Procedure to Claim IEPF Refund – MCA Form IEPF-5
Procedure to Claim IEPF Refund – MCA Form IEPF-5
As per the provisions of Investor Education and Protection Fund Rules, 2017, any amount transferred to the Unpaid Dividend Account of the company according to Section 124(1) of the Companies Act. 2013, which is unpaid or unclaimed for more than 7 years from the date of declaration dividend shall be transferred along with interest accrued to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). The person in respect of whom any amount/share has been transferred to the IEPF, can make an online application to the Authority set up by MCA) in Form IEPF-5 for claiming such amount. The current article briefs the procedure to file Form IEPF-5
Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) was established by the Central Government under section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013 for the promotion of investors’ awareness and protection of the interests of investors.
- Any person, whose unclaimed or unpaid amount has been transferred by the company to Investor Education and Protection Fund(IEPF) may claim their refunds to the IEPF Authority.
- The company shall submit the statement stating the details of such transfer in the prescribed format i.e IEPF- 5 to the IEPF Authority and the authority shall issue a receipt as proof of the transfer.
- In case of shares for which the dividend is not paid or claimed for more than 7 years continuously shall be transferred to the IEPF by the company attaching with it the statement providing details about the transfer.
Law Governing the e-form IEPF-5
Form IEPF-5 is required to be filed according to subsection (3) of section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013 and rule 7(1) of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer, and Refund) Rules, 2016
Rule 7(1) of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer, and Refund) Rules, 2016
Any person, whose shares, unclaimed dividend, matured deposits, matured debentures, application money due for refund, or interest thereon, sale proceeds of fractional shares, redemption proceeds of preference shares, etc. has been transferred to the IEPF Fund, may claim the shares under the provision to subsection (6) of section 124 or apply for a refund, under clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 125 or proviso to sub-section (3) of the section, the case may be, to the Authority by making an application in Form IEPF 5 online available on the official website of IEPF along with a fee, as decided by the Authority from time to time in consultation with the Central Government, under his own signature.
Purpose of the e-form IEPF-5
In respect of whom any amount transferred to the IEPF, the person can make an application by filing Form IEPF-5 with the IEPF authority set up by MCA that shall further process the application.
IEPF authority may seek necessary clarifications from the concerned company/bank.
Note to Claimant
The claimant can file only one consolidated claim for a company in one financial year against one Aadhaar Number. Even details of multiple folios of one company need to be included in the consolidated claim.
In case if the claimant is the legal heir or successor or the nominee of the registered shareholder, then he or she has to ensure that the transmission procedure is completed by the company and an entitlement letter is issued to the legal heirs and then only file the IEPF Claim with the authority.
Documents Required
Documents that are required to be submitted along with the Form IEPF-5 are as follows:
- Print out of duly filled and uploaded claim form IEPF-5; with claimant signature and if joint holders are involved then the Form should be signed by all the joint holders
- Copy of acknowledgment generated after uploading the claim Form IEPF-5
- Indemnity Bond (original) with claimant signature to be executed
- A non-judicial Stamp Paper of the value as prescribed under the Stamp Act (According to state) if the amount of the claim is Rs.10, 000 or more. Please ensure to enter the date, place, and Signature of the claimant and witness.
- On plain paper, if the amount claimed does not exceed Rs.10, 000.
- In case of a refund of shares, a non-judicial Stamp Paper of the value as prescribed under the Stamp Act
- Advance Stamped receipt (original) with the signature of the claimant and two witnesses.
- In case of a refund of matured deposit or debenture, or bonds, or where shares (in physical form) are claimed original certificate thereto
- Copy of Aadhaar Card of the claimant and if joint holders are there, Copy of Aadhaar card of all the joint holders
- Proof of entitlement (certificate of share, Interest warrant, dividend warrant and Application Number, etc.)
- Original Cancelled Cheque leaf
- Copy of Passport, OCI, and PIO card in case of foreigners and NRI
- Copy of PAN Card (mandatory in case of a claim for shares)
- Client Master List of De-mat A/c of the claimant
- In case any Joint holder is deceased, a copy of the Death certificate is to be attached.
Procedure to claim Refund
The procedure to claim IEPF Refund by filing Form IEPF-5 is explained in detail below:
Download Form IEPF-5
- The claimant needs to download the form IEPF-5 from the official website of IEPF for filing the claim for a refund.
Note: Read the instructions provided on the website/instruction kit along with the e-form carefully before filling the form
- The e-Form IEPF 5 is reproduced below for reference:
- The applicant needs to provide the following details in the application form:
- Particulars of the Applicant
- Enter the Valid CIN of the company. You may find CIN by entering the existing registration number or name of the Company in the ‘Find CIN’ service under the menu MCA Services on the MCA website.
- Details of shares including folio id
- Details of the amount claimed
- Number of claims made
- Year-wise details of securities/ deposits for which the amount is claimed
- Aadhar Number or Passport/OCI/PIO Card No. (in case of NRI/foreigners)
- Number of Claims
- Details of bank account (Aadhar linked, in case applicant is not NRI/foreigner) in which refund of claim to be made
- Demat Account Number
- Once the details are provided, click on the check box given in the declaration, after carefully reading all conditions
- After filling the form save it on the computer and submit the duly filled form
Upload Form IEPF-5
After pre scrutiny is done the user is required to upload the form using steps as given below:
- Go to IEPF Website and use the option form upload.
- You will be redirected to MCA21 for form Upload. Login using the ID and Password (if existing or else register yourself by clicking on register and entering the required details
- After login, click on normal upload. Click on Browse and attach the form. Click on Submit
- SRN will be generated and the applicant will ask for a payment option (Pay Now or Pay later).
- Though Fee will be zero but click on the Pay Now option only to generate the acknowledgment.
- After clicking on Pay Now, you have to click on Finish when zero-fee pages will be shown. The acknowledgment will be generated
- On successful uploading, an acknowledgment will be generated indicating the SRN. Please note the SRN for future tracking of the form
- Take a printout of the duly filled IEPF-5 and the acknowledgment issued after uploading the form
The process to be followed after filling the form
Submit indemnity bond in an original, copy of acknowledgment and self-attested copy of e-form along with the other documents as mentioned above to Nodal Officer (IEPF) of the company at its registered office in an envelope marked “Claim for a refund from IEPF Authority”
Claim forms completed in all aspects will be verified by the concerned company and based on the company’s verification report; a refund will be released by the IEPF Authority in favor of claimants’ Aadhaar linked bank account through electronic transfer.
