The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has disposed of 3,705 complaints against companies and market intermediaries through its online grievance redressal system, Sebi Complaints Redressal System (Scores) in September 2023. The latest data released by the securities market regulator released on October 10, 2023 shows that only 17 complaints have been pending with it for three months now.
In September 2023, Sebi achieved notable success in addressing investor complaints.
Starting with 4,707 pending complaints at the beginning of the month, Sebi received another 4,276 complaints during the month, and managed to resolve a total of 3,705 complaints by the month-end. The number of actionable complaints awaiting resolution stood at 5,259 with only 17 complaints pending for over three months.
Notably, the average resolution time was 40 days.
Investors also have the option to seek a review of their complaints within 15 days of their disposition. Sebi handled 2,362 complaints from August 16-31, 2023, and 3,705 complaints in September 2023. A total of 219 review complaints were received, accounting for 3.60 per cent of the total complaints.
Scores is a Web-based centralised grievance redress system developed by Sebi. This platform enables investors to file and monitor complaints seamlessly by keeping a digital record of the complaint’s status.
Investors can easily register a complaint on the Scores portal by completing a complaint registration form. The form requires personal details, such as name, address, email, mobile number, and Permanent Account Number (PAN), along with specific company details, such as its name, category, and the nature of the grievance. Additionally, supporting documents of up to 2MB can be attached as PDF files along with the complaint.
Once the registration is complete, the platform sends a unique registration number through email as an acknowledgment to the complainant. In the event of any issue with the online registration process, complaints can also be submitted to the Sebi office by post.
Some complaints may remain pending due to factors, such as insufficient information from the investor or the company, legal proceedings, or where the companies have vanished.
In cases where the complainant is unsatisfied with the resolution, they can file a fresh complaint or reach out to the concerned dealing officer, or senior officers through email, as provided on the Scores platform. Additionally, legal action can also be initiated where necessary.
