IFFAS is being run by a reputed team of lawyers/chartered accountants/company secretaries/investment bankers qualified from the top Universities of the World. We are a leading professional wealth recovery firm who’s group patron has helped plethora of investors across the globe by providing sound legal advice and recovering hundreds of crores of unclaimed investments. Our esteemed clients will be happy to share their reviews. You may also drop down to our offices or fix a meeting at our costs to understand our background and intellectual strength.

IFFAS through its platform www.iepfclaim.in is the oldest and the most successful firm in reclaiming multiple crores of unclaimed shares/dividends from the IEPF Authority. We have a strong working relationship with the Authority and make personal representation of our client’s cases before the Authority to enable faster resolution of the claims. You don’t have to ever worry about running around in government offices to recover your own money.

IFFAS can definitely help you in finding out the shares in your father/mother’s name for which we will need basic details like your father/mother’s full name and the address at which the shares were bought. We are confident to find out most if not all the unclaimed shares in their names.

The Recovery agreement/LIMITED POWER OF ATTORNEY is a necessary part of the recovery process. It is a standardized form that we are required by law to provide to the respective companies/RTAs/government authority. It protects you (the claimant) and us (the claimant’s representative). It is “LIMITED” in scope, in that it applies to this “ONE TRANSACTION ONLY”. By signing it, you DO NOT confer or imply any other legal rights to us, other than giving us the right to assist you with the filing of your claims for the specific unclaimed investments listed in the agreement.

There is absolutely NO RISK involved. WE ONLY GET PAID WHEN YOU GET PAID for the investments in your name. However, if you are a legal heir, the process might require obtaining a Succession Certificate/Probate/LOA from the Court. This entails hiring of a lawyer/attorney which can be done by you or we can assist you with the same. Also, COURT FEES depending on the jurisdiction of the State in which the case has to be filed will be borne by you, the legal heir. No other expenses will ever be charged from you up-front. If for some reason we are unable to recover your investments, YOU OWE US NOTHING. We only earn and collect our fee when we are successful on behalf of our clients. There are never any out-of-pocket expenses on your part and all such expenses are borne by us. Our fee is based solely upon a percentage of the recovered investments. The percentage we receive will be clearly stated in the Recovery agreement.

There are many things in life that we can do ourselves for free. For example, we can file our own income tax returns, change the oil in our own car, or even defend ourselves in court if we really want to. Sometimes, however, we pay others to perform a service for us. Reasons for this are that they possess knowledge that we do not have; they have more experience than we do; or it is simply more convenient (they save us time and effort). In this instance, just because you can file a claim on your own behalf does not mean you should. While you have many concerns and obligations in your daily life, OUR BUSINESS is to recover unclaimed investments. Instead of spending your valuable time and money on calls and letter writing in an effort to track down your investments, instead of trying to find the correct contact people, instead of trying to become familiar with the filing requirements and instead of learning how to prepare and submit the proper documents, GLC Wealth, offers a simpler more efficient solution. Our professional experts with vast knowledge and experience will help you to recover your funds as soon as possible. Finally, yet importantly, would you have even known you were entitled to such investments unless we reached out to you? It took time, effort, and money for us to locate you and inform you about your unclaimed investments. We would genuinely appreciate your business for our efforts.

Some additional reasons that we feel you should utilize our services are as follows:

• We have personal contacts within many of the companies / RTAs / Government authorities that will be processing your claim
• We are experts at knowing what documents need to be submitted in order to file a successful claim
• We can advise you on how and where to obtain various types of documents that might be required to “prove entitlement”.
• We can advise you and assist you in completing various forms/documents, so that they will be completed accurately, and your claim will be processed as expeditiously as possible.
• We have the capability to check on the progress of your claim once it has been filed.
• We will help you file your claim SAFELY and SECURELY. We are comprised of leading Lawyers/Chartered Accountants/Company Secretaries/Investment Bankers and as such we understand the sensitivity of the personal information and the legalities of the whole process to successfully claim your investments.
• There is absolutely NO RISK involved. WE ONLY GET PAID WHEN YOU GET PAID.

