iepf.gov.in Frequently Asked Questions : Investor Education & Protection Fund

Organisation : Investor Education & Protection Fund
Facility : Frequently Asked Questions
Applicable For : Investors
FAQ : http://iepf.gov.in/IEPF/faq.html

IEPF Frequently Asked Questions

Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) is for promotion of investors’ awareness and protection of the interests of investors.

Related : IEPF Claim Refund : www.statusin.in/37939.html

Application

1. What is the procedure to file details of unclaimed and unpaid amount?
Form IEPF-2 is required to be filed by the company/Corresponding New Bank which shall contain investor wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts in respect of dividends, debentures, deposits, etc.

The details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts shall need to be provided as on the Annual General Meeting (AGM) date. This form is to be filed annually within 90 days from the date of AGM. The form can be downloaded from the IEPF portal of the Ministry (iepf.gov.in/)

2. I have filed Form IEPF-2 on the IEPF portal. What is the procedure to upload the investor wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amount?
After the Form IEPF-2 is filled and uploaded on the IEPF portal, you are required to provide the investor wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amount.

Following are the steps which need to be followed to upload the investor wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts :
1. Install the Pre-requisite Software’s to proceed. To know and install the same click on ‘Prerequisite Software’ link
2. Download the Excel toolkit
3. Download the excel template from the IEPF portal in the zip format
4. Unzip the zip file and save the template in xls (97-2003) and .xlsm(2007) format only
5. Fill the required details in the excel file

The excel template is having three worksheets
ReadMe – Worksheet having instructions to fill the investor details. The users should go through these instructions before filling the investor details so that minimal errors are occurred.

Investor Details – Worksheet in which users have to enter the details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts.

Error – Worksheet in which errors shall be displayed upon click of Validate button in Investor Details,
** In Investor Details worksheet,
** The user is required to enable the Macros in downloaded excel template so that offline validations can be performed through the Validate button.

It is important that you Enable Macro using following instructions :
Excel 2003: Tools–>Macro–>Security–>Select ‘Low’–>OK
Excel 2007: Office Button–>Excel Options–>Trust Center–>Trust Center Settings–>Macro Settings–>Enable all Macros–>OK

Please Note: Close the Excel Sheet and re-open it after enabling Macro to start.
For all other excel types please use the help functionality of the Excel.

** The users is required to enter the valid CIN against CIN text field
** On click of the Prefill button, the company name against company name field or Corresponding New Bank name shall be filled automatically.

** The user is required to enter the required details Columns A to O for Investor Details (row 15 onwards) like First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Address, Country, State etc

** The user is required to select the Country, State, District and Investment Type.
** The date should be in DD-Mon-YYYYformat.

** The user can also copy the entire set of columns from other sources and paste into investor details Columns A to O for Investor Details (row 15 onwards) in downloaded excel template.

** Once the entire investor details are entered or copied, the user is required to press the Validate button for the below mentioned offline validations:
** Investor First Name -> Mandatory if Last Name is blank and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Investor Middle Name -> Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Investor Last Name -> Mandatory if First Name is blank and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Father/Husband First Name -> Mandatory if Father/Husband Last Name is blank and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Father/Husband Second Name -> Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Father/Husband Last Name -> Mandatory if Father/Husband First Name is blank and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters
** Address -> Mandatory and Length should be less or equal to 300 characters
** Country -> Mandatory and List of all countries shall be there.

If the Country is other than INDIA state will be “NA”.

** State -> Mandatory and If the Country is “INDIA”, the state should Indian state
** District -> If the Country is “INDIA”, the district should be Indian districts corresponding to the state selected in dropdown.
** Pincode -> Mandatory and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** Folio Number -> Mandatory and Length should be equal to 20 characters.
** Investment Type -> Mandatory and Length should be less or equal to 35 characters.
** The errors identified shall be displayed in the ‘Error’ worksheet.
** Once all the listed errors are removed, the user shall save the updated excel sheet.
** Filled in excel file needs to be uploaded on the IEPF portal within 14 days of upload of eForm IEPF-2.

For Uploading the excel file on IEPF portal :
** Click on the link ‘ Upload investor-wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts’ on the IEPF sub-site.

