The plain answer
The AMC, or annual maintenance charge, is the yearly fee your broker charges to maintain your demat account, whether or not you trade. At Upstox it is ₹0 for the first year, then ₹300 plus GST per year for non-BSDA accounts. BSDA accounts pay ₹0 while holdings stay under ₹4 lakh and ₹100 plus GST up to ₹10 lakh.
The AMC is the only charge on the account that repeats without any action from you. Brokerage needs a trade, the DP charge needs a sell, but the AMC needs nothing except the account's continued existence, which is why it deserves more attention than any single brokerage rate. Over a decade it compounds into thousands of rupees on accounts that often hold far less.
Two structural facts frame everything else about the AMC. First, the published figure is always before GST, so the real debit is 18% higher. Second, the BSDA rules cap the AMC by regulation for small investors, which means the single most effective AMC strategy for most people is not negotiation but eligibility.
What the AMC pays for
The AMC pays for the running of the account rather than any transaction: the depository record that holds your shares, the statement infrastructure that reports them, and the upkeep that keeps the account in good standing. You can see the product of that fee in your inbox every month, because the consolidated account statement from the depositories is one of the things the maintenance charge maintains.
What the AMC does not buy is equally important. It does not buy brokerage, which is charged separately per order. It does not buy transaction charges, DP charges or statutory taxes, each of which is its own line on the contract note. And it does not buy activity: a dormant account receives the same statement infrastructure and the same debit, which is the point that catches people who open an account and forget it.
How it is charged
Brokers rarely take the whole annual amount at once. The standard pattern is quarterly instalments debited from the trading account balance, which at Upstox from year two means ₹75 plus GST per quarter, or ₹88.50 with tax. The debit lands in the ledger without a separate message, so the first sign of the AMC for many investors is a mystery deduction in the funds statement.
A short balance does not cancel the charge; it creates arrears. The unpaid AMC accumulates against the account and gets collected before the account can be used again, which turns a forgotten ₹88.50 debit into a blocked account plus accumulated dues. Angel One runs a gentler schedule: ₹60 plus GST per quarter, and the quarterly AMC is collected only after your first trade in that quarter, so an account that stays unused does not accumulate.
The pattern to remember: the AMC is predictable, quarterly and silent until the balance runs low. Checking the quarterly debit line in the funds statement is the cheapest verification habit there is, and it takes under a minute.
Across brokers
| Broker | First year | Year two onwards (non-BSDA) | BSDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstox | ₹0 | ₹300 + GST per year | ₹0 / ₹100 + GST tiers |
| Zerodha | ₹0 for accounts from 1 June 2026 | ₹300 + GST per year | ₹0 / ₹100 + GST tiers |
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹0 (no AMC published) | ₹0 |
| Angel One | ₹0 | ₹240 + GST per year | ₹0 / ₹100 + GST tiers |
| ICICI Direct | ₹0 | ₹700 + taxes per year | ₹0 while within SEBI limits |
The table shows the market split. The discount brokers cluster near ₹300, Angel One prices at ₹240, Groww publishes no AMC at all, and the full-service ICICI Direct runs at ₹700 excluding taxes. Over a decade the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive row is several thousand rupees, on a service whose product is identical: an account that holds your shares.
The first-year column is the marketing column. Every broker absorbs the first-year AMC to win the account, and the waiver has no carryover value: year two begins the recurring schedule regardless of how good the first year felt. Comparing the year-two column is therefore the only comparison that matters for an account you intend to keep.
The BSDA path to ₹0
The BSDA rules cap the AMC for small investors: one demat account with holdings under ₹4 lakh means ₹0 AMC, automatically, under the SEBI circular of June 2024. Between ₹4 lakh and ₹10 lakh the cap is ₹100 plus GST per year, and above ₹10 lakh the account stops being a BSDA and the regular schedule applies.
The conversion happens without an application, and the monthly CAS states the account type, so verifying your status takes one minute. For most first-time investors the practical AMC is therefore zero, and the ₹300 figure applies only when holdings grow past the BSDA ceiling or a second account breaks the single-account rule.
The one-account rule deserves emphasis because it is where the benefit dies most often. The rule counts accounts across both depositories, so a spare account opened for an offer anywhere disqualifies the first. Before opening any second account, price the total: the new AMC plus the loss of the ₹0 tier on the first.
