Is Investor Education and Protection Fund doing well for the Investors:

Back in September 2016, the MCA(Ministry of Corporate Affairs) brought the Investor Education and Protection Fund(IEPF) to force with an aim to empower the investors of the country by educating them on the best investment practices. The IEPF was established under the Companies Act, 2013 under Section 205C. You must be wondering whether the IEPF has really done any good for the investors? Well, let me tell you that, Ever since its establishment, IEPF has helped investors with claiming dividends, matured deposits/debentures and other investments as well as interests that haven’t been claimed for a period of seven years using the IEPF form 5. The funds in the iEPF account are monitored and managed by a trust that is solely responsible for deciding how the funds will be utilised for educating the investors. Moving further, let’s discuss how and when do funds get transferred to the IEPF account and how one can claim them. Guide to claiming funds from the IEPF: When do funds go into the IEPF account? Before answering these questions, here are the investor funds that end up in the IEPF Account:

• Dividend amounts of companies lying in the Unpaid
• Dividend Account
• Application money( due for refund)
• Deposit money
• Debentures
• Interest on the above three sources
• Grants/ Donations received from Central Government, State Government, corporate houses and other institutions

Now let’s answer the original question: Above mentioned investor funds go into the IEPF account when the owner isn’t aware about them(or due to other reasons) and thus hasn’t claimed them for a consecutive period of seven years. How can an investor claim an Iepf refund? Claiming an IEPF fund is an easy task and all it asks of the investors is to present the necessary documents along with the IEPF 5 Form. What documents are needed to claim IEPF? The first step involves filling out the IEPF form 5 which has to be then submitted to the respective Nodal Officer alongside the below documents:

• A hard copy of completely filled and already uploaded claim form, including claimant signature(signed by all holders in case there are joint holders)
• Self-attested copy of acknowledgement which has SRN No.
• Indemnity Bond duly signed by the claimant
• Advance Stamped Receipt (Original)
• Original certificate of matured shares, dividends, etc.
• Claimant’s Aadhaar Card copy and/or copy of AADHAAR Card of all joint holders
• Claimant’s Copy of PAN Card.
• Self-attested (Claimants) Client Master List
• Original Share Certificate (in case shares are in Physical Form)
• Proof of Entitlement (Certificate of share/interest warrant Application No. etc.)
• Original Cancelled Cheque Leaf.
• Copy of Passport, OCI and PIO card in case of foreigners and NRI.
• In case any Joint Holder is deceased, a copy of the Death certificate needs to be attached.
• Other optional documents, (if any)
What is the procedure to claim an IEPF refund? Claiming your refund from the investor education and protection fund is a simple and hassle-free process. You don’t have to worry if your funds are in the IEPF account. Just visit the official website: http://www.iepf.gov.in to download IEPF-5 from and then with the necessary documents mentioned above, submit them to the nodal officer who will reach back you within a specific time period.