IFFAS identifies investments which might have been lost, forgotten or unclaimed for several years and traces the rightful owner, legal heirs or next-of-kins who may be residing across the globe.

If we have contacted you, this is because either we believe you may be the rightful owner / legal heir of these investments or because you may know the person or family we are seeking to locate.

IFFAS collates vast amounts of data available in the public domain, social media websites, etc. and through its analytics team filters out the information of relevant investors or their legal heirs entitled to claim the unclaimed investments.

All your information is procured through public databases with no access to any private information/report pertaining to you or your family. Be rest assured that whatever information we have is secure with us.

People who had invested in the 80s, 90s or early 2000s used to have physical documents for all their investments. These would be in the form of share certificates, debenture certificates, FDs, National Savings Certificates, Kisan Vikas Patras etc. Due to long passage of time, people have lost/misplaced such physical records. Regular payments of redemption cheques, dividend warrants etc. are often “lost” due to old, outdated, inaccurate, or incomplete addresses. There are instances of name changes due to marriage, remarriage, or divorce etc. All these and many more circumstances lead to investments becoming unclaimed and moving to the Government due to certain laws and regulations.

To begin the recovery process, you must sign a Recovery agreement and a special and limited power of attorney that GLC Wealth will be sharing with you. This provides us with the permission and authority to assist you in the recovery of your investments.

The government authority/companies/registrars that are holding your investments require that you submit various forms of documentation to comply with your KYC containing personal information. This is STANDARD PRACTICE and the documentation is necessary. It ensures that you are in fact the true owner or heir and that you are entitled to recover the said investments. Types of identification and documentation commonly requested to verify ownership (“prove entitlement”) often include
Copies of:

• Aadhaar Card
• PAN Card
• Drivers’ licenses
• Marriage certificates
• Death Certificates
• Passports/OCI/PIO cards
• Legal Heir Certificate/Surviving Member Certificate
• Succession Certificate/Probate/Letter of Administration
• Utility bills
• Banker’s attestation of Signature.
• Cancelled cheques
• Client Master List of Demat Account

Although at first glance, you might get intrigued to provide such personal information, however, it is for your verification and own protection so that no untoward or mischievous person claims your investments. Requiring proper documentation, that contains personally identifiable information, is necessary to prevent mistakes (releasing of investments to the wrong person) as well as fraud.

• Equity shares
• Savings accounts
• Insurance benefits/policies
• Debentures
• UTI bonds
• Dividends
• NSCs/PPF
• Safety deposit box contents
• Mutual funds
• Bonds

Whether or not there is a time limit depends upon the type of your investments. Even if there is no time limit it is better to act promptly because you are losing interest when you are not in control of your money. Why let the government agency/company that is holding it derive the benefit from it? The sooner you reclaim what is rightfully yours, the better.

It generally takes between 2-4 months to release the shares once a completed claim has been received by the IEPF Authority. It can take longer depending upon the complexity of the claim and the time taken to undertake updation of KYC, issue of duplicate certificates, obtaining Succession Certificate/Probate, and undertaking transmission, etc.

If you are the legal heir of the unclaimed investments according to the laws governing India then you are entitled to recover it. In case your parent passed away outside India and was a foreign national, you’ll be governed by the inheritance laws of that specific country.

It is indeed possible to get your investments back if you are still the owner. Procedure for issue of duplicate certificates will have to be complied with that entails filing of FIR, newspaper advertisements, indemnity cum surety bonds etc.

In case the parents are deceased and they were Indian Citizens at the time of their death, you can claim your parent’s investment in India in case the value of the investments in any one company is more than 2 lakhs either by providing a succession certificate from the court or a probate of will or letter of administration followed by completing the procedure of transmission of shares with the respective companies. If the parents passed away outside India and were a foreign national then you’ll be governed by the inheritance laws of that specific country.

