on Kite. Above Rs 5 lakh you must apply through your bank’s net-banking ASBA, entering your Zerodha demat details.

Can I apply for more than Rs 5 lakh in an IPO on Kite?

No. SEBI caps UPI ASBA at Rs 5 lakh per application, and Zerodha as a broker cannot process larger blocks. For an application above Rs 5 lakh, use your bank’s net-banking ASBA facility directly and enter your Zerodha CDSL demat ID.

Why can't I select the cut-off price for an HNI bid?

SEBI does not permit cut-off-price bidding above Rs 2,00,000. As a non-institutional applicant you must enter a specific price inside the issue’s price band. Bidding at the top of the band is the common way to stay eligible at the final price.

Do I need a separate HNI option on Zerodha?

No. There is no HNI checkbox. Kite reads the application value and routes any bid above Rs 2,00,000 into the non-institutional category automatically. Your only choices are the lots, the price, and the payment rail.

Can I reduce or cancel my HNI IPO bid on Zerodha?

No. SEBI’s ICDR lets non-institutional applicants only increase a bid, never reduce or cancel it. A Rs 3 lakh bid can be raised to Rs 4 lakh but not cut to Rs 2.5 lakh, and it cannot be withdrawn once placed.

What time does the HNI IPO window close on Kite?

The HNI window on Kite currently closes at 4 PM on the last bidding day, earlier than the retail close. Bids collected after 3 PM are submitted to the exchange on a best-effort basis, so place and fund your bid well before 3 PM.

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed: 21 June 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.