Recovery of shares from IEPF of Titan Watches
The term “Unclaimed dividends” or “Lost shares” of companies might make some investors intrigued. If you’re not proficient in the know-how of the stock markets and the way or the method of selling, buying, and keeping stocks for an extended time, then you would possibly find it difficult to know the above terms. However, for several people, the stock markets remain to be the well-liked investment destinations. Now, people generally have a tendency to put their money in form of investment into various companies to scale back the danger of losing their earned money. This seems profitable to the people in long term but sometimes during the said period, people tend to ditch their small investments and forget to avail the dividends. The bought shares remain dormant for years with nobody to raise a claim. Also, senior citizens buy shares from their retirement money and forget to nominate an heir to their shares before death. This is also one of the prime reasons for unclaimed dividends of companies.
Earlier, consistent with the policy of the Government, these unclaimed dividends were transferred to the govt. welfare funds and it can use it for its schemes. But the govt, later on, decided to come up with a lost dividend fund where the lost or unclaimed share of companies might be transferred. Any heir to the funds or people who just got to know about their long-forgotten investment could file a report back to the managing authority of the fund to raise the claim on their lost money and shares. With this idea in mind, the Indian Govt. came up with IEPF or Investor Education and Protection Fund.
Regulatory Provisions Related to IEPF:
Transfer of Dormant Dividend: The MCA has issued Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority Rules, 2017 which stated that “any money transferred to the Unpaid Dividend Account of a corporation (in pursuance of this section) which remains unpaid for a period of seven years (seven years and additional 37 days from the date of declaring dividend) from the date of such transfer shall be transferred by the corporate alongside interest accrued, if any, to IEPF”. MCA later amended The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Audit, Accounting, Transfer and Refund) rules through Second Amendment Rules, Dated 14th August 2019 which are effective since 20th September 2019.
Even in the second amendment, it was mentioned that all Shares in respect of whose dividend has not been paid or claimed for 7 consecutive years or more shall be transferred by the corporate/organization/company within the name of IEPF authority. In previous months, shares (dormant for 7 years) of the many individuals have been transferred in the name of Investor Education and Protection Fund. As a common investor, the important issue is finding a simple way to recover such shares from the IEPF in their name. During the progression of the article, we’ll discuss the complete process of claiming lost shares from Titan watches.
Status of Unclaimed Funds of Titan
A Brief History of Company
Titan Company is engaged in offering jewelry watches, and other assorted products. The Titan Company’s segments include Watches, Jewellery, Eyewear et al. Titan Corporate offers plain and studded gold jewelry brands, like Tanishq, Mia, GoldPlus, Zoya, which are retailed through Zoya & Mia stores, Tanishq, GoldPlus. The business offers watches and accessories, like bags, sunglasses in brands, including Fastrack and sub-brands like Titan, Sonata, Raga, Xylys, and Edge, among others. The Company’s watches and accessories are retailed through Helios, World of Titan, and various Fastrack stores. The corporate also offers frames, contact lenses, and Sunglasses from Titan Eye+. The Company’s eyewear is retailed via Titan Eye Plus stores spread across the country. The company also offers sub-assemblies, precision engineering components (PEC), and machine building and automation (MBA) related solutions. The Company’s other subsidiaries include Titan TimeProducts Limited, Titan Engineering and Automation Limited, and Favre Leuba AG.
According to the latest released data by Titan, we can also see the transfer status of unclaimed dividends for various financial years in the following charts.
| Ex-Dividend Date | Dividend | EPS Payout Ratio | Type | Payment Date | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2019 | 5 | 118% | TTM | Aug 13, 2019 | 0.50% |
| Aug 03, 2020 | 4 | 100% | TTM | Aug 18, 2020 | 0.27% |
| Jul 23, 2018 | 3.75 | 96% | TTM | Aug 10, 2018 | 0.33% |
| Jul 24, 2017 | 2.6 | 113% | TTM | Sep 02, 2017 | 0.29% |
| Jul 17, 2015 | 2.3 | TTM | Aug 07, 2015 | 0.67% | |
| Mar 22, 2016 | 2.2 | TTM | Mar 31, 2016 | 0.41% |
Source: https://in.investing.com/equities/titan-industries-historical-data-dividends
Price of one share in 2008: Rs. 78
Price of one share in 2020: Rs. 1567
The increase in price shows that the percentage increase in the price of Titan shares in just ten years is almost 2000%. This means that shares worth 1 lakh bought in 2008 would have become almost 20 lakhs by 2020. Add to this the dividends offered by Titan and the no. of increased shares due to that and the effective price will become almost 1 crore. This shows why old shares of Titan are worthy of gold nowadays.
