205C(Establishment of Investor Education and Protection Fund)
(1) The Central Government shall establish a fund to be called the Investor Education
and Protection Fund (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Fund”).
(2) There shall be credited to the Fund the following amounts, namely:-
- amounts in the unpaid dividend accounts of companies;
- the application moneys received by companies for allotment of any securities and due for refund;
- matured deposits with companies;
- matured debentures with companies;
- the interest accrued on the amounts referred to in clauses (a) to (d);
- grants and donations given to the Fund by the Central Government, State
Governments, companies or any other institutions for the purposes of the Fund;
- the interest or other income received out of the investments made from the Fund;
Provided
that no such amounts referred to in clauses (a) to (d) shall form part of the
Fund unless such amounts have remained unclaimed and unpaid for a period of
seven years from the date they became due for payment.
Explanation:-
For the removal of doubts, it it hereby declared that no claims shall lie
against the Fund or the company in respect of individual amounts which were
unclaimed and unpaid for a period of seven years from the dates that they first
became due for payment and no payment shall be made in respect of any such
claims.
(3) The Fund shall be utilized for promotion of investors’ awareness and protection of
the interests of investors in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed.
(4) The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify an
authority or committee, with such members as the Central Government may appoint, to administer the Fund, and maintain separate accounts and other relevant records in relation to the Fund in such form as may be prescribed in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
(5) It shall be competent for the authority or Committee appointed under sub-section (4) to spend moneys out of the Fund for carrying out the objects for which the Fund has been established.