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.