MUMBAI: To make it easier and cost-effective for investors who have lost certificates of securities (shares, bonds, mutual fund units) to get duplicates, markets regulator Sebi is proposing an easier process with a uniform set of forms. It’s also proposing to double the upper limit for issuance of the securities without an FIR and newspaper advertisement to Rs 10 lakh.Sebi is also planning to do away with the dual requirement of getting an affidavit and an indemnity bond while applying to get duplicate securities, and is backing a single affidavit-cum-indemnity bond. Such a process has been adopted by the Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority, a body under the finance ministry that deals with unclaimed stocks, mutual funds etc for returning funds to the rightful owners.

According to Sebi’s proposed circular, at present, there is a three-step process for issuance of duplicate securities. The investor needs to submit a copy of the FIR including e-FIR/police complaint/court injunction order/copy of the complaint with details of the securities, folio number, distinctive number range and certificate numbers. The investor also needs to issue a newspaper advertisement about the loss of securities. Then the investor has to submit an affidavit and an indemnity bond separately on a “non-judicial stamp paper of appropriate value” in a Sebi-prescribed format.“However, if the value of securities as on the date of submission of application, does not exceed Rs 5 lakh,” the first two steps are not required to be complied with, Sebi said. “It has been gathered that due to non-standardisation of documents and different approaches followed by registrar and transfer agents (RTAs) or listed companies, investors feel the pain of going for varied documentation for various listed companies.“Sebi received feedback from investors and other stakeholders in the system about easing some of these rules. It said that the current threshold of Rs 5 lakhs for availing simplified documentation for issuance of duplicate securities was prescribed several years ago. “Since then, the Indian securities market has expanded significantly in terms of market capitalisation, investor participation and average portfolio size. As a result, the monetary value of individual security holdings has increased materially.” In the changed scenario, the Rs 5-lakh limit does not reflect current market realities and imposes an avoidable procedural burden on investors, it said.