However, if the parents are still alive the shares can be transferred in your name by completing the due process and submitting the requisite documents for transfer of shares with the respective companies. In case the shares have been transferred to the government authority because the dividends could not be claimed for past several years in addition to the above mentioned procedure you will also have to file the claim with the government authority that is IEPF to claim back such investments.

The claimant is required to have OCI / PIO card only in case he/she has a foreign passport. However, in the case you are holding an Indian passport OCI/PIO card is not required.

NRE/NRO account is mandatory to claim any share investments in India

PAN card is mandatorily required for NRIs claim investments in India. If you do not have a PAN card in India, the same has to be obtained by filing form 49AA.

While holding shares in physical form is not barred a Demat account is required if you wish to sell or transfer them as the government has banned the sale/ transfer of physical shares. You can easily open a Demat account online by visiting the website of your preferred DP (Depository Participant) and filling out a form with KYC details however having a PAN card is a prerequisite to opening a Demat Account in India.

You don’t need to visit India for the investment recovery process. All the documents will be sent to you for execution from India. However, if you are the claimant of the shares by way of inheritance you might need to visit India or appoint a local power of attorney to obtain requisite court orders as per the Indian Succession Act.

Although having a POA in India is not mandatory but having one can ease out the process for a NRI claimant in case the shares are being transmitted by way of inheritance and a succession certificate / probate of will / letter of administration is to be obtained from court.

Yes, we can definitely help you in tracing your father’s investments but for that we will require some basic details like your father/mother’s full name and address at which the shares were bought. We are confident we will be able to find most if not all the unclaimed shares in their name.

Transfer of Shares is the process of transferring ownership to the transferee. In other words, it is a voluntary act of transferring shares from one person to another. On the other hand Transmission of Shares takes place when someone dies and the ownership is transferred under the supervision/operation of the Inheritance Laws in India, to the legal heirs of the deceased individual.

Transmission of shares is a long and technical process. In order to get the transmission of shares done successfully one needs the following:

• Details of legal heirs (relation proofs and KYC documents).
• Death certificate of the deceased shareholder.
• Original share certificates in case of physical shares or statement of demat account in case of shares held in demat account.
• In case there is no nominee in the shares affidavit from the legal heirs is required along with:
  • In case the value of shares in any one company is more than 2 lakhs either a succession certificate or a probate of will or letter of administration in favor of the legal heirs is required from the courts.
  • In case the value of shares in any one company is up to 2 lakhs NOCs from all legal heirs not objecting to such transmission in favor of the claimant is required.
• The transmission process needs to be completed with the registrar/company which includes submitting transmission forms, affidavits, etc.
• In case the shares have been transferred to the IEPF Authority, a claim needs to be filed with the IEPF Authority once the transmission process is completed in the company’s records.

In such cases wherein one of the account holders of a joint account holding expires then, as per the Companies Act (2013) the shares are transferred fully to the other joint holder(s), as the living account holder(s) shall be the only one to get legal recognition by the companies to be entitled to owning the complete shares.

A succession certificate is provided to the beneficiary/successor of the deceased person who died intestate and did not leave any will to be inherited. Succession Certificate plays an important role in the transfer of assets including properties, bank balances, shares, and other securities of the deceased person to the legal heirs in case he/she dies intestate without leaving a will.

For transmission of shares in India in case the value of the shares in a company exceeds 2 lakhs then a succession certificate is required in case the shareholder passes away intestate without leaving behind a will. For the value of shares less than 2 lakhs succession certificate is not mandatory.

When it comes to transmission of shares a lot of people juggle between the comprehension of a succession certificate and a legal heir certificate. A succession certificate is a document issued by the civil court to the legal heir(s) of the deceased in the absence of a will. The court authenticates the heir(s) claims on the assets previously owned by the deceased by passing a Succession Certificate in favor of the legal heirs. The individual(s) who obtain the Succession Certificate are entitled to claim or inherit the deceased’s assets including share investments.

