Resolve investor complaints within 15-day: Sebi to brokers

With a view to making grievance redressal system more efficient, markets regulator Sebi today asked stock brokers and depository participants to address investors' complaints within 15 days of receiving them.
Currently, stock brokers and depository participants have to redress complaints of investors within a month.
The regulator had in June 2011 operationalised a centralised database to fast-track redressal of investor complaints called Sebi Complaints Redressal System (SCORES). Since then, Sebi has been processing investor' complaint through this system.
SCORES facilitates online movement of complaints to the concerned listed companies by enabling online upload of action taken report by these companies.

"All stock brokers and depository participants are directed to address/redress the complaint within a period of 15 days from the receipt of the complaint," Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.
In case, additional information is required from the complainant, the same should be sought within seven days from receipt from the complaint. In such case, the period of 15 days should run from the receipt of additional information.
The move is aimed at making the complaint redressal mechanism through SCORES more efficient.
Besides, stock exchanges and depository participants have been asked to develop a system to implement the directive.