There are two ways to check your F&O turnover statement:

Path 1:

1. Log in to your ICICI-Direct account
2. Click on the portfolio tab
3. Under the portfolio >> In Statements and reports
4. You will find the F&O Turnover Statement

Option 20 is an add-on plan for option pricing i.e. ₹20 per order + ₹11 per lot.

GST is always charged on the total brokerage at 18%.

You may use the following path to check whether you have been mapped under Options 20

Settings > My Brokerage Plan > Add-on plan details

Yes, ICICI Direct offers select long-dated F&O contracts with expiries extending up to 1 year.

These are known as long-dated options, and they are typically available on indices, such as Nifty and Bank Nifty. While most F&O contracts have monthly expiry (near, next, and far months), long-term contracts beyond 3 months

Key Points:

1. Availability: Long-dated contracts are not available for all stocks; they are usually limited to popular index derivatives.

2. Usage: These contracts are useful for long-term hedging or directional strategies in the F&O market.

3. Platform Access: You can check the available expiry dates while placing an F&O order on the ICICI Direct platform (under the ‘Place Order’ section for derivatives).

The long-dated contracts get enable on 25 open interest and 20 Volume for next trading day if the criteria fullfills and also you can the same on NSE option chain.

Tip: Always check the contract expiry calendar or the F&O chain for the specific stock/index to know the available expiry months.

VAR + ELM are two types of margin requirements that are collected by the exchange when trading stock options, particularly for option sellers (writers[SR1] ). Here's what they mean:

VAR (Value at Risk)

- What it means: VAR estimates the potential loss in the value of a security or portfolio under normal market conditions over a specified time period and with a certain confidence level

ELM (Extreme Loss Margin)

- What it means: ELM is an additional safety buffer over and above VAR.

- Why it’s needed: It covers rare, extreme market events that VAR might not account for — such as sharp crashes, black swan events, or sudden illiquidity.

- Exchange-mandated: ELM is imposed by exchanges as a safeguard to protect against systemic risk.

When is VAR + ELM applicable?

a. For Buying Options:

Only the premium amount is required to be paid.

b. For Selling Options (Call or Put):

You need to maintain the SPAN + Exposure Margin, which includes VAR + ELM, to cover potential losses from writing options. This is to ensure you have enough margin in case the market moves against your position.

This is an add-on plan for options pricing in which the option charges will be ₹20 per order. If you are using flash trade, execution algos and trading in futures, the pricing will be according to your base plan.

Yes, ICICI Direct allows you to place limit orders before the market opens in F&O. These are known as pre-market orders and are queued in the system to be sent to the exchange when trading begins.

Key Details:

1. Segments allowed: You can place pre-market limit orders across equity, derivatives, currency, and commodity segments.

2. Timing: For equity and derivatives, pre-market orders can be placed anytime after 4:30 PM for the next trading day.

3. Order status: These orders will appear as "Requested" in your order book until the exchange opens.

4. Execution: Orders are sent to the exchange at market open (9:15 AM).

5. GTT orders: Good Till Triggered (GTT) orders can be placed anytime but are executed only during market hours when the trigger price is met.

The Mark-to-Market (MTM) process refers to the daily adjustment of unrealised profit or loss on open futures, based on the closing price declared by the exchange.

When is MTM done?

1. MTM is carried out at the end of every trading day.

2. The process applies to all open futures positions.

There could be several reasons why your F&O order is not going through. Below are the most common causes and how to resolve them:

1. Order Freeze

a. Your order may have been frozen due to internal risk controls or technical issues.

b. Such orders appear with a blank status in the order book.

c. To check the reason, click on the order reference link in your order book and review the order log.

2. Insufficient Funds

a. You need to have sufficient cash or SAM (Shares as Margin) limits available.

b. Visit the "Allocate Funds" section and allocate the required amount to the F&O segment.

3. Market Order Restrictions

a. Market orders for some options may be disabled if they fail internal liquidity filters.

b. This is in line with SEBI and exchange pre-trade risk controls.

c. Try placing a Limit Order instead, which is usually allowed.

4. Stock in Ban List

a. If the underlying stock is in the “Securities in Ban for Trading” list, you won’t be able to trade in its derivatives.

b. Check the updated list on the F&O homepage under “Securities in Ban”.

