Everything You Need To Know About IEPF

By | September 21, 2018

In case you are wondering what IEPF is, here’s all you need to know and then some. Read on.

Everything You Need To Know About IEPF

In case you’ve heard about IEPF but don’t know what it actually means, you’ve come to the right place. We can help you understand it better. First of all, IEPF stands for Investor Education and Protection Fund. Let’s cover all aspects of this fund one by one.

What Is IEPF?

As mentioned before, IEPF stands for Investor Education and Protection Fund. In simpler words, it’s a fund set up under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to help promote investor awareness and protection of investor interests.

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How Is It Funded?

In order to fund the IEPF, unclaimed dividend, refunded application money, matured company deposits and debentures, as well as the interest on them, is used, provided it is not claimed within seven years. To decide what proportion of the money gets utilised where the IEPF is monitored by a trust.

The trust has been given the authority under subsection 4 to spend money out of the IEPF. The Registrar of Companies furnishes receipts and also reconciles them with the amount remitted and collected from the concerned account officer. The MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) maintains a consolidated abstract of all these receipts.

What Are The Main Functions Of The IEPF Trust?

  • To plan out different activities for Investor Education and Protection in the form of seminars, symposiums and proposals for registration of voluntary association or institution engaged in IEPF projects.
  • To plan out proposals for registration of voluntary associations, institutions or other organisations involved in IEPF activities.
  • Co-ordination with institutions involved in investor education and awareness activities.
  • To plan out proposals for projects for IEPF including research activities and proposals for financing such projects.
  • Appoint one or more subcommittees to ensure smooth functioning of the fund.
  • To furnish reports for the central government after every six months.

Is It Possible To Recover Money Credited To The IEPF?

No. Investors can’t recover the unclaimed money but they can view the amount credited to the fund through the IEPF website. However, it can be possible to claim unpaid amount from the company before it gets credited to the IEPF.

What Are The Guidelines To Fund Research Proposals?

In order to fund research proposals, following are the set of guidelines issued:

  • A 2000-word outline of the research program that is being proposed indicating why the same is the right fit according to the goals of IEPF.
  • A detailed resume of all the researchers who are going to be associated with the project.
  • Three best recently published/unpublished papers of those researchers.
  • Letters of commitment by researchers promising that they will put in at least 50% of their time for the proposed project from the stated starting date to the stated ending date.

What’s The Procedure For Financial Assistance?  

In order to get financial assistance, the following procedure needs to be followed:

  • Entities that fulfil the criteria/guidelines for the purpose of financial assistance from IEPF may apply to the IEPF for such assistance in Form 4.
  • The feasibility of the project, quantum of financial assistance, the genuineness of the organisation, etc. is then evaluated by the subcommittee of IEPF in its meetings held at regular intervals.
  • After the subcommittee approves the proposal, IEPF issues the financial sanction with the approval of the Internal Finance Wing of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
  • The amount is then released to the organisation, but only after it submits a pre-defined bond and a pre-receipt to IEPF.
  • After the project is completed, the organisation is required to submit the funds’ utilisation certificate and copies of the bills etc. to IEPF for scrutiny.

How To Transfer The Unpaid Amount To The IEPF

The unpaid amount can be transferred to the IEPF under Section 205C following this procedure:

  • Login to the MCA portal.
  • Select the option “Pay miscellaneous fee”.
  • Select the option “Pay fee for Investor Education and Protection Fund”.
  • Fill in the CIN number, company name, details of payment and amount and make the payment.
  • After making the payment, file the form 1 statement of amounts credited to IEPF through MCA portal.

What Type Of Funds Are Moved To IEPF?

In case you’re wondering what kind of funds are moved to IEPF, here’s a list:

  • Application money obtained due to a refund
  • Debentures (plus their interest) of companies
  • Proceeds from matured company deposits
  • Shares

How To Redeem The Unclaimed Amount?

The IEPF website usually has all the details of unclaimed amounts. To make a claim, you can use IEPF-5 form. Don’t worry! You don’t have to go looking for everywhere. Here’s all you need to do:

  • Simply download the form from the IEPF website.
  • Fill in all the relevant details like your name, your company’s name, Aadhaar details, amount to be claimed, your bank account number and demat account details.
  • Once you upload the form, it gets processed by MCA21 and they also generate an SRN. After you click the ‘pay’ option, an acknowledgement is generated. The best part? You don’t have to pay for making a claim.
  • Now that you have a copy of the claim with your signature, it has to be submitted along with the acknowledgement and the indemnity bond at the Nodal Officer’s office (IEPF) of the company.
  • Don’t forget to mark the documents as ‘claim for refund from the IEPF authority’.

That’s about it! Simple, isn’t it?

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16 thoughts on “Everything You Need To Know About IEPF

  1. Ankit Garg

    For any claims from the IEPF, kindly contact
    We are a professional services firm that assist investors in IEPF Claim, IEPF Refund, filing IEPF Form 5, unclaimed shares, unclaimed dividends, demat of physical shares, lost shares, issuance of duplicate share certificate, obtaining succession certificate, letter of administration, probate of will etc.

