Securities and Exchange Board of India on Friday said the process of demutualisation of bourses will be started soon after government carries out necessary legislative changes.

SEBI chairman G N Bajpai will shortly meet the representatives of stock exchanges to discuss the process of demutualisation and setting up of new commodities exchange in the country.

"Demutualisation will be started soon. An announcement has been already made in the Budget. We are ready," Bajpai told PTI after a seminar of Institute of Internal Auditors of India in New Delhi on Friday.

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had stated in his Budget that necessary amendments to the Securities Control and Regulation Act would be proposed in the current session of Parliament, which would enable bourses to separate the ownership of stock exchanges from management resulting in demutualisation.

Singh also announced a one-time exemption from capital gains tax the income that accrue to stock exchanges during their demutualisation, which has to be approved by SEBI.

The government last year asked SEBI to prepare the blueprint for the market reforms including demutualisation of bourses. SEBI had appointed a committee under Justice M H Kania to suggest the roadmap.

The SEBI committee had proposed amendments in SCRA, Income Tax Act among other things to facilitate demutualisation.

Referring to the legislation, Bajpai said, "It is upto the government to carry out the changes in legislation."

SEBI is now waiting for bourses including Bombay Stock Exchange, Calcutta Stock Exchange and Delhi Stock Exchange to come up with their corporatisation plans.

"We are yet to receive their demutualisation plans," Bajpai said. Some of the bourses wanted exemption from stamp duty and sales tax during the process of demutualisation

The process of demutualisation would involve setting up of a corporate entity, which would manage the bourse.

Some of the exchanges like BSE and DSE had already set up such entities but were awaiting the final legislations.

Contrary to the earlier set-up of brokers representing majority of the board of stock exchanges, the new set-up envisages majority of independent directors.