Overview

As of February 2, 2021, ICICI Bank LTD. shares were trading at a per-share price of more than Rs. 597.75. The bank is one of India's major private sector banks, with a company that is constantly expanding. Since its inception, ICICI Bank has made tremendous progress in terms of growth. Shares have obviously increased substantially as a result of the significant expansion. This has prompted the corporation to implement stock splits in order to make its shares more affordable to ordinary retail investors. The great expansion has resulted in the corporation depositing large sums of dividends into the IEPF account for unclaimed shares and dividends.

Historical Background of ICICI Bank

In 1955, ICICI Bank was founded as the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India. Its parent firm was founded in 1955 as a joint venture between the World Bank, Indian PSBs, and public-sector insurance companies. When the government divested the bank to operate as an independent entity, the name was changed to ICICI Bank (short for Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India).

If you had invested in ICICI Bank in 1998, your money would have grown significantly. Through an IPO in 1998, the parent company's stake in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46%. In 2000, the firm issued stock in the form of American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. Later, in 2001, ICICI Bank acquired the Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock transaction. In a reverse merger in 2002, all of the ICICI group's major subsidiaries merged into one. Despite the 2008 financial crisis, ICICI Bank has proven to be a profitable investment for shareholders. The bank's board of directors authorized a Rs. 1,000 crore investment in Yes Bank Ltd in March 2020, increasing its ownership in the company.

ICICI Bank operates a network of almost 18,210 branches and ATMs. In addition, the bank has roughly 110 Touch Banking branches in over 30 Indian cities. Its international banking services are aimed at meeting the financial needs of its Non-Resident Indian corporate clients. International services are also focusing on taking advantage of economic corridors connecting India to other nations. The Self-Help Group (SHG) program, which is part of the bank's microfinance programs, also caters to female entrepreneurs. With such a long history, one can fairly infer that the Bank has provided investors with significant growth on their shareholdings.

Provisions of Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)

Section 124 of the Companies Act of 2013 allows shareholders of a corporation to get a reimbursement for unclaimed shares or unpaid dividends deposited to the IEPF Authority. The Indian government has proposed measures in the Union Budget 2023 to assist in the recovery of unclaimed shares and dividends, increasing investor safety. In 2017, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs published the IEPF regulations, which require any funds that have been in the company's unpaid dividend account for seven years and have had no claimants during that time to be transferred to the IEPF. This has made the procedure of getting lost share refunds easier and given investors a chance to get their long-lost shares back.

Common issues preventing recovery of shares

1. Failure to claim shares within the allotted period of time: One of the most frequent problems is the failure to claim shares within the allotted period of time. Beginning on the day when the shares were transferred to the IEPF, the investors had seven years to submit their claims.
2. Incomplete Paper works: Incomplete Paper works is another problem that frequently results in the claim being rejected. Investors are required to submit all appropriate paperwork, including identification and residence verification.
3. Mismatch of claimant and share owner's names: The share owner's name shown on the share certificates must match the claimant's name. Any inconsistency in the names may lead to the claim being denied.
4. Non-updation of KYC data: Investors must verify that their KYC (Know Your Customer) details are up to date. Failure to update KYC information may result in a claim delay or denial.
5. Shares held in dematerialized form: Shares held in dematerialized form must be claimed through the corresponding depository participants. Non fulfillment in doing so may result in the claim being rejected.
6. Shares owned jointly: In the case of joint ownership of shares, all joint holders must grant approval for the claim. Any lack of permission may result in the claim beingrejected.

Services Offered by Enterslice

1. Recovery of Shares from IEPF

The Recovery of Shares from IEPF intends to claim the unclaimed quantity of shares that have been transferred to IEPF and can be claimed only after completing the MCA and IEPF procedures. Our team can provide

• End-to-end assistance from filing the application to receiving reimbursement from the IEPF
• Including Paper works assistance
• Application form filing, necessary paper submission
• Regular follow-up with the IEPF on the progress of the application.

We make an effort to make it as simple as possible for our clients to seek reimbursement for the unclaimed amount. Enterslice offers a team of skilled individuals that can advise you on the whole process of recovering shares. In this regard, we provide the following services.

2. Transmission of shares

The process of transferring ownership of shares from the original shareholder to the claimant or legal heir due to death, insolvency, insanity, marriage, or any other statutory reason is known as the transmission of shares. An application from the legal heir requesting the transfer of shares, a certified copy of the original shareholder's death certificate, a letter of administration, a probate of the will, a certificate of succession, a specimen of the legal heir's or successor's signature, and a self-attested copy of the PAN are all required necessary papers.

3. Transfer of shares

The original shareholder willingly transfers the shares to the transferee for consideration. When shares are transferred, the transferor's or the original shareholder's responsibility ceases to exist and is transferred to the transferee. The transfer deed is used to transfer the shares.

4. IEPF Dividend Recovery

A dividend is basically a portion of a company's profit that it distributes to its shareholders in the form of cash, stock, or any other form determined by the board of directors.

The payment is issued annually, and if it goes unclaimed for 7 years, it is transferred to the IEPF as an unclaimed dividend.

Several investors have failed to claim their assets for the following reasons:

• Improper execution of a share transfer or transmission:
• Incorrect Shareholder Records: Bonus shares that have not been claimed

Our staff offers professional support in assisting our clients in recovering the dividend from IEFP without any legal complications.

Procedure for Recovering ICICI Shares from IEPF 

For the recovery of ICICI shares from IEPF, the following procedure must be performed.

1. Completing the application form

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 preference shares, etc. has been transferred to the Fund may claim the shares under proviso to sub-section (6) of section 124 or apply for refund under clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 125, as the case may be, The Claimant includes the following information in the e-form:

• Particulars of Applicant
• Details of Shares to be claimed
• Particulars of the Company
• Year-wise details of securities/deposits
• Aaadhar Number or Passport/OCI/PIO Card No. (In the case of NRI/ foreigners)
• Details of the amount claimed
• Details of Bank account (Aadhar linked, in case of the applicant is not NRI/foreigner) in which refund of claim is to be made.

After completing the form, the applicant must send it, along with the Paper works mentioned above, to the Nodal Officer /Registrar of the corporation that owed the money.

2. Submitting the Claim to the Company

The Claim for a refund from the IEPF Authority should be submitted to the company’s IEPF Nodal Officer/Registrar with the following necessary papers:

• Printout of the filled Form IEPF-5 with the claimant’s signature
• Aadhaar card, proof of entitlement
• Copy of the acknowledgement with the SRN number
• Original share certificates
• Advance stamped receipt with signature of the claimant and witnesses
• Original indemnity bond with the claimant’s signature
• Copy of Demat account’s client master list.
• Passport, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card, cancelled cheque.

1. Claim submission by company to IEPF authority

Companies have 15 days from the time they receive a claim form from a claimant to put together a verification report and deliver it along with the claimant's supporting Paper works to the IEPF Authorities.

2. Refund to the claimant by the IEPF Authority

Once the IEPF Authority has the verification report from the pertinent business that has approved the claimant's application, it has 60 days to make a decision on the claimant's reimbursement request.

Once the claimant has been granted access to the shares with the appropriate authority's approval, the IEPF Authority will issue a sanction order for the refund calimed. After confirming the claimant's eligibility, the IEPF Authority and the concerned officer will submit a bill to the pay and accounts officer for payment. The claimant will have credit added to their Demat account for the shares or the full amount of their rights