ASBA is Application Supported by Blocked Amount. In a public issue the bank blocks the bid money in your own account. It does not transfer it to the company on the day you apply. The debit happens only for shares that are allotted. If nothing is allotted, the block is lifted.
SEBI’s primary-market FAQ says ASBA is mandatory for these applications. There is no cheque and no escrow transfer at the start. Only the amount you authorise is blocked. A joint holder of your account is not automatically banned. An account or a UPI ID that belongs to someone else is a third-party application, and it is not valid for allotment.
There are two ways to give the block. Through a syndicate member, an eligible broker, a depository participant, or a registrar, an individual whose application is up to ₹5,00,000 uses UPI. That has applied to issues opening on or after 1 May 2022. NPCI raised the per-transaction limit for this block from ₹2,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 in December 2021, and SEBI’s circular of 5 April 2022 brought it into public issues. A bid between those two amounts is non-institutional, and an individual can still use UPI. Above ₹5,00,000, UPI is not the path.
The other way is the bank itself, if it is a self-certified syndicate bank and the savings account is yours. You use net banking or a form at a designated branch. There is no UPI PIN on that path. One application is allowed from one bank account in a public issue.
What you do on the closing day
Accept a UPI mandate by 5 pm on T. Retail and reserved categories close at 5 pm on T. Institutions and non-institutional bidders close at 4 pm on T. If you revise the bid, approve the new mandate. If you do not, the earlier block stays. A retail investor can withdraw until the close, and should revoke the mandate rather than approve a fresh block after cancelling.
The block is at the cap price. In the illustration on the IPO guide, 20 lots block ₹2,00,000. A discovered price of ₹90 costs ₹1,80,000, so ₹20,000 is released. Unblocking on the three-day timetable is due before 4 pm on T+2. A late release is compensated from T+3.
The bank should answer a complaint about a rejected form within 15 days. After that, the merchant banker and SEBI’s SCORES are the next step. NSE and BSE explain the same bank route for investors. Once shares are allotted and you sell them, the tax question moves to the capital gains calculator.
Questions
Does ASBA empty my bank account?
No. Only the bid amount is blocked. The rest of the balance stays usable. If you are allotted nothing, the block is released. If the issue price is lower than the cap, the difference is released too.
Is UPI the same as ASBA?
UPI is one way to create the block, for an individual applying through a broker, syndicate member, depository participant, or registrar, up to ₹5,00,000. The bank’s own ASBA, on net banking or a form, is the other. Above ₹5,00,000, use the bank.
Can I cancel an ASBA bid?
A retail investor can withdraw until the issue closes. Qualified institutional buyers and non-institutional investors cannot withdraw, and they cannot lower the bid after it is in.
Sources
Figures checked 30 Oct 2026.