The Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) will soon roll out an integrated digital portal to expedite the transfer of unclaimed shares and dividends to investors, marking a major reform in investor services. Quoting people aware of the details, a
report from Economic Times (ET) says, after about two years of planning, preparations and testing, the much-awaited integrated portal will be launched this month to speed up the transfer of old unclaimed shares and dividends to investors.
The move, nearly two years in the making, is designed to slash processing times from months to days, reduce paperwork and cut out inefficiencies that have long plagued the system.
Currently, shares, dividends and matured debentures that remain unclaimed for seven years are transferred by companies to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) which operates under MCA.
At present, investors seeking to reclaim them face a cumbersome process that often takes more than a year even after approvals. According to officials, the new portal will integrate data from the MCA-21 corporate filings system, depositories and the public financial management system, allowing investors to check and submit claims seamlessly.
A senior government official told
Moneycontrol that the time taken for release of shares and dividends, which currently stretches up to a year after claim approval, will now be cut to just a few days. The scale of the task is enormous: the IEPFA currently holds more than 1.1bn (billion) unclaimed shares valued at about Rs1 lakh crore, in addition to unclaimed dividends worth nearly Rs6,000 crore.
Earlier, the appointments committee of the Cabinet, chaired by prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi, has approved the creation of a new post of chief executive officer (CEO) for the IEPFA to strengthen its staff and streamline operations. Until now, the authority has been headed by Anita Shah Akella, a joint secretary in the ministry, who also holds other responsibilities.
Officials say the new CEO could come from either the private sector or another government wing but would work under the ministry. “Given that senior officers from the ministry already have their hands full with their usual workload, the government felt the need to split the responsibility and have a dedicated CEO for the IEPFA,” one person told ET.
The portal was first announced in the Union Budget of February 2023 by Union minister of finance and corporate affairs Nirmala Sitharaman. Apart from simplifying the claims process, the government says it would also reduce duplication by using application programming interfaces, speed up refunds, and limit the scope for malpractice by minimising human intervention. In parallel, the IEPFA is setting up an integrated call centre to improve grievance redressal and ensure quicker, more responsive communication with investors.
The authority is also considering a new initiative called niveshak public infrastructure, which could serve as a centralised platform for companies, depositories and registrars. The proposed system would allow single-KYC (know-your-customer) authentication using Aadhaar-based biometrics, including face scans, to further streamline the claims process and improve security, the newspaper says.
At the same time, efforts are underway to simplify paperwork requirements. A panel comprising representatives from the ministry, IEPFA, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), Institute of Cost Accountants (ICA), and industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, PHDCCI and the Registrar Association of India has submitted recommendations for reducing documentation in low-value claims.
If accepted, the reforms would apply to claims valued up to Rs5 lakh in case of physical securities, Rs15 lakh for dematerialised securities and up to Rs10,000 for dividends. The ministry says these changes are expected to significantly cut timelines, improve transparency and deliver hassle-free services to investors.
Established in 2016, the IEPFA plays a dual role of returning unclaimed financial assets to rightful owners and advancing financial literacy nationwide through awareness programmes such as niveshak didi, niveshak panchayat and niveshak shivir. With the new digital portal and administrative reforms, officials say the authority is poised to become more investor-friendly and efficient.
If the company has deposited shares and dividend to Govt, my saying and proving that these assets belong to me, Govt should release to the owner. Papers and papers, NO OUTCOME.
I want to give example of recovering my FDR of $ 10000 from Unclaimed Property Department of USA. After 10 years of lapse, I searched their site and claimed the FDR as mine. After two days, I got a email from them asking me to submit certain documents to prove my claim. I sent the papers by email and GOT MATURITY VALUE OF FDR IN MY BANK within three weeks.
Col Krishan Gupta