SAT rejects AG Shares appeal seeking to condone fee payment

SAT said the petitioner has not provided any material to justify the delay for about seven years

The Securities Appellate Tribunal has dismissed the plea of AG Shares & Securities seeking to condone payment of fee to market regulator Sebi, observing that the petitioner has not provided any material to justify the delay for about seven years.

The tribunal, on August 22, said that sub-broker AG Shares & Securities had no grounds for not making the fee liability statements.

The case is not fit for condoning of the delay in fee payment, SAT said, adding that the liability statements were issued to the appellant as early as in 2004 and 2005.

Instead of approaching the tribunal, the appellant kept on making representations to the respondents, it said.

 

"As observed earlier, repeated representations does not save the limitation period. The appellant has failed to bring any material on record which may justify condonation of the delay of almost 7 years from the date of the last demand notice for payment of fee," SAT has said.

As per the norms, a sub-broker is liable to pay fee to Sebi any time before the expiry of six months from the date on which it becomes due.

The fee liability statements were issued to AG Shares & Securities in September 2004 and then again in March and April 2005.

Subsequently, demand letters were issued by the UP Stock Exchange asking the entity to deposit the outstanding towards principal fee and interest thereon.

The broker claimed that it made various representations to the stock exchange and Sebi with regard to its liability towards fee under the regulations, but there was no response from the market regulator.

On February 1 this year, the exchange had requested the appellant to take necessary steps for making fee payment.