Now, let’s understand how to claim lost shares or unclaimed dividends from shares of Titan which are transferred to the IEPF.
By using the following process any common investor can apply for a refund of shares from IEPF himself.
Refund of Unclaimed Shares from IEPF:
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 preferred stock, etc. which has been sent to the IRPF, may raise a claim for the shares under the Sub-Section (6) Section 124 or apply for a refund corresponding to shares under clause (a) of Sub-section (3) of section 125 or proviso to sub-section (3) of section 125, because the case could also be, to the Authority.
Step- I Claimant to Authority
1. The claimant has got to make an application to MCA through e-form IEPF-5 by mentioning the subsequent details:
- Details of Shares to be claimed
- Particular of Applicant
- Details of the quantity claimed
- Particular of Company
- Aadhaar Number or PIO Card No./Passport/OCI (in case of NRI or foreigners)
- Year-wise details of securities/deposits
- Details of bank account (Aadhar linked, just in case applicant isn’t NRI/foreigner) to which refund of claim is to be transferred.
2. Are there any documents that must be attached within the IEPF form?
- No other documents are required to be attached within the IEPF form.
NOTE:
- The claimant need to download the shape IEPF – Form 5 from the web site http://www.iepf.gov.in/
- After downloading the form, claimant has got to fill it with the above-mentioned information.
After that, the claimant has got to upload the copy on the website of IEPF only.
Step- II Claimant to Company
1. The claimant and after filing the refund claim online shall send the attachments prescribed to the Nodal Officer (IEPF) (details about officer given below) of the corporate at its registered office. The form must be sealed in an envelope marked “claim for refund form IEPF Authority” to initiate the verification process for the claim.
2. Original Physical Share Certificate/ bond/ Debenture Certificate
- For claims more than Rs. 10000, a non-judicial Stamp Paper of prescribed price under the Stamp Act should also be submitted.
- Indemnity Bond (original) with claimant signature
- On a clear paper if the quantity claimed doesn’t exceed Rs.10,000.
- For refund of shares, a non-judicial Stamp Paper of prescribed price under the Stamp Act should also be submitted.
3. Advance Stamped receipt (original) with the signature of the claimant and two witnesses
4. Aadhaar Card Copy (For Indian Nationals)
5. Print out of duly filled IEPF form with claimant’s signature
6. Copy of acknowledgment slip
7. Cancelled Cheque of the bank account
8. Copy of Passport, OCI and PIO card for NRIs and foreigner claimants.
Step- III Appointing Nodal Officer (Compliance Norm for Company)
Every company which is required to credit amounts or shares to the fund or has deposited the quantity or transferred the shares to the Fund shall nominate a Nodal Officer, who shall either be a Director or Chief treasurer or Company Secretary of the corporate, for verification of claims and coordination with Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority: a corporation may appoint one or more Officer as Deputy Nodal Officer to help the Nodal Officer for verification of claim and coordination with Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
“Nodal Officer is responsible for all the actions of any appointed Deputy Nodal Officer: or related officers working under him. In case a company fails to appoint any Nodal Officer, each director of the company can be deemed nodal officer and will be held responsible for any failure to suits the need of those rules]”
Step- IV Company to Authority
1. Information of Nodal Officer to Authority:
The details of Deputy and Main Nodal Officers duly indicating their Designation, with Telephone/Mobile Number and Postal Address with Company’s Authorized e-mail ID shall be communicated to the IEPF Authority in IEPF form within 15 days from the date of publication of those rules and therefore the company shall display the name of Nodal Officer and his e-mail ID on its website.
Any change related to Nodal/Deputy Nodal Officers or their details must be communicated to the IEPF Authority through Form No. IEPF-2 within 7 days of such change alongside the board resolution thereof.
2. Verification report back to the Authority:
The company shall within 30 days of receipt of the form, send a verification report back to the Authority within the format specified by the Authority alongside all documents submitted by the claimant.
The Company shall attach the scanned copy of all the first documents submitted by the claimant in physical form duly certified by its Nodal Officer alongside the e-verification report alongside a scanned copy of each side of the first physical share certificate or original bond or deposit or debenture certificate/s duly cancelled and certified.
Delay within the Submission of Report:
If the web verification report isn’t sent by the corporate within thirty days of the filing of the claim, the corporate may do so by paying a further fee of fifty rupees for each day subject to a maximum of two thousand and five hundred rupees: the corporate shall be susceptible to maintain the first documents submitted thereto by the claimant and shall produce such documents whenever required: Provided also that for failure to submit verification report of the claim under these rules, the corporate and its Nodal Officer shall be punishable as per the norms of the IEPF Act.
