Claiming unclaimed shares will be a breeze! AI and data analytics will take charge, and the process will go digital..

The government plans to replace the current, time-consuming, and paperwork-heavy process of transferring old, unclaimed shares and dividends to investors or their heirs with a digitally authenticated, consent-based, and largely paperless system. Sources familiar with the matter told ET that the government is developing a new digital platform. This platform will connect the 'Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority' (IEPFA) via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to various entities—including the MCA21 portal for corporate filings, depositories, registrars and transfer agents, banks, payment systems, DigiLocker, Aadhaar authentication services, and other official platforms. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics will be utilized for various tasks, the sources added.

**Settlement of Unclaimed Shares**
The IEPFA, which operates under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, oversees the transfer of such assets by the respective companies. The new system aims to spare investors from having to provide information or documents that are already held by various public or regulated entities; instead, it will automatically fetch verified information from these digital sources, subject to the claimant's consent.

**People of this age group pass the most gas! Major revelation in unique research**
Companies typically transfer shares, dividends, and matured debentures to the IEPFA if they remain unclaimed for seven years. While the current IEPFA portal for asset transfer applications is a significant improvement over the earlier, more cumbersome system, claimants still have to interact with multiple stakeholders and repeatedly submit the same documents. This prolongs the process because the relevant information is scattered across different platforms.

**How ​​the New Portal Will Help**
The new portal will provide a single interface encompassing all procedures, including claim submission, document verification, status tracking, rectification of deficiencies, clearance, and payment. Through the portal, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs also aims to process cases differently based on risk. This means that simple, low-value claims involving complete digital verification can be processed quickly, while more complex cases will undergo detailed scrutiny. This will accelerate the transfer process without compromising on fraud prevention measures.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from TV9. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.