Whereas, a Legal Heir Certificate just establishes and authenticates the relationship between the deceased and their legal heir(s). This certificate is not considered as a conclusive proof of succession under the laws of inheritance devised by the Indian government.

Probate of will is a process where a Will is certified to be valid or authentic under the jurisdiction as the final testament of the deceased. A probate is provided to the appointed executor by the Court along with a copy of the Will, and the granting of a probate initiates the legal process of settling the deceased’s assets under the Will.

Primary difference between Probate and Letter of Administration is that Probate is granted to an executor nominated under the will. Whereas in case the Will does not nominate an executor, the beneficiaries of the deceased will have to apply for a Letter of Administration which would grant them the same rights that an executor would have enjoyed.

IEPF stands for Investor Education and Protection Fund.

Set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) under Section 125 (1) of the Companies Act 2013, Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), is a government body which was established by the central government to educate investors about their investments, protection of interests and to manage the unclaimed dividends and other securities of companies.

As per Section 124 (5) of Companies Act 2013 any dividend which is lying unclaimed for 7 consecutive years is bound to be transferred to the IEPF.

Also, as per Section 124 (6) of Companies Act 2013 all shares in respect of which dividends have not been claimed for 7 or more consecutive years will also be transferred to the IEPF.

Reclaiming your shares and dividends from the IEPF Authority can be a cumbersome process if not done correctly. With years of expertise in this field we aim to simplify the process for our clients. To file an IEPF claim, one requires following documents

• Self-attested copy of Aadhar card & PAN Card.
• Cancelled cheque leaf.
• Client master list of the demat account self attested by the claimant and attested by the DP.
• Self attested SRN Acknowledgment.
• Indemnity Bond self-attested by the claimant and witnessed.
• Advance stamped receipt bearing the revenue stamp, self-attested by the claimant along with signatures of the witnesses.
• Letter from Registrar and Transfer Agent which has been verified by the Nodal officer to be used as a Proof of Entitlement.
• Original certificates of the shares and investments, if held in the physical form or a copy of a transaction statement if held in the demat form as a proof of ownership of investments. In case original share certificates are lost documents submitted to RTA for issue of duplicate shares need to be attached.
• Copy of passport and OCI /PIO card in case of foreigners and NRIs.
• Any other supporting documents submitted to the company for name change, address change, signature change, issue of duplicate shares etc.

Contrary to the general belief that IEPF Form 5 is the first and only step to claiming your shares from the IEPF, filing IEPF Form 5 is in fact the last step to a successful IEPF claim. The following steps need to be followed before reaching the final stage of filing the IEPF Form 5:

• Get your KYC details updated in the company’s record like name, address, signature, bank details, and demat account details.
• Get an entitlement letter from the company after submitting the original share certificates or following the procedure of issuing duplicate shares in case the original shares are lost.
• Arrange all the documents in digital form to upload online while filing the IEPF Form 5.
• File the IEPF Form 5 by registering online on the MCA website.
• Take printouts of all the documents as per the IEPF Help Kit and sign all documents.
• Send all documents in hard copy to the Nodal Officer of the company.

IFFAS, with its strong understanding of the workings of the IEPF authority over the years, has successfully helped in reclaiming numerous unclaimed dividends and shares that had been transferred to IEPF. With just some of the basic information and documentation provided by you, we will happily assist you in claiming your investments from the IEPF Authority.

While you can claim your shares from the IEPF on your own, GLC Wealth helps you to do it in a more time-efficient and hassle-free manner. Any small error or mistake made during the process can lead to a delay of a few months and even a claim getting rejected in some cases. It might also require a lot of running around and coordination between the registrars, companies, and the government authority. IFFAS aims at streamlining the whole process which entails preparing all the required documents in one go, coordinating between all the parties involved, and even representing your case in front of the IEPF Authority if required.