    Reply
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Ankit Garg,

      Thanks for sharing this!

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply
  2. PRATIMA HIRANI

    MY SHARES ARE TRANSFERRED TO IEPF IN 2018 DUE TO NON CLAIMING OF DIVIDEND SINCE 2010.
    HOWEVER DUE DATE FOR MY DIVIDEND DECLARED BY COMPANY IN 2015 FOR IEPF TRANSFER IS 2022.
    SO CAN I CLAIM THAT DIVIDEND NOW.
    OR DO I NEED TO INCLUDE IN IEPF 5 FORM DIVIDEND AMOUNT OF 2015 ALSO??

    PLEASE GUIDE.
    THANK YOU.

    Reply
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Pratima Hirani,

      Thanks for writing in.
      You may claim the dividend by making an application through Form IEPF5. Send a copy of the duly signed IEPF5 form along with required documents to the concerned company at its registered office for verification. Within 15 days of receipt of the claim form, the company will send a verification report to the IEPF. Once it has been verified, you will receive the amount.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply
    2. Ankit Garg

      Dear Pratima,

      You can claim your dividends post 2011 from the respective company. However, for the shares transferred to the IEPF and for dividends as of 2011, you will have to undertake the procedure of getting entitlement letter from the company and then filing the IEPF Form 5. Once the form is filled with accuracy, you’ll need to send the documents to the Nodal Officer.
      This however is a long, time consuming procedure since all the concerned parties are overburdened with work. For detailed queries you can reach out to us at info@iepfclaim.in or ankitgarg.attorney@gmail.com.
      Regards, Ankit Garg, Advocate

      Reply
      1. Team BankBazaar

        Hi Ankit Garg,

        Thanks so much for the information. Keep sharing such insights with us.

        Cheers,
        Team BankBazaar

        Reply
  3. Rinku

    Hi Ankita,

    I have a physical share certificate which I was trying to demat. I did send the documents to the registrar however I was told that the shares have been transferred to IEPF. So would I still need an entitlement letter? I do not know if there have been dividends declared for this? How should I go about this?
    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Rinku,

      Thanks for writing in. We suggest that you check with the company that provided the share certificate. They should be able to help you send the shares to IEPF.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply
    2. Ankit Garg

      Dear Rinku,
      Yes you will have to approach the registrar of the concerned company to provide you the details of dividends till 2011 transferred to the IEPF Authority. Once, you have the details, you can file the claim online, send the requisite supporting documents to the Nodal Officer of the company. The Nodal Officer will then verify the documents and send the same to the IEPF Authority for processing. This process generally will take 6-12 months time depending on the accuracy of the documents.
      For detailed queries you can reach out to us at info@iepfclaim.in or ankitgarg.attorney@gmail.com.

      Regards,
      Ankit Garg, Advocate
      iepfclaim.in

      Reply
      1. Team BankBazaar

        Hi Ankit,

        Thank you for sharing such useful information. Keep reading our blog for more insights into the world of finance.

        Cheers,
        Team BankBazaar

        Reply
  4. S Mendon

    I hold 550 shares of this company with my parents. My father passed away a few years ago. As I was out of the country, the matter stayed as is, and the dividends were also not encashed due to change in address. Now I am trying to get my dad’s name removed from the shares and have them transferred to mine and my mom’s name. The company has transferred the shares to IEPF and asked me to proceed via form IEPF-5. My questions are:

    a) Will the applicant be my mother whose name is listed after my dad on the shares?
    b) Under ‘Year wise details of securities/deposits ……’, do I fill it as 1) share transfer, 2) ?? (nominal amount of the shares, i.e.., Rs 5,500), 3) ??, 4) Shares, 5) I have the folio no., 6) shares, and 7) first named owner deceased and change of address.

    Any advice that you can provide in this regard would be highly appreciated. Thanks

    Reply
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi S. Mendon,

      Thanks for writing in. We would love to help but since your questions are specific in nature, we suggest that you take the help of your financial advisor/legal counsel to get this sorted.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply
  5. Mohit

    My father had some 100 shares of some XYZ company. He expired in 2005. The shares have been misplaced.
    How can the shares can be re-claimed .

    Reply
    1. Team BankBazaar

      Hi Mohit,

      Thanks for stopping by. Before you begin to reclaim the shares, you must follow a procedure to change the name on the shares held by your father. If you have lost or misplaced share certificates of any company, you need to immediately inform the police and respective company, of which you had the shares. You must need to quote the folio number and details of share certificates to the company for their reference.
      We would love to help you with more details, but since your questions are specific in nature, we suggest that you take the help of your legal counsel.

      Cheers,
      Team BankBazaar

      Reply
  6. SALIM MAHIMWALA

    I AM HOLDER OF 100 SHARES OF ADF FOODS LTD. THE SHARES ARE TRANSFERRED TO IEPF ACCOUNT. ALL FORMALITIES ARE COMPLETED AND THE TRANSACTION STATUS SHOWN IS PAAO.
    WHAT DOES PAAO STAND FOR.

    Reply

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