Lost Your Security Certificate? SEBI Simplifies Process for Investors to Get Duplicate Copies

There is good news for all the investors who have lost their certificates of securities (like shares, bonds, and mutual fund units), as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has simplified the process of getting copies/duplicates of these. These copies are also cost-effective in nature. The market regulator has proposed a simpler process with a uniform set of forms. Additionally, SEBI is planning to increase the upper limit to issue securities without an FIR and newspaper advertisement to Rs. 10 lakh. This limit is likely to be doubled from the earlier limit of Rs. 5 lakh. 

It has also been proposed to eliminate the requirement of two separate documents, i.e., an affidavit and an indemnity bond, at the time of applying to get duplicate/copy security certificates. Instead, applicants will now be required to furnish one combined document known as an affidavit-cum-indemnity bond.

The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority has already started complying with this simpler process. The said authority is a body under the Ministry of Finance and helps return unclaimed shares, mutual funds, and other investments to their legal and rightful owners.

As per the recent circular of SEBI, currently, there are three key steps to apply for a duplicate security certificate in case it has been lost. According to these steps, investors are required to furnish a copy of the FIR in addition to the e-FIR/police complaint/court injunction order/copy of the complaint details of the securities, folio number, distinctive number range, and certificate numbers. The investors are also required to issue a newspaper advertisement demonstrating the loss of their security certificates. Thereafter, investors need to submit an affidavit and indemnity bond separately on a “non-judicial stamp paper of appropriate value” as per the format given by SEBI.

According to the market operator, SEBI, presently, if the value of the lost securities as of the date of submission of the application is below Rs. 5 lakh, then investors falling under this category are not required to follow the first two steps.