IEPF Compliance Calendar explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Any company that declares a dividend, takes deposits or issues debentures can end up owing money or shares to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). This calendar is for the company secretary, finance team and registrar's agent of a company that has unpaid dividend, and it follows the money from the date of declaration to the transfer to the Fund, the transfer of shares, the verification of claims and the Nodal Officer. The sources are sections 124 and 125 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the IEPF Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016.
This article is read as per the Companies Act, 2013 in the Ministry's consolidated text (last updated 29 July 2022), and the Rules as consolidated in the Ministry's e-book, consulted on 3 October 2026. Later amendments should be checked. SS-3 (Secretarial Standard on Dividend) is recommendatory; its text says so. Our compliance advisory team can run this calendar for you.
A dividend not paid or claimed within thirty days of declaration goes to a special Unpaid Dividend Account within seven days after those thirty days (section 124(1)). What stays unpaid or unclaimed for seven years goes to the Fund (section 124(5)), and shares on which dividend has not been paid or claimed for seven consecutive years are transferred to the Fund in the name of the Authority (section 124(6)). Every company that credits amounts or shares to the Fund must nominate a Nodal Officer: a director, the Chief Financial Officer or the company secretary (rule 7(2A)). Default draws a penalty of one lakh rupees on the company and twenty-five thousand rupees on each officer in default, with daily additions (section 124(7)).
The calendar
| Compliance | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed | Who files or acts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer of unpaid or unclaimed dividend to the Unpaid Dividend Account | Section 124(1) | Bank transfer to a special account in a scheduled bank | Within seven days from the expiry of thirty days from the date of declaration | Company |
| Statement of names, last known addresses and amounts of unpaid dividend, placed on the website | Section 124(2) | Prescribed form | Within ninety days of making the transfer | Company |
| Statement of unclaimed and unpaid amounts for each of the previous seven financial years, uploaded on the company's website and the Authority's website | Rule 5(8), IEPF Rules | Form IEPF-2 | Within sixty days after the AGM or the date on which it should have been held, whichever is earlier, and every year until the seven-year period is complete | Company |
| Interest for delay in transferring to the Unpaid Dividend Account | Section 124(3) | None | Twelve per cent a year on the amount not transferred, from the date of default; it benefits members in proportion | Company |
| Individual notice to the shareholder and newspaper notice before shares are transferred | Rule 6(3)(a) | Notice | Three months before the due date of transfer of the shares; a notice also in a leading newspaper in English and in a regional language naming the website where the list is available | Company |
| Transfer of unpaid dividend (with interest accrued) to the Fund | Section 124(5); rule 5(1) | Remitted online with Form IEPF-1 | Seven years from the date of transfer to the Unpaid Dividend Account; remittance within thirty days of the amount becoming due to be credited | Company |
| Transfer of shares on which dividend has not been paid or claimed for seven consecutive years | Section 124(6); rule 6(1) | Credit to the Authority's DEMAT account | Within thirty days of the shares becoming due to be transferred | Company, by corporate action through the depository |
| Statement of the share transfer to the Authority | Rule 6(5) | Form IEPF-4 | Within thirty days of the corporate action, with a copy of the public notice | Company |
| Shares not transferred because of a court, tribunal or authority order or pledge or hypothecation | Rule 6(3)(b) proviso | Form IEPF-4 | Within thirty days from the end of the financial year | Company |
| Benefits on shares held by the Authority (bonus, split, consolidation, fractions, but not rights issue) | Rule 6(8) | Form IEPF-4 | Within thirty days of the corporate action | Company |
Event-driven duties
| Event | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed | Who |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim for refund or shares lodged by a claimant | Rule 7(1), (2) | Claim in Form IEPF-5 made online, transmitted to the company's Nodal Officer | On lodging | Claimant |
| Company verifies the claim | Rule 7(3) | Online verification report in the format specified by the Authority, with certified scanned copies of the originals | Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the claim; after that an additional fee of fifty rupees for every day, subject to a maximum of two thousand five hundred rupees | Company's Nodal Officer |
| Authority may reject if no verification report | Rule 7(3), third proviso | Communication to claimant and company | After sixty days from filing of Form IEPF-5, with fifteen days to respond | Authority |
| Authority calls for further information from the company | Rule 7(7) | Revised verification report | Within thirty days | Company |
| Nominating a Nodal Officer | Rule 7(2A) | Board's nomination | For every company that is required to credit amounts or shares, or has deposited amounts or transferred shares, to the Fund | Board |
| Communicating the Nodal Officer's details and displaying the name and e-mail on the website | Rule 7(2B) | Form IEPF-2 | Within fifteen days from the date of publication of the rules, as printed; any change within seven days of the change, with the board resolution | Company |
| Shares transferred under section 90(9) (significant beneficial owners) | Rule 6A | Form IEPF-4 | Within thirty days of the corporate action, with a copy of the Tribunal's order and a declaration | Company |
| Amounts under section 125(2)(h) to (m): application money due for refund, matured deposits, matured debentures, interest on them, sale proceeds of fractional shares for seven or more years, redemption amounts of preference shares unpaid for seven or more years | Section 125(2); rule 5(1), (7) | Form IEPF-1 | Remittance within thirty days of becoming due; the proviso to section 125(2) requires the amounts in clauses (h) to (j) to have remained unclaimed and unpaid for seven years from the date they became due | Company |
Rows that need explanation
The seven-year clock for dividend. Section 124(5) counts seven years from the date of transfer to the Unpaid Dividend Account, not from declaration. Section 124(6) counts seven consecutive years of dividend not paid or claimed. A single paid or claimed dividend during the seven years stops the share transfer: the Explanation to section 124(6) says so, and rule 6(1)'s first proviso says shares need not be transferred where the owner has encashed a dividend warrant, or the dividend has been credited to the owner's bank account, during the last seven years.
