As per the last developments in the market, a new reward system is being introduced by Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) so that informants who provide tips that help in recovering fines from elusive offenders can be rewarded.
As per the meeting minutes of board, this was deliberated upon and approved during the market regulator’s board meeting on December 20.
However, the market regulator is yet to formally announce the initiative.
Informers will be Rewarded 20 lakh per Case or 10 % of Debt Recovered
The minutes of meeting also revealed that SEBI plans to compensate informants under the programme till up to Rs 20 lakh per case or 10 percent of the amount of debt that is recovered, whichever is less.
The report said that the anonymity of these informants will be maintained and the they will also be qualified for an interim reward of up to Rs 5 lakh.
As per the data revealed by SEBI, there are 446 cases in which the defaulters cannot be located, the companies are shut down, or there is insufficient knowledge about attachable assets.
Furthermore, the approximate value of the recovery certificates granted in these situations is $1,939 crore.
SEBI said that “During execution of recovery proceedings, it was observed in certain cases that the amount remains due for various reasons such as insolvency, stay on recovery of dues, the defaulter being untraceable, etc. The said policy enables certification of certain matters as DTR (difficult To recover) where dues could not be recovered even after exhausting all the possible steps for recovery.”
Recovery Certificate, Stay Orders, Difficult to Recover
A “recovery certificate” is issued by SEBI when it tries to recover funds or impose fines from any party. It is upon the issuance of this certificate that the banks, stock exchanges, and depositories are notified to start the recovery process.
Where there are instances of being unable to recollect the penalty, these recovery certificates are issued. The reason behind the inability to collect the penalty can be since the alleged perpetrator is untraceable or declares bankruptcy.
A stay order on the recovery has occasionally been given by different courts. If the stay lasts for a considerable amount of time, Sebi also classifies these fees as DTR.
The regulator seeks to compensate these informants out of the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), a fund that Sebi manages to carry out different investor protection and awareness-raising initiatives.