The path for the same is as follows :
MCA Portal >> Investor Services >> IEPF >> IEPF Application >> Upload Investor Details

** Enter the User ID, Password (provided at the time of upload of eForm IEPF-2) along with SRN of Form IEPF-2 and CIN.
** Please ensure that the details entered are correct.
** Click on validate button. After the details are validated, upload the excel file containing investor-wise details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts .
** Multiple excel files can be uploaded in respect of a particular Form IEPF-2, if required.
** All the excel files should be uploaded within the aforesaid time period.
** Ensure that the correct details are uploaded on the IEPF portal as an excel file once uploaded cannot be deleted.
** To modify the details, the excel file with the same file name shall have to be uploaded which shall replace the earlier file.
** In case no excel file is uploaded within the prescribed time limit, the filing of Form IEPF-2 shall be treated as Defective and the form shall be rejected.

Upload Files

Is the process complete once the details are uploaded? When does it get completed?
Once the excel file(s) has been uploaded, user is required to confirm the upload of the same on the IEPF portal within 15 days of upload of the eForm IEPF-2.

** To confirm the upload of the investor-wise details, following steps are to be followed:
** Click on “Confirm Upload of unclaimed and unpaid amount details”. Path for the same is as follows:
** MCA Portal >> Investor Services >> IEPF >> IEPF Application >> Confirm Uploaded Files
** Enter the CIN and SRN details and clicks on “Confirm” button.
** On successful confirmation, the details shall be processed and thereafter the Form IEPF-2 shall be marked as ‘Approved’.
** In case uploaded excel files are not confirmed within the aforesaid time period, then the same will be automatically confirmed by the system.

Please note that the filing of Form IEPF-2 shall be treated as complete only after the excel file(s) are uploaded and confirmed.

4. What will happen if I have uploaded an excel file wrongly? Is there any provision to modify the already uploaded excel file?
** Ensure that the correct details are uploaded on the IEPF portal as excel file once uploaded cannot be deleted.
** To modify the details, an excel file with the same file name (as of the original file) shall have to be uploaded which shall replace the original file.
** Please note that no excel file can be modified after the upload has been confirmed.
** After confirmation, the details shall be processed and shall not be allowed to be modified.

5. What will happen if the excel file containing the investor-wise details is not uploaded within the prescribed time period?
In case no excel file is uploaded within the prescribed time limit, the filing of Form IEPF-2 shall be treated as Defective and the form shall be rejected..

6. Within how many days do I need to confirm the upload of excel file?
The upload of excel file needs to be confirmed within 15 days of upload of eForm IEPF-2.

7. What will happen if I do not confirm the upload of excel file?
In case uploaded excel file(s) are not confirmed within the prescribed time period, the same will be automatically confirmed by the system.

Unclaimed and Unpaid Amount

How can I search for unclaimed and unpaid amount standing to my credit?
A search facility is provided for the investors to search for unclaimed and unpaid amount standing to the investor’s credit. The following are the steps to be followed for searching the amount:

a. Click on the link ‘ Search for unclaimed and unpaid amounts of investors ’ on the IEPF sub-site.

The path for the same is as follows :
MCA Portal >> Investor Services >> IEPF >> IEPF Application >> Search Unclaimed/Unpaid Amount
b. Enter the search criteria and click on search button .
c. Search can be done using following combinations
** Investor Name (in full or part) and Father/Husband Name (in full or part)
** Investor Name (in full) and Company name (in full or part)
** Folio Number (should be same as per certificate)

d. The investor-wise details using the criteria specified shall be displayed.

Is it mandatory to file Form IEPF-2 in case there are no unclaimed and unpaid amounts as referred to in sub-section (2) of section 205C of the Act?
As per the Investor Education and Protection Fund (Uploading of information regarding unpaid and unclaimed amounts lying with companies) Rules, 2012, Form IEPF-2 is required to be filed only in case there are unclaimed and unpaid amounts as referred to in sub-section (2) of section 205C of the Act.

In case the company does not have any unclaimed and unpaid amounts as on the date of AGM, then in such case, it is not required to file Form IEPF-2.

16. Whether one form IEPF-2 is to be filed providing details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts pertaining to all the previous seven years or whether separate forms for each year needs to be filed?
One form IEPF-2 is to be filed containing details of unclaimed and unpaid amounts for all the previous seven years. Refer circular number 17/ 2012 and 20/2012 for more details in this regard.

17. Can I give the details of unclaimed and unpaid amount year-wise in separate excels?
Yes, you may either prepare a consolidated excel for all the years or use separate Excel sheets for each year.