Shares demat: Investors move Sebi to extend Mar 31 deadline

With just five days left for investors holding physical shares to convert those into demat form, an online survey of 10,000 investors showed that three of the four polled want Sebi to extend the deadline by another three months, till June 30. Interestingly, about one in every five persons polled said they were not ever aware of the Sebi mandate on this issue.

The survey by LocalCircles, a communities-based portal that takes up citizens’ causes related to governance and utilities, also pointed out several reasons for delay in conversion of shares into demat form which include rejection by registers due to petty reasons, delays by courts in clearing succession cases, delayed communication from companies, etc. Some investors also said that companies should also take up some responsibility for this Sebi-mandated compulsory conversion that, as of now, puts the whole onus on investors.

On Tuesday, LocalCircles also sent the survey results and its recommendations to Sebi for consideration. It also requested the regulator to extend the deadline till June 30.