5. Temporary Technical Glitches

a. There may be intermittent platform or connectivity issues that temporarily prevent order placement.

b. Refresh the page or try again after some time.

Steps to Troubleshoot

1. Check order log: Review the reason for rejection or freeze.

2. Use a limit order: Especially for illiquid options contracts.

3. Allocate sufficient margin: Ensure cash/SAM limits are available and allocated.

4. Verify stock ban status: Avoid placing orders in banned stocks.

5. Retry after some time: If it’s a technical glitch.

6. Contact support: If none of the above work, reach out to ICICI Direct Customer Care for further assistance.

Recent price revisions for Futures and Options:

Recent price revisions for Options trading:

Extreme Loss Margin (ELM) is applicable to all derivative contracts, including Futures and Options, and in certain cases, to trades in the cash market as specified by the exchange.

There is an additional ELM requirement for short index options.

As per the latest regulations, an additional ELM of 2% is required on the day of expiry for short index option positions.

Calculation of ELM for short index options on expiry day is as follows:

Formula:

Additional ELM = 2% × Closing Price × Open Position Quantity

Example:

If you have a short position in Nifty options with a quantity of 1,800 and Nifty closes at 25,000 on the day before expiry, then the additional ELM required on expiry day would be:

2% × 25,000 × 1,800 = ₹9,00,000

This margin must be available in your account to continue holding the position on expiry day.

Starting February 10th, 2025 margin benefits for calendar spreads will no longer be available on expiry days.

Example:

1. If you short 24,000 call option for February 13th contract  and bought 24,000 call option for February 20th contract , the earlier margin requirement was ₹50,120 (due to the hedge, compared to a total margin of ₹1.83 lakh).

2. From February 10th, on the expiry day (February 13th in this case), the margin benefit will be removed at the start of the day since the short option expires.

3. As a result, clients must maintain the full margin of ₹1.83 lakh, failing which the position will be squared off.

Key Impact:

1. Previously, if clients squared off one leg of a hedge position, the margin requirement increased sharply, often triggering auto-square-off.

2. This change is intended to reduce last-minute volatility by enforcing full margin requirements from the beginning of the day.

Following are some illustrations:

From 10th February, 2025 onwards on expiry days, the margin benefit for calendar spreads will be removed on index futures & options. This means that traders will have to maintain a full margin requirement for their calendar spread positions on its expiry day.

A calendar spread involves taking positions in minimum 2 leg in the same underlying asset but with different expiries. 

For example: Buying Nifty February Call option & Selling Nifty March Call option.

Normally, exchanges provide a reduced margin for calendar spreads due to lower risk from offsetting positions.However, starting on February 10th, 2025 , you need to bring the margins for both the legs will be treated individually to avoid margin shortfallsas positions will be considered as standalone to avoid the margin shortfalls. The margin benefits will no longer apply.

Currently, the removal of calendar spreads will only impact contracts with weekly and monthly expiries in both Index Futures and Options for NFO and BFO.

If you hold a calendar spread that includes an expiring contract, you will lose the margin benefit on the expiry day and must maintain a full margin for the remaining contract.

Example: You have a Nifty February Call option(expiring today) and Nifty March Put Option position → So on the day of expiry for both the February and March contracts you will require a full margin to hold both the positions.

Yes. If you hold an options calendar spread involving an expiring contract, the margin benefit will be removed on the expiry day and you will be required to bring additional margin to hold position.

Close or roll over spreads before expiry day to continue getting margin benefits.

Maintain the higher margin requirements on expiry day.

For understanding the impact better you can refer to the margin calculator, your total margin requirement can be seen under the F&O section >> Margin Calculator.

Margin Calculator link: https://www.icicidirect.com/calculators/margin-calculator

If you are not able to bring the margins for both the legs on the day of expiry, your position with higher margin requirement will be squared off fisrt on the day of expiry at 9:15am.

You need to act immediately, especially if it's an intraday shortfall. You should top up your margin before the market closes to avoid penalties or auto square-off. You are required to monitor and review your open positions and margin requirements at all times.

