SEBI Simplifies Rules for Issue of Duplicate Securities; Increases Limit to ₹10 Lakh

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has announced a major revision to the process for issuing duplicate securities, aimed at reducing compliance burden, eliminating inconsistencies, and making recovery of lost or damaged securities easier for investors, as per PTI reports. 

Higher Threshold and Reduced Documentation 

SEBI has doubled the monetary threshold for availing the simplified documentation route to ₹10 lakh from the earlier ₹5 lakh. Investors holding securities valued up to ₹10 lakh will now be required to submit fewer documents.  

The regulator has also prescribed a standardised Affidavit-cum-Indemnity Bond format to ensure uniformity across listed companies and registrar and transfer agents (RTAs).  

For securities valued up to ₹10,000, notarisation of the affidavit will no longer be required, and investors can instead submit a simple undertaking on plain paper. 

Demat Only Issuance and Rules for Higher Value Holdings 

All duplicate securities will be issued only in dematerialised form, reinforcing SEBI’s push towards dematerialisation. For holdings exceeding ₹10 lakh, investors will need to provide additional documents such as an FIR, police complaint, court order, or plaint containing full details of the securities.  

In such cases, the listed company will also publish a weekly newspaper advertisement regarding the loss and may charge a minimal fee. The processing timeline will begin from the date complete documents are received from the investor or from the date of newspaper publication, whichever is later. 

Applicability and Transition Provisions 

The revised norms take effect immediately and will also apply to applications that are currently under process. 

However, SEBI clarified that investors who have already submitted documents under the previous framework will not be required to resubmit them in the new formats. All listed companies and RTAs have been directed to strictly follow the updated procedure. 

Read More: SEBI Rejected Media Reports; Clarifies No Changes to Short Selling Rules! 

Conclusion 

By updating thresholds and standardising documentation, SEBI has streamlined the recovery of lost or damaged securities, making the process quicker and more accessible for investors while aligning it with today’s larger portfolio sizes. 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.  

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.