A share certificate is a legal document issued by a company to its shareholders i.e. the investors who have bought the shares of that company, authenticating their ownership of the shares. The share certificate acts as evidence of the purchase of shares.

In case of bonus shares the company issues additional shares to the existing shareholders in the ratio as decided by the company. For example if you are holding 100 shares of company A which has issued a bonus of 1:2, you will be allocated 1 new share for every 2 shares held by you. So your new shareholding becomes 150 shares.

In case of a split of shares the face of the shares is changed and shares of revised face value are issued to the shareholder. For example if you are holding 100 shares of company A having a face value of 10/- each and the company splits the shares into shares of face value of 1/- then the shareholder will be issued 1000 new shares of 1/-.

In case of a stock split basically your no. of shares increases in the proportion of the split and the face value of the share changes from old face value to new face value.

Whereas, in case of bonus, new shares of the same face value are issued to the shareholder so the total no. of shares goes up.

Corporate action can be simplified as an action carried out by a publicly-trading company like merger or demerger, bonus shares, split of shares, rights issue, buy-back. When a company undergoes any corporate action the shareholder of the company get the benefit of the same like in case of merger/demerger or bonus issue or split of shares or they get to participate/subscribe to the issue like a rights issue or a buy back offering.

In case of a merger / demerger the shareholder is issued shares of the new entity either by submitting the old share certificates or by way of cancellation of old shares and issue of new shares.

Similarly in case of split of shares the face of the shares is changed and shares of revised face value are issued to the shareholder. For example if you are holding 100 shares of company A having a face value of 10/- each and the company splits the shares into shares of face value of 1/- then the shareholder will be issued 1000 new shares of 1/-.

In case of bonus shares the company issues additional shares to the existing shareholders in the ration as decided by the company. For example if you are holding 100 shares of company A which has issued a bonus of 1:2, you will be allocated 1 new share for every 2 shares held by you. So your new shareholding becomes 150 shares.

When a publicly-trading company undergoes corporate action, it’s shareholders receive revised share certificates while the old share certificates are cancelled.

The ban on the transfer of shares in physical form was introduced by SEBI in late 2018. In accordance with the regulation imposed by SEBI, it is mandatory for shareholders to convert their shares into Demat form for the purpose of transfer of shares applicable from 1st April 2019. Investors are still permitted to hold shares in the physical form but, any share transfer request using physical shares will be turned away and will only be possible once shares are converted into Demat form. SEBI further clarified that:

• This decision does not prohibit shareholders from holding physical shares even after 01st April 2019.
• Any investor, who wants to transfer the shares after 01st April 2019 can do so only after the shares are dematerialized.
• Any transfer deed(s) once lodged prior to 01st April 2019 and returned due to any deficiency/discrepancy in the documents can be re-lodged for transfer even after 01st April 2019

For transferring physical shares one first needs to get the physical shares converted into dematerialized form. It can be done by:

• Choose a depository participant (DP) and open a demat account.
• Once you have a Demat account, fill out the Dematerialization Request Form (DRF)
• Submit the certificates of the physical shares you want to dematerialize and the DRF to the DP.
• Your DP will then send an electronic request to the Registrar and Transfer agent.
• The Registrar and Transfer agent will verify the certificates, form, and your personal information documents.
• The company whose shares you own will replace your name in their Register of Members with the depository’s name.
• And once the Company’s Register of Members has been updated you will receive a confirmation regarding the transfer of dematerialized shares to your demat account.

Consider the share certificate as your ticket to transferring the shares. Share certificate issued by the respective company is mandatorily required during the process of transfer of shares as it acts as the evidence to ensure that the certificate issued in the name of a person is the owner and is willingly transferring his/her shares.

Mis-match of signature is a common issue as with the passage of time or changes in name the signature might have changed over time. In such cases the latest signature needs to be registered in the company’ records for which signature verification form duly filled and attested from the bank manager and affidavit for signature change on a non-judicial stamp paper might be required depending upon the company’s requirements.