Example: Suppose you have open positions requiring a total margin of ₹1,00,000, and your available margin drops to ₹92,000 due to M2M (Mark-to-Market) loss.

✅ You will receive the following message:

Your position in NIFTY currently has a margin shortfall of Rs 8,000. Please allocate additional margin to avoid automatic square-off.

You should add ₹8,000 immediately to cover the shortfall. 

You must:

1. Allocate additional funds immediately, OR

2. Square-off/close positions to reduce the margin requirement.

If you do not address the margin shortfall, your positions will be auto squared-off.

To avoid margin shortfalls:

1. Monitor your margin status regularly on Web or App

2. Avoid using entire available margin—always leave a buffer

3. Understand the M2M impact, especially during volatile sessions

4. Keep an eye on expiry days and physical delivery requirements 

A margin shortfall occurs when your available margin is less than the required margin for your open positions. This typically happens when your positions incur a loss or when there is an increase in the margin requirement.

You are required to monitor and review your open positions and margin requirements at all times through the tools provided on the website/app.

Link to view Open Positions: View Open Position

Additionally, you will receive margin shortfall alerts through either/all of below mode:

SMS - These alerts will mention the shortfall amount and the affected positions.

*Please note that margin shortfall alerts are being sent on best effort basis. They are an additional support to help you monitor your open positions. It is your primary responsibility to keep a track of your positions and margin requirements at all times.

• No fresh positions are allowed to be created once the stock comes in ban period, as per our internal risk policies. However, Rollover of Futures Positions will now be allowed.
• You will be allowed to square off your existing positions in the stock in Ban Period. However, if one leg of the hedge position is squared off, it will lead to increase in FutEq OI.
• If the square off trade (by client / system) results in increase in FutEq OI during the day, then your pending square off orders in that stock will be cancelled and positions will be squared off any time after 2 PM to reduce the FutEq OI.

Let’s understand with an example:

- Calculation of FutEq Open positions:

*Positions that are open at the end of the day (on the day the security was added to the ban list) will be considered base positions. These base positions will be compared with the next day’s positions by computing FutEq of Open positions at 2 PM as per the Exchange guidelines.

-Examples of increase/ decrease in FutEq open positions and system actions:

All the figures mentioned above are fictional and intended for the purpose of illustration.

The above mechanism is applicable for Single Stock only. Any breach observed by Clearing Corporations during monitoring of positions during ban period may attract penalty which may be recovered from clients. 

NOTE: You can exit (square off) your position. But you cannot increase, reverse, or hedge it using new F&O trades.

MWPL refers to Market Wide Position Limit which is the maximum allowable open interest across the entire market for a Stock's Futures and Options contracts. The open interest is measured in terms of Future equivalent open interest or delta based open interest.

The Future Equivalent open interest (FutEq OI) is calculated by aggregating the change in price (delta) associated with the position.

New MWPL methodology:

SEBI has decided to revise the formulation of MWPL. Same will be calculated by CC as the lower of:

a. The lower of:

15% of the free-float

65 times market wide Average Daily Delivery Value (ADDV) (in terms of quantity)

b. With a minimum floor of 10% free float.

Dissemination:

The MWPL calculated shall be disseminated by Clearing Corporations (CC) on their website, details about computation methodology are available in Annexure 2 of Exchange Circulars NCL/CMPT/70085, NSE/SURV/71090 & 20251031-63

When the Market wide FutEq OI of a stock exceeds 95% of the applicable MWPL, the stock would be placed in ban period from next day onwards.

Below is changing from December 08, 2025:

If a stock enters Ban Period, any trades executed in the stock should lead to reduction of FutEq OI on end of the day basis. The calculation would be based on delta of contracts as at 2 PM on daily basis.

Exit Condition:

The stock will come out of ban when:

A stock exits ban when Combined FutEq Open Interest across all Exchanges comes down to 80% of the MWPL.

This is checked daily by the exchange after market hours.

• No fresh positions are allowed to be created once the stock comes in ban period, as per our internal risk policies. However, Rollover of Futures Positions will now be allowed.
• You will be allowed to square off your existing positions in the stock in Ban Period.

A Quantity Freeze Limit is the maximum permissible order quantity for a single trade in Futures and Options (F&O) contracts. If an order quantity exceeds this limit, it is automatically rejected by the exchange system.

