Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) issued a public notice on Thursday (May 8, 2025) advising its shareholders to claim any unclaimed dividends from the past seven years. If unclaimed, these funds will be transferred to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs‘ Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) three months after the date of notice.According to regulatory norms, if dividends remain unclaimed for seven consecutive years or longer, the corresponding shares of a listed company are transferred to the government’s Investor Education and Protection Fund.
Unclaimed shares moved to IEPF, a govt fund? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get back shares
RIL, through a public notice dated May 8, 2025, informed its shareholders that these shares will be transferred to IEPF. “In case the company does not receive any communication (claiming the unclaimed/unencashed dividend) from the concerned shareholders on or before August 4, 2025, the company shall, with a view to complying with requirements set out in the rules, dematerialise and transfer the shares to the IEPF authority by way of corporate action as per the procedure stipulated in the rules,” RIL said in the public notice.
RIL will transfer these shares to the government if shareholders do not claim
As per the public notice of RIL, “The company has so far transferred to the IEPF authority, on respective due dates, all shares in respect of which dividend(s) for the financial year 2016-17 or before had remained unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven consecutive years or more. The company has, vide its letter dated May 7, 2025, communicated individually to the concerned shareholders whose shares are liable to be transferred to the IEPF authority during the financial year 2025-26 for taking appropriate action.”
How to check if your Reliance shares will be transferred to the specified government fund?
RIL has created a dedicated webpage using which you can check if your shares are eligible for transfer to the IEPF authority.Here’s a step-by-step guide to check:
Step 1: Go here: https://www.ril.com/investors/shareholders-information/dividend-shares
Step 2: Click on ‘Details of Equity Shares Liable for Credit to IEPF Authority’. Once clicked, there will be two options-‘Year Interval’ and ‘DP ID/Client ID/Folio Number’.
Step3: Enter both the details and click on the ‘Apply’ option.
A new webpage will open where you can see details of any of your Reliance shares if they are eligible for a transfer to IEPF.
However, despite multiple reminders sent by companies, many shareholders may overlook this step. The good news is that even after the transfer to IEPF, these shares can still be reclaimed by the shareholders or their legal heirs by submitting the required electronic form along with the necessary documents.
If your shares are already transferred to the IEPF authority, then click on ‘Details of Equity Shares Transferred to IEPF Authority’ and enter the ‘Base Year’ and DP ID/Client ID/Folio Number.
How to claim the RIL shares that are already transferred to IEPF?
Even if your shares have been transferred to the IEFP authority, you can still claim them now. As per frequently asked questions (FAQs) provided by RIL, any person whose shares/unclaimed dividends, etc., have been transferred to the IEPF authority can claim their shares by submitting an online application in Web-From IEPF-5, which is available on the IEPF authority website. The link to access the IEPF-5 form is as follows: https://www.iepf.gov.in/IEPF/refund.html
How to save shares from getting transferred to IEPF?
The only criterion for shares getting transferred to IEPF is when the dividends paid on those shares remain unclaimed for seven consecutive years.
If the dividend is credited to the individual’s bank account without being returned back to the company, it indicates that it is not unpaid, and the transfer of shares to IEPF is not necessary.
Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA)
The IEPFA authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administering the Investor Education Protection Fund, making refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits/debentures, etc., to investors, promoting awareness among investors, and protecting the interests of the investors.
FAQs on IEPF Claim Process
When are the shares or unpaid/unclaimed dividend transferred to IEPF?
If the dividend declared by a company remains unpaid/unclaimed for a period of seven years, the company is required to transfer the same to IEPF. Further, all shares in respect of which a dividend has not been paid/claimed for seven consecutive years or more are required to be transferred by the company in the name of IEPF.
Who can claim the shares unclaimed dividend transferred to the IEPF authority?
Any person whose shares/unclaimed dividend or other amount, such as matured deposits, matured debentures, application money due for refund, or interest thereon, sale proceeds of fractional shares, redemption proceeds of preference shares, etc., have been transferred by the company to IEPF may claim the shares and/or apply for refund of amounts transferred from the IEPF authority by submitting an online application in Web-Form IEPF-5 available on the IEPF website.
An application can also be made by any successor, legal heir/representative of the deceased person.
Whether PAN is mandatory for filing Web-Form IEPF 5?
Yes, PAN is mandatory. The Web-Form IEPF-5 requires PAN verification, without which submission of the same is not possible.
