Investors looking to claim their long lost securities now have a reason to cheer. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in a recently issued draft circular, has made the process of issuing duplicate share certificates easier, reducing the market uncertainties and long-lost documentation procedures that were prevalent.
“These measures aim at ease of investments for investors and facilitate restitution of investor rights in securities. As duplicate securities issued would necessarily be in demat mode, this will result in increased dematerialisation,” SEBI said in a circular released on December 24.
According to this circular, investors who have lost, misplaced or damaged their physical share certificates up to Rs.10 lakh will now have ot submit a standardized Affidavit-cum-Indemnity bond, replacing the earlier cumbersome documentation process. This move is aimed at ensuring uniformity and making the reissuance process faster and investor-friendly.
For investors holding shares with values up to Rs.10,000, SEBI has gone further by allowing registrars and companies to issue duplicate share certificates solely based on a simple written undertaking from the investor.
For holding more than Rs.10 lakh, investors will also have to provide documents like a copy of the police complaint FIR, court order or complaint mentioning the details of the lost securities.