NOTE: For the case of non-receipt of documents by the IEPF Authority after the expiration of 60 days period from the date of filing Form IEPF-5, the Authority can reject claim Form IEPF-5, after allowing the claimant to furnish a response within 15 days.
Step- IV Authority to Claimant
After verification of the entitlement of the claimant-
To the quantity Claimed, the Authority then Drawing and Disbursing Officer of the Authority shall present a bill to the Pay and Accounts Office for e- payment as per the rules.
To the Shares Claimed. the Authority shall issue a refund sanction order after the approval from the Competent IEPF Authority and may either the shares which are lying with depository participant in IEPF account (under the name of the company) to the Claimant’s Demat account up to the extent of the entitlement of claimant. And in the case of the physical share certificates, the authority will cancel the duplicate certificate and transfer the claimed shares in favor of the claimant.
Time: Any claim received for refund under IEPF rules must be duly verified from the concerned company’s nodal officer and must be disposed of by the Authority within 60 days from the date of receiving the claim verification report from the company.
If Incomplete Application:
Where the Authority, on examining any application for the claim, finds it necessary to involve further information or finds such application or e-form or document to be defective or incomplete in any respect, the Authority shall give intimation of such defects or incomplete form to the claimant by an e-mail on his id. The company, which has filed such application or e-form or document, will direct the claimant to furnish such documents/information or to rectify any defects or may ask to re-submit such application or e-Form or document within 15 days from the date of receiving communication. Failing this rectification may lead to the Authority rejecting the claim or e-form No. IEPF-5.
If such information or incompleteness is named from the claimant, he shall file the e-form and shall send such documents as involved within fifteen days, duly signed by him, to the concerned company’s nodal officer at the registered office for verification of the claim and the company will send a revised verification report to the authority.
If any such information or incompleteness is named from the corporate, the corporate shall file the revised verification report and shall send such documents as involved within thirty days.
Other Documents Required to be submitted by Claimant:
In case, a claimant may be a legal heir or successor or administrator or nominee of the registered shareholder, the claimant shall ensure submission of the self-attested scanned copy of all documents detailed in Schedule II of those rules online alongside the shape No. IEPF-5.
In case of loss of securities held in physical form, he has got to ensure submission of a self-attested scanned copy of additional documents detailed in Schedule III of those rules online alongside the shape No. IEPF-5.
NOTE: The claimant shall submit in original of these documents duly signed by him, to the Nodal Officer of the concerned company at its registered office for verification of the claim.
1. To the Authority just in case of loss of securities held in physical mode
a) Notarized copy of FIR/ Police Complaint containing information of security holder, holding details, folio number, and distinctive numbers of share certificate.
b) Surety Affidavit useful adequate to the market price that of shares as on date of execution alongside his Proof of identity like Pan Card of sureties duly attested by Notary.
c) Indemnity bond from security holder on non-judicial stamp paper of standard value attested by a notary and by the person (to whom the first share certificate has been issued) that he has not sold/disposed of the involved shares or acted in any manner by which any interest of the third party would are created.
d) Copy of advertisement issued in a minimum of one English national daily newspaper having nationwide circulation and in one regional language daily newspaper published within the place of the registered office of the corporate if the market price of the shares is bigger than Rs 10,000.
2. To the Authority just in case of loss of securities held in physical mode
Penalty: Any fraudulent claim is deemed to be a crime under section 447 of the Act and the claimant will be liable for punishment accordingly.
[If a person deceitfully impersonates an owner security/share warrant/coupon issued in pursuance of this Act and thereby files a claim to get/attempts to get any such security or interest or any such warrant or coupon thanks to the lawful owner, he shall be punishable under sections 57, 447 and 448 of the Act].
So, we understood the entire process of getting unclaimed dividends from a corporation. Shares of Titan Company have risen manifolds within their anticipated value in a previous couple of decades. Therefore, if you claim to shares lost or unclaimed for an extended time then their value within the current times is going to be considerably higher. this is often like finding unexpected gold buried in your ancestors’ land. However, claiming this lost money requires filing documents and meeting all the wants mentioned above. the straightforward workaround for this tedious process is to urge the assistance of a legal firm that will do all the documentation and filing work for you. These firms also can guide you through the entire process and make your job of share recovery easy. So, without waiting anymore, if you’ve got any queries or share recovery/transfer-related questions, find an appropriate legal firm with experts and obtain guidance on recovery of your unclaimed investment.