Unclaimed shares? Grievances can be aired via video con soon

New Delhi: Investors who have not claimed shares, dividends and matured debentures for more than seven years may soon get to air their grievances through video conferences organised by the government, according to a senior official, as the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) mulls ways to expedite refunds.

Typically, the securities and dividends that remain unclaimed for seven years or more for various reasons are transferred by companies to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the (MCA).

In the first three quarters of this fiscal, 9.38 million shares and related dividend was refunded by the IEPFA to investors, against 7.65 million in the entire year.


In fact, the refund until end-December this fiscal exceeded the level in any of the previous years as a whole, thanks to special drives and other steps taken to sensitise investors, the official told ET.

Integrated portal

Among the fresh initiatives, the MCA will soon launch an integrated portal, as proposed in the budget for FY24, to enable investors to get back unclaimed dividends and shares quickly. The portal will have a search option that will allow people to check their unclaimed shares and dividends lying with the IEPFA. Subsequently, it could launch another option to process investors' claims through the portal.

The integrated portal is aimed at significantly reducing scope for malpractices by minimising human dealings. In another initiative, the MCA is weighing a proposal to ease the process for investors to get the unclaimed shares and dividends by curtailing superfluous documentation.