How-to InvIT infrastructure investment trust IPO Zerodha UPI ASBA SEBI

How to apply for an InvIT IPO on Zerodha

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~11 min. Level: Intermediate.

An InvIT public issue appears in the same Kite IPO window as an equity IPO, but Zerodha books every retail bid into it as a Non-Individual Investor (NII) application rather than the retail RII category, and you bid in multiples of a one-unit lot rather than against the Rs 2 lakh retail ceiling. An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is a SEBI -registered pooled vehicle that owns operating infrastructure, toll roads, power-transmission lines, gas pipelines or renewable plants, and passes the bulk of its cash flow to unitholders. This guide covers where the issue shows up, the category and lot quirks that catch first-time applicants, the UPI ASBA and net-banking routes, and the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations 2014 that set the distribution floor.

The mechanics of bidding are the same as an equity IPO on Kite : you enter a quantity and price, tick the SEBI undertaking, and approve a UPI mandate that blocks the money in your bank account until allotment. What differs is the categorisation, the one-unit lot, and the structure of the instrument you are buying. Read how to apply for an IPO on Kite web for the base flow, and InvITs on Zerodha for the conceptual reference on the instrument itself.

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 box at the top sets the sequence. The detail below expands the two parts that confuse people first time: the NII categorisation, and the one-unit lot against the Rs 5 lakh UPI cap.

1. Open the IPO window on Kite

A publicly offered InvIT shows in the standard IPO list. On Kite web, click Bids then IPO; on the Kite app, tap Orders then IPO. The two labels point at the same window. The issue card carries the trust name, the price band, the lot size, the minimum application and the closing date, alongside any open equity IPOs. There is no separate InvIT tab; Zerodha routes the issue through the existing IPO surface and changes the category on the back end.

2. Open the issue and read the offer document

Open the issue and read the offer document linked from the SEBI public-issues portal before bidding. An InvIT is not an equity share; you are buying a unit in a trust whose value rests on the cash flow of its assets and its leverage. Check four things: the price band, the one-unit lot and what it costs at the cut-off, the trust’s distribution record per unit, and the leverage ratio. SEBI lets an InvIT borrow up to 70 per cent of asset value, raised from 49 per cent in March 2019, and a trust above 49 per cent must hold a AAA credit rating and six continuous post-listing distributions. A higher leverage ratio raises both the yield and the risk to the distribution if rates move.

3. Tap Apply and enter your UPI ID

Tap Apply and enter your own UPI ID in username@bank form, for example 9876543210@ybl. The sponsor bank rejects a family member’s, a business’s or a merchant UPI ID, because the third-party verification matches the bank account behind the UPI ID against the PAN on your demat. A mismatch causes a silent rejection that surfaces only after the issue closes.

4. Enter quantity and price

Enter the quantity as a multiple of the lot size; the form rejects any other figure. Enter a price inside the band, or tick Cut-off to accept whatever price the issue is finally set at. Keep the total below Rs 5 lakh to stay on the UPI ASBA rail. This is the practical ceiling for an InvIT bid on Kite, not the Rs 2 lakh equity-retail limit, because Zerodha categorises the bid as NII. To bid above Rs 5 lakh you must leave Kite and apply through your bank’s net-banking ASBA, covered in how to apply for an IPO without UPI .

5. Tick the undertaking and submit

Tick the SEBI undertaking, which confirms the bid is not a duplicate under another PAN and that the bank account behind the UPI ID is in your own name. Submit. Zerodha transmits the bid to the exchange and triggers the block request through the sponsor bank; the status reads Pending Mandate. Only one application per PAN is accepted, and a bid can be revised upward but not cancelled or reduced once submitted.

6. Approve the UPI mandate before 5 PM on closing day

Open the Block Funds notification in your UPI app, usually within thirty seconds, and check the trust name, the block amount and the beneficiary before authorising with your UPI PIN. The bank places a lien on the savings account: the available balance drops by the block amount while the book balance and the interest accrual are unchanged. The mandate must be approved by 5 PM IST on the bid closing day; a later approval is not forwarded to the registrar, whatever time the bid was placed.

7. Track the bid and the allotment

Check Bids then Order history for the live status. After the issue closes, the registrar runs the basis of allotment and the status moves to allotted or not allotted. Allotted units credit to your demat; the block on any unallotted amount releases when the bank receives the registrar’s unblock instruction, covered in how to release blocked IPO funds .

Why a retail InvIT bid is categorised as non-individual

Zerodha states it directly on its support page: “All retail InvIT IPO applications are considered Non-Individual Investor (NII) category bids.” This is a structural feature of how InvIT and REIT public issues are bid, not a Zerodha quirk. The equity-IPO split into a retail individual investor (RII) bucket up to Rs 2 lakh and an HNI or non-institutional bucket above it does not map onto an InvIT issue the same way. The operative cap on the Kite flow is the Rs 5 lakh UPI ASBA limit, not the Rs 2 lakh retail line. A bidder used to the equity ceiling who expects Rs 2 lakh to be the limit will find the InvIT flow accepts up to Rs 5 lakh on UPI.