What ten years of AMC costs
From year two onwards, ₹300 plus 18% GST is ₹354 per year, and ten years of billing is ₹3,540 before any price changes. That is real money against a small portfolio, and it is exactly the money the BSDA route removes. The arithmetic runs identically at Zerodha and, on its own schedule, at every broker with the same rate.
| Broker | Annual AMC from year two (GST inclusive) | Ten years of billing |
|---|---|---|
| Upstox | ₹354 (₹300 + 18% GST) | ₹3,540 |
| Zerodha | ₹354 (₹300 + 18% GST) | ₹3,540 |
| Groww | ₹0 as published | ₹0 |
| Angel One | ₹283.20 (₹240 + 18% GST) | ₹2,832 |
| ICICI Direct | ₹826 (₹700 + 18% GST) | ₹8,260 |
The table also explains why a spare second account is expensive. Two AMCs run in parallel, the BSDA benefit dies with the second account, and ten years of that doubles the total for a benefit that is usually zero. The AMC comparison matters more than any opening offer, because it is the fee that never stops.
How to never overpay
- Check your BSDA status first. If you hold one demat account with holdings under ₹4 lakh, your AMC should be ₹0, and one written note to the depository participant fixes a missed conversion.
- Hold exactly one account. The one-account rule is the cheapest structural decision available, worth more per year than any brokerage comparison.
- Close dormant accounts. An unused account owes its AMC indefinitely, and closure is the only event that stops the obligation.
- Watch the quarterly debit. A one-minute check of the funds statement catches arrears before they block the account.
- Do not chase first-year offers. The waiver year never compounds; the year-two column is the one that does.
What people usually get wrong
The AMC only applies if I trade
It applies to the account, not the activity. Dormant accounts owe it too, which is why closure beats neglect.
₹300 is the exact annual debit
GST takes it to ₹354, collected as four quarterly debits of ₹88.50. The published figure is before tax, as the asterisk on every pricing page says.
A free first year makes the account free
The first-year waiver is an acquisition cost the broker absorbs. Year two begins the recurring schedule, and the BSDA tiers are the only structural way to zero.
I can negotiate the AMC down
At discount brokers the AMC is a published rate card with no negotiation desk. The realistic levers are BSDA eligibility, the one-account rule and closing what you do not use.
Questions people ask
No. Brokerage is a per-trade fee that applies only when you trade, while the AMC is a yearly account fee that applies whether you trade or not. A dormant account still owes its AMC, which is why closing unused accounts is a real saving. The two also sit in different layers of the charge map: brokerage is the broker's trading fee, the AMC is the account maintenance fee.
Brokers typically debit it quarterly from your trading account balance, so ₹75 plus GST per quarter at Upstox from year two. Angel One collects its ₹60 plus GST quarterly AMC only after your first trade in that quarter. If the balance is short, the amount sits as arrears and is collected before you can use the account again.
Yes. Published AMC figures are before GST, so ₹300 becomes ₹354 with 18% GST, and the quarterly debit of ₹75 becomes ₹88.50. The GST-inclusive figure is what leaves your ledger, which is why the asterisk on every pricing page matters.
Brokers charge for the period the account existed, and practices vary on prorating the remainder, so confirm the closure policy with the broker before closing. Keep the closure acknowledgment, because that document is what ends the obligation and stops future debit attempts.
Yes. The AMC follows the account, not the balance, so a ₹0 ledger does not cancel it; the debit simply fails and the amount becomes arrears that block the account until cleared. Closing the account is the only way to stop the charge from accumulating.
Yes, because the BSDA tiers are SEBI ceilings, not broker offers: one demat account with holdings under ₹4 lakh means ₹0 AMC, and ₹4 to 10 lakh means ₹100 plus GST per year, at every depository participant in the country. The tier table is identical everywhere; only the regular, non-BSDA AMC differs across brokers.
Sources
- Upstox. “Brokerage charges.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Zerodha. “Charges: equity, F&O, currency and commodity.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Groww. “Pricing.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- Angel One. “Pricing & brokerage charges.” Accessed 16 August 2026.
- SEBI. “Circular SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD1/P/CIR/2024/91: Facility for Basic Services Demat Account,” dated 28 June 2024. Accessed 16 August 2026.