Sebi disposes of show cause notice issued to HDFC
PTI, Mar 31, 2022, 10:15 AM IST
Credit: Reuters photo
Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday disposed of a show-cause notice that was issued to Housing Development & Finance Corporation (HDFC) with respect to alleged violations of share transfer agent norms.
The watchdog had conducted an inspection of HDFC, which was registered with the regulator as Category II Registrar to an Issue and Share Transfer Agent, on September 30 to October 9, 2019, for the period April 1, 2018 to July 30, 2019.
It was alleged that HDFC had violated certain provisions of listing obligations and disclosure requirements regulations and/or norms pertaining to Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents.
Passing an order on Wednesday, Sebi’s Adjudicating Officer Geetha G said that no monetary penalty is warranted in respect of the allegations levelled in the instant matter and disposed of the show cause notice that was issued in December 2021.
According to the order, out of the allegations made in the show cause notice, the noticee (HDFC) was in violation of two aspects — pertaining to issuance of duplicate shares and deviation from prescribed procedures in case of transfer of dividends.
“The noticee has submitted that it had taken corrective measures pursuant to the deficiencies being pointed out by Sebi, interalia including updation of SOP and appointment of an external auditor for examining cases outside of the sample analysed by Sebi.
“Further, the noticee has already surrendered its Category II Share Transfer Agent Registration to ‘Link Intime India Pvt Ltd’. Thus, on an overall evaluation of the allegations and other circumstances, I find that the aforesaid non-compliances are not serious enough to warrant imposition of monetary penalty,” the order said.
According to Sebi, in the case of procedures to be followed in issuance of duplicate shares, the noticee had taken a considered call not to insist on the same and vested the discretion on its compliance officer to waive the requirement of FIR.
Noting that this is not a case of deliberate or casual non-compliance but a facilitation done to the shareholders at the behest of the Stakeholder Relationship Committee, Sebi said this would ensure that the duplicate share certificates are not issued to the wrong persons.
“It is not out of place to observe that there are instances where the investors have faced difficulties in lodging an FIR. Therefore, in my view, deviation from the strict letter of law can be looked upon as a venial or technical or procedural violation,” the order said.
With respect to deviation from following the procedures laid down with respect to online transfer of dividends, the adjudicating officer said the RTA has systematically disbursed the dividends through the physical mode. “I also note that the noticee was functioning as an In-house RTA.
In view of this, I would like to take a lenient view and not consider this as a serious lapse on the side of the noticee,” she added.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd day on FII selling; RIL, ICICI Bank major drag
Sensex, Nifty fall over 1 pc, snap two-day rally ahead of US Fed interest rate decision
SC orders liquidation of grounded air carrier Jet Airways’ assets
Home-cooked meals become dearer in October on costlier vegetables
Sensex, Nifty surge over 1 pc on heavy buying in IT stocks as Trump set to win US polls
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Baikampady: Here, even elederly have to crawl under trains to cross tracks!
CJI Chandrachud: A legacy of landmark verdicts that shaped society and some controversy too
Neeraj Chopra to head to South Africa for off-season training later this month
Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd day on FII selling; RIL, ICICI Bank major drag
Akhilesh Yadav attacks BJP on demonetisation anniversary
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.