¹[“7. Refund to claimants from Fund.-

(1) Any person whose shares, unclaimed dividend, matured deposits, matured debentures, application money due for refund, or interest thereon, sale proceeds of fractional shares, redemption proceeds of preference shares etc., has been transferred to the Fund, may claim the shares under proviso to sub-section (6) of section 124 or apply for refund under clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 125 or under proviso to sub-section (3) of section 125, as the case may be, to the Authority by submitting an online application in Form IEPF-5 available on the website www.iepf.gov.in along with fee specified by the Authority from time to time in consultation with the Central Government.

(2) The claimant shall after making an application in Form IEPF-5 under rule (1), send the same duly signed by him along with, requisite documents as enumerated in Form IEPF-5 to the concerned company at its registered office for verification of his claim.

² “ (2A) Every company which has deposited the amount to the Fund shall nominate a Nodal Officer for the purpose of coordination with IEPF Authority and communicate the contact details of the Nodal Officer duly indicating his or her designation, postal address, telephone and mobile number and company authorized e-mail ID to the IEPF Authority, within fifteen days from the date of publication of these rules and the company shall display the name of Nodal Officer and his e-mail ID on its website. ”

(3) The company shall, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of claim, send a verification report to the Authority in the format specified by the Authority along with all the documents submitted by the claimant.

² [ “Provided that in case of non receipt of documents by the Authority after the expiry of ninety days from the date of filing of Form IEPF-5, the Authority may reject Form IEPF-5, after giving an opportunity to the claimant to furnish response within a period of thirty days.”];

(4) After verification of the entitlement of the claimant-

(a) to the amount claimed, the Authority and then Drawing and Disbursement Officer of the Authority shall present a bill to the Pay and Accounts Office for e- payment as per the guidelines,

(b) to the shares claimed, the Authority shall issue a refund sanction order with the approval of the Competent Authority and shall credit the shares to the DEMAT account of the claimant to the extent of the claimant’s entitlement.

(5) The Authority shall, in its records, cause a note to be made of all the payments made under sub-rule (4).

(6) An application received for refund of any claim under this rule duly verified by the concerned company shall be disposed off by the Authority within sixty days from the date of receipt of the verification report from the company, complete in all respects and any delay beyond sixty days shall be recorded in writing specifying the reasons for the delay and the same shall be communicated to the claimant in writing or by electronic means.

(7) In cases, where the application is incomplete or not approved, a communication shall be sent to the claimant and the concerned company by the Authority detailing deficiencies of the application.

² [ “Provided that in case of non receipt of rectified documents by the Authority after the expiry of ninety days from the date of such communication, the Authority may reject Form IEPF-5, after giving an opportunity to the claimant to furnish response within a period of thirty days.”]

(8) In case, claimant is a legal heir or successor or administrator or nominee of the registered share holder, he has to ensure that the transmission process is completed by the company before filing any claim with the Authority.

(9) In case, claimant is a legal heir or successor or administrator or nominee of any other registered security or in cases where request of transfer or transmission of shares is received after the transfer of shares by company to the Authority, the company shall verify all requisite documents required for registering transfer or transmission and shall issue letter to the claimant indicating his entitlement to the said security and furnish a copy of the same to the Authority while verifying the claim of such claimant.

(10) The claimant shall file only one consolidated claim in respect of a company in a financial year.

(11) The company shall be liable under all circumstances whatsoever to indemnify the Authority in case of any dispute or lawsuit that may be initiated due to any incongruity or inconsistency or disparity in the verification report or otherwise and the Authority shall not be liable to indemnify the security holder or Company for any liability arising out of any discrepancy in verification report submitted etc., leading to any litigation or complaint arising thereof.”.]

Amendment

1. Substituted by the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Amendment Rules, 2017 Dated 28th February, 2017. - Original Content

 2. Inserted by the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority(Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 Dated 13th October, 2017.