Sebi extends timeline for social enterprises to submit annual disclosures

Markets regulator Sebi on Monday extended the timeline to January 2025 for social enterprises, which have registered or mobilised funds through social stock exchange, to submit annual disclosures and 'annual impact report' for the financial year 2023-24.

Social enterprises were required to make annual disclosures and submit 'annual impact report' to the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) by October 31, 2024.

"The outer timeline for annual disclosures under Regulation 91C(1) and annual impact report under Regulation 91E(1) of LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations by Social Enterprises on Social Stock Exchange, for FY 2023-24 has been extended up to January 31, 2025," Sebi said in a circular.

The annual report involves details of general, governance and finance aspects and annual impact report to SSE captures the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the social impact generated by the social enterprise.

In case a Not-for-Profit Organisation is only registered without listing any security, such a report is required to cover the NPO's significant activities, interventions, and programmes, among others.

In September 2023, Sebi asked social enterprises raising funds using SSE to disclose the annual impact report within 90 days from the end of the financial year.

SSE is a novel concept in India and it is a separate segment of the existing stock exchange, which helps social enterprises to garner funds from the public through the stock exchange mechanism.

Social enterprises eligible to participate in the SSE are entities -- NPOs and for-profit social enterprises -- having social intent and impact as their primary goal. Also, such an intent should be demonstrated through its focus on eligible social objectives for the underserved or less privileged populations or regions.

The social enterprises will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by the regulator. The eligible activities include eradicating hunger, poverty, malnutrition and inequality; promoting healthcare, supporting education, employability and livelihoods; gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ communities; and supporting incubators of social enterprise.