The objective is to:

• Prevent fat finger trades (unintentional large order entries).
• Strengthen risk management.
• Safeguard market stability.

The pre-open session is applicable to:

1. The pre-open session will apply to current-month futures contracts on both Single Stocks and Indices.
2. The session will also extend to the next-month futures contracts during the last five trading days before the expiry of the current-month futures.

The pre-open session will not apply to:

• Calendar spread futures and option contracts on stocks or indices
• Futures of an underlying security on its ex-date of corporate action (e.g., merger, demerger, etc.)
• The facility will not apply to far-month expiry contracts.

The pre-open session shall be conducted using call auction mechanism for duration of 15 minutes i.e., from 9:00 am to 9:15 am. The pre-open schedule shall be as follows:

Note: For index-based market- wide circuit filter breach or any outage (stopping of trading, either suo moto by Exchange or by virtue of reasons beyond control of stock exchange), the market shall open with a pre-open session and its timings shall be informed separately on that day.

The below shall be the parameters applicable for pre-open session:

Yes, the Self Trade Prevention Check (STPC) mechanism will be applicable during the pre-open session in the equity derivatives segment, in addition to its application in the normal market.

The STPC mechanism will be active during the order entry/collection period of the pre-open session. If a potential self-trade is detected, the active order will be cancelled by default, regardless of the STPC option set in the order.

Pre-open session comprises of two sessions as mentioned below:

1. Order Collection Period:

• During this period orders can be entered, modified, and cancelled.
• No trades are executed
• Order collection period ends by system driven random closure between 7 and 8 minutes.
• Both Limit and market orders are allowed.
• The information like Indicative equilibrium / opening price of contract, total buy and sell quantity of the contract and % change of indicative equilibrium price to previous close price shall be computed based on the orders in order book and will be disseminated during pre-open session.

 2. Order Matching Period

Order matching period starts immediately after completion of order collection period.

• Order will be matched at a single (equilibrium) price which will be open price.
• The order matching happens in following sequence:

1.  Eligible limit orders are matched with eligible limit orders
2.  Residual eligible limit orders are matched with market orders
3.  Market orders match with market orders

• During order matching period order modification, order cancellation, trade modification and trade cancellation are not allowed.
• The trade details are disseminated to respective members before the start of normal market. Request for trade cancellation shall not be allowed for these trades.

Opening price is determined based on the principle of demand supply mechanism.

The equilibrium price determined in pre-open session is considered as open price for the day.

Maximum Volume:

The equilibrium price is the price at which the maximum volume is executable.

Minimum Order Imbalance (if multiple prices qualify):

In case more than one price meets the criteria, the equilibrium price is the price with minimum order imbalance quantity (unmatched order quantity)

Closest to Previous Closing Price:

• In case more than one price has same minimum order imbalance quantity, the equilibrium price is the price closest to the previous day’s closing price.
• In case the previous day’s closing price is the mid-value of pair of prices which are closest to it, then the previous day’s closing price itself is taken as the equilibrium price.
• In case of corporate action, previous day’s closing price is adjustable closing price or the base price.

Orders Considered:

Both limit and market orders reckon for computation of equilibrium price.

Opening Price for the Day:

The opening price is determined based on the principle of demand and supply

• The equilibrium price determined in pre-open session is considered as open price for the day.
• In case only market orders exist both in the buy and sell side, then order is matched at base price. Therefore, Base price is the opening price.
• In case no price is discovered in the pre-open session, the price of the first trade in the normal market will be considered as the opening price.

• All unmatched / outstanding limit orders will be moved to the normal market retaining the original time stamp. All unmatched / outstanding market orders will be modified to assign discovered equilibrium price and moved to normal market as limit orders with such modified time stamp.
• In a situation where no equilibrium price is discovered in the pre-open session, all market orders are moved to normal market at base price following price time priority.

Note: Order modification and/or cancellation of all unmatched / outstanding orders shall not be permitted before start of normal market session

All orders received in pre-open session shall be validated at the applicable margins for sufficiency of available capital prior to acceptance of the orders. If the available capital of the member is insufficient to cover the margin requirement of the order placed, the same shall not be accepted for the pre-open session.