The NII tag also shapes the allotment maths. Where a publicly offered InvIT is oversubscribed in its bidding pool, allotment runs proportionately within the pool rather than through the equity-retail draw of lots that guarantees one lot to as many applicants as possible. Read IPO investor categories for how RII, NII and QIB allocation differs, and bear in mind the InvIT bid does not sit in the retail line at all.

Minimum application and the one-unit lot

There is no single rupee minimum that holds across every InvIT issue. You bid in multiples of the trading lot, which SEBI cut to one unit in 2021, down from the 100-unit lot set in the 23 April 2019 circular (SEBI/HO/DDHS/DDHS/CIR/P/2019/59), which had itself reduced the InvIT minimum application from Rs 10 lakh at inception. The practical minimum for any given issue is therefore one lot at the cut-off price, and the offer document and the Kite issue card state that figure for each issue. The 2021 reduction to a one-unit lot brought InvIT units within reach of an ordinary retail demat for the first time, where the original Rs 10 lakh minimum had walled them off to large investors.

A privately placed InvIT is a different instrument and does not reach a retail Zerodha account. It is offered to institutional and body-corporate investors at a high minimum, set at a uniform Rs 25 lakh per allottee from 1 September 2025 under the SEBI (InvIT) (Third Amendment) Regulations 2025. Only a publicly offered InvIT appears in the Kite IPO window.

Distribution mandate and what you are buying

Under Regulation 18 of the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations 2014, an InvIT must distribute at least 90 per cent of its net distributable cash flows to unitholders. A publicly offered InvIT distributes at least half-yearly; in practice several listed trusts pay quarterly. A standardised framework for computing net distributable cash flows took effect on 1 April 2024, tightening how the 90 per cent base is measured across trusts. The distribution typically combines interest, dividend and return-of-capital components, each taxed differently in the unitholder’s hands, so the headline yield on an InvIT is not directly comparable with a dividend yield on an equity share. The well-known listed InvITs include India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) in power transmission, PowerGrid InvIT, IRB InvIT Fund in toll roads, and the National Highways Infra Trust.

For the conceptual reference on the instrument, its tax treatment and the asset classes inside listed InvITs, read InvITs on Zerodha . For the parallel real-estate instrument, read how to apply for a REIT IPO on Zerodha , which shares the NII categorisation and the one-unit lot but differs in asset base and distribution cadence.

See also

External references

References

  1. SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, as amended, Regulation 18 (mandatory distribution of at least 90 per cent of net distributable cash flows).
  2. SEBI circular SEBI/HO/DDHS/DDHS/CIR/P/2019/59, dated 23 April 2019, on bidding, allotment and trading lot size for REITs and InvITs (lot subsequently reduced to one unit in 2021).
  3. SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2025, effective 1 September 2025 (uniform Rs 25 lakh minimum allotment for privately placed InvITs).
  4. Zerodha support, InvIT IPOs using UPI (retail InvIT bids categorised as Non-Individual Investor; Rs 5 lakh UPI cap; as of 21 June 2026).
  5. SEBI framework on net distributable cash flows for REITs and InvITs, effective 1 April 2024.

WebNotes Editorial Team prepares factual how-to guides based on publicly available regulatory documents and broker disclosures. WebNotes is not affiliated with Zerodha Broking Limited. Procedures, lot sizes and charges are subject to change; verify current requirements at support.zerodha.com and in each issue’s offer document before applying.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum application for an InvIT IPO on Zerodha?
There is no fixed rupee floor across all issues; you bid in multiples of the one-unit lot set by the trust, so the minimum equals one lot at the cut-off price. Each issue states its own lot value in the offer document, which Kite shows on the issue card.
Which investor category does a retail InvIT bid fall under at Zerodha?
Zerodha books every retail InvIT application as a Non-Individual Investor (NII) bid, not the equity retail RII category. Its support page states this plainly. The equity Rs 2 lakh retail ceiling does not apply the same way; the Rs 5 lakh UPI ASBA cap is the operative boundary.
Can I use UPI ASBA for an InvIT issue?
Yes, for an application up to Rs 5 lakh you approve a UPI mandate exactly as for an equity IPO. Above Rs 5 lakh the UPI route is unavailable and you apply through net-banking ASBA from a bank on the SEBI list of self-certified syndicate banks.
What is the trading lot for a listed InvIT?
One unit. SEBI cut the InvIT trading lot to a single unit in 2021, from the earlier 100-unit lot set under the 23 April 2019 circular. A listed InvIT therefore trades on the exchange like any one-share equity quantity.
How much of its cash flow must an InvIT distribute?
At least 90 per cent of net distributable cash flows, under Regulation 18 of the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations 2014. A publicly offered InvIT distributes at least half-yearly; several listed trusts distribute quarterly in practice.
Does Zerodha charge to apply for an InvIT IPO?
No. Zerodha levies no charge to submit an InvIT application through Kite. You pay only on the secondary-market side later: brokerage is zero on InvIT delivery, but statutory charges and an exchange transaction fee apply when you buy or sell units after listing.
Is a privately placed InvIT the same as a public InvIT issue?
No. A privately placed InvIT is offered to institutional and body-corporate investors at a high minimum, set at Rs 25 lakh per allottee from 1 September 2025; it does not appear in the Kite IPO window. Only a publicly offered InvIT reaches a retail Zerodha account.

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WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.