Transfer procedure. For demat shares the company informs the depository by corporate action and the depository credits the Authority's demat account (rule 6(3)(c)). For physical shares the company secretary applies, for the shareholder, for a new share certificate marked as issued for the purpose of transfer to IEPF; it is then converted to demat form (rule 6(3)(d)). Rule 6(1) treats the transfer as a transmission, and voting rights on the shares stay frozen until the rightful owner claims (rule 6(6)).
Statement on the website. The statement under section 124(2) and the Form IEPF-2 statement under rule 5(8) are separate items: section 124(2) runs from the transfer to the Unpaid Dividend Account, rule 5(8) from the AGM date and covers each of the previous seven financial years. Both go to the company's website, and rule 5(8) also to the Authority's website.
The Nodal Officer. The Nodal Officer must be a director, the Chief Financial Officer or the company secretary (rule 7(2A)). A company may appoint Deputy Nodal Officers to assist; the Nodal Officer is solely liable for their actions. If a company does not appoint one, every director is deemed to be the nodal officer and is liable for any failure. The Nodal Officer verifies claims lodged in Form IEPF-5, with the claimant's original documents sent to the registered office, and signs the certified copies.
SS-3. The recommendatory Standard on Dividend repeats the sections and adds practice points: an individual intimation to members at least three months before transfer of unclaimed dividend to the Fund (paragraph 6.3), and statements to the Authority within thirty days of the end of each financial year (paragraph 6.2). Adopt them as good practice; they are not mandatory.
Penalty. Section 124(7): a company failing to comply with any requirement of the section is liable to a penalty of one lakh rupees and, for continuing failure, five hundred rupees a day after the first, up to ten lakh rupees; an officer in default, twenty-five thousand rupees and one hundred rupees a day after the first, up to two lakh rupees.
Need help with IEPF compliance?
Missed unpaid dividend transfers and share transfers accumulate into penalties and a backlog of claims. Our compliance advisory team can identify the dividend and shares due, issue the notices, prepare the filings and set up the Nodal Officer.
Key takeaways
- Unpaid dividend goes to the Unpaid Dividend Account within seven days after thirty days from declaration.
- After seven years from that transfer, the amount goes to the Fund with Form IEPF-1 within thirty days of falling due.
- Shares go to the Authority's demat account within thirty days of falling due, with Form IEPF-4 within thirty days of the corporate action.
- Verify claims within thirty days of receipt; a late report costs fifty rupees a day up to two thousand five hundred rupees.
- A Nodal Officer is a director, CFO or company secretary; without one, every director is deemed the nodal officer.
Read next
- Sections 124 and 125: unpaid dividend and IEPF
- How to transfer unpaid dividend to IEPF: IEPF-1 and IEPF-2 process
- IEPF Rules, 2016: unpaid dividend and share transfer guide
- Secretarial Standard on Dividend (SS-3): key requirements
- Dividend waiver by a shareholder and dividend in kind
Disclaimer: Based on the Companies Act, 2013 in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs consolidated text (last updated 29 July 2022), the Rules as consolidated in the Ministry's e-book and the other official texts named in this article, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Later amendments, notifications, circulars, forms and fees should be checked. Formats are general drafts to be adapted to the company's articles and facts. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.