Market regulator Sebi has announced the introduction of a centralised system for reporting and verifying the death of an investor. This is aimed at streamlining the process of transferring assets in the securities market.
This circular shall come into effect from January 01, 2024.
The circular by Sebi lists out the operational norms to guide registered intermediaries that have an interface with ‘investors’ or ‘account holders’. It says that once the intermediary receives the information about the demise of an investor, it shall have to first obtain the death certificate along with the PAN from the notifier. and execute the following:
1. Verify the death certificate, which can be done via online or offline mode.
2. Record a copy of proof of identity, relationship with the deceased, and details of the notifier.
In case the death certificate can not be obtained after getting the information of the demise of the investor, the KYC status of the investor will be earmarked as 'On Hold', till the document can be furnished. Upon verification of the death certificate, the KYC status of the investor will be modified by the KYC Registration Agency (KRA) to 'information on the death of investor received; death certificate verified.'
Notably, all debit transactions in the account/ folios of the deceased investor shall be blocked after the KYC status gets updated. However, if the account is operated as a joint account, or in Either OR Survivor mode, the account operation shall continue.
The circular also allows stock exchanges, depositories, and associations like AMFI, Registrars Association, etc. to put a common Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place and inform investors.
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