Can I sell a bond before maturity?

Listed corporate bonds, G-secs, SDLs and SGBs can all be sold before maturity. What varies is who buys from you, at what price, and at what cost. Corporate bond trading is thin: SEBI's chairman cited a secondary turnover ratio of about 0.3 in May 2026 (Outlook Money).

What exit does each platform offer?

Platform	How you sell	Cost and conditions
Aspero	Liquidity indicators shown for each bond	No buyback promise; no exit fee schedule published
Bondbazaar	On BSE or NSE, with help from its service team	At market rates, subject to buyers; no fee published
GoldenPi	On BSE or NSE, or through GoldenPi's team	No fee stated
Grip Invest	Sell Bonds Anytime, after about 2 months	0.25% adjusted in the price; settles in 1 working day; immediate sale not guaranteed
InCred Money	Anytime Liquidity, after 21 days	2% of the latest market price per unit
Jiraaf	No facility	Find a buyer in the market yourself
Stable Bonds	Sell anytime and Auto-Sell features	Terms say a sale is not guaranteed and depends on buyers; a spread or penalty can apply after a zero-penalty period; some bonds carry lock-ins
Wint Wealth	Sell-back through Wint	Amount at Wint's sole discretion; only bonds bought through Wint and held in its demat

Sources: Aspero, Bondbazaar, GoldenPi, Grip, InCred Money, Jiraaf, Stable Bonds terms, Wint terms. Wint's terms say a sale may be at a YTM "up to 1% lower" than the YTM you bought at.

How do I sell on the exchange?

Any broker lets you place a sell order on the NSE or BSE order book, like a share. You need a buyer at your price, so use a limit order and check both exchanges, as the same bond can quote differently on each (Business Standard). Costs are brokerage plus DP charges: Fyers charges ₹20 or 0.3%, whichever is lower, to sell G-secs, T-bills or SDLs before maturity, and Zerodha's DP charge is ₹15.34 per scrip per sale (Fyers, Zerodha). Order book prices are dirty prices, so they include accrued interest.

What about government securities?

G-secs, T-bills and SDLs held in demat sell on the exchange order book. Held in RBI Retail Direct, they sell on NDS-OM's odd lot and RFQ segments, with proceeds paid to your linked bank account (RBI). Retail liquidity can be thin: in Sep 2026 TradingQnA users were posting to find holders willing to sell G-secs maturing between 2029 and 2040 (TradingQnA). SGBs trade on the exchange or NDS-OM, and RBI's premature redemption after 5 years is a further exit (TradingQnA).

What price will I get?

Bond prices move opposite to yields. If market yields have risen since you bought, you sell below your purchase price; if they have fallen, above it. A 10% annual coupon bond with 2 years left is worth about ₹98,290 per ₹1 lakh face value when buyers want 11% instead of 10%, a fall of about 1.7%. A platform buyback also embeds the platform's own spread, which none of them discloses per bond.

Can the issuer let me out early?

Only if the bond has a put option. SEBI's liquidity window framework lets issuers offer retail investors put options on set dates for bonds held in demat, at the issuer's choice (Outlook Business), so check the offer document. Otherwise, plan to hold to maturity and treat any exit as a bonus. See when is interest paid before selling near a coupon.