Sebi cancels registration of Grovalue Fin Services for flouting norms

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday cancelled the certificate of registration of Grovalue Financial Services for flouting regulatory norms.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) inspected the matters of Grovalue Financial Services, a Sebi-registered research analyst, from April 2021 to August 2022.

The inspection was carried out to verify whether the books of accounts and records were being maintained or whether the provisions of the Sebi's Research Analysts norms were being complied with by the noticee.

"The noticee (Grovalue Financial Services) has contravened with the provisions of the Research Analyst regulations and failed to abide by the conditions of his certificate of registration," Sebi's Chief General Manager G Ramar said in the order.

The regulator also observed that the non-cooperation shown during the inspection and the non-appearance and lack of response to the notices issued by Sebi show the lackadaisical attitude of the noticee, which is concerning of an intermediary responsible for analysing investment decisions of investors.

As per the Sebi SCORES portal, Grovalue Financial Services had received complaints from April 2021 to August 2022. However, the firm failed to resolve some of these complaints within 30 days.

Under the Sebi rules, the regulator mandates that all Sebi-registered intermediaries are to take immediate action in the resolution of complaints within 30 days and file an Action Taken Report (ATR) with the markets watchdog.

Non-filing of ATR under SCORES within 30 days for a grievance will be treated as a failure to constitute non-redressal of investor grievance.

By not redressing the grievances of investors within the time, Grovalue Financial Services has violated the Research Analyst rules.