SEBI opens special six-month window for transfer of physical shares that missed earlier deadline

The capital market watchdog has now decided that a special window would be opened only for “re-lodgement of transfer deeds, which were lodged prior to the deadline of April 01, 2019 and rejected/returned/not attended to due to deficiency in the documents/process/or otherwise.”

For those who still have physical share certificates, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to open a special six-month window to enable the transfer of such securities.

In a circular issued on Wednesday, the capital market regulator said that while such transfer was discontinued in March 2021 – after extending the earlier deadline of April 2019 - it has received feedback that many investors missed the deadline due to issues with the documents and hence should be given an opportunity to resubmit the share certificates.

"SEBI received representation from investors as well as RTAs and listed companies that some of the investors had missed the timelines for re-lodging their documents for transfer of securities," stated the SEBI circular.

"This issue was discussed in a Panel of Experts which included RTAs, listed companies and Legal Expert. Based on discussion, the Panel recommended that to alleviate the issue faced by the investors that missed the March 31, 2021 deadline for re-lodgement, one more opportunity may be granted for them to re-lodge such shares for transfer,” it added.

The capital market watchdog has now decided that a special window would be opened only for “re-lodgement of transfer deeds, which were lodged prior to the deadline of April 01, 2019 and rejected/returned/not attended to due to deficiency in the documents/process/or otherwise.”

The window will open on July 7 and close on January 6, 2026.

"During this period, the securities that are re-lodged for transfer… shall be issued only in demat mode. Due process shall be followed for such transfer-cum-demat requests,” stated the circular.

"Listed companies, RTAs and Stock Exchanges shall publicize the opening of this special window through various media including print and social media, on a bi-monthly basis during the six-month period,” it added.