Govt to launch portal for unclaimed shares, dividends by February 2024

In line with its announcement in the Union Budget 2023-24, the government is set to launch an integrated portal for investors by February 2024, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. A top official said that the portal will facilitate investors to get their unclaimed dividends and shares expeditiously.

Led by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) is planning to smoothen the process to get unclaimed shares and dividends. This will eradicate the need to present unnecessary documents to claim shares or dividends, the official added.

Unclaimed shares, dividends, and matured debentures are transferred to the IEPFA after a duration of seven years. Official data suggests that the unclaimed amount with the IEPFA at the end of March 2022 stood at Rs 5,262 crore, which is up nine per cent from last year, the report said.

Currently, investors have to produce about 24 documents for refunds. As a part of the refund process, these documents are checked multiple times at various stages of the process. This leads to a delay in the settlements, dragging on for more than a year. The target time for such settlements is 60 days.

To settle these claims quickly, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Niramala Sitharaman announced in her last Budget speech that an integrated portal will be set up. The portal will be used to settle shares and dividends lying with the IEPFA, the minister announced.

The portal will allow online submission of claim forms along with the facility of e-verification, the official cited above said. The portal will also feature a dashboard of information for investors, the ET report said.