Sebi frames new norms on investor protection

New Delhi: Capital markets regulator Sebi is looking to strengthen the investor grievance handling process through the SCORES system and integrate the same with the online dispute resolution mechanism.

The proposal is aimed at making the entire redressal process of grievances in the securities market comprehensive by providing an end-to-end solution and the process more efficient and faster by reducing timelines and introducing auto-routing and auto-escalation.

Also, the suggestion has been provided for two levels that the investor can opt for, plus the option for referral to the online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanism recently approved by Sebi. In its consultation paper on Friday, Sebi suggested that complaints about market price manipulation, insider trading and accounting manipulation by listed companies that are currently being auto-closed should be excluded from the SCORES platform and a separate portal for market intelligence should be created for this purpose. In case the investors lodge complaints like market intelligence on SCORES, such types of complaints should be closed and routed to the market intelligence portal.

“A separate portal for collection of market intelligence will help in distinguishing between investor grievances and intelligence inputs, with an independent focus on each,”Sebi said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sought comments from the public on the proposals till June 3. To further strengthen the investor grievance redressal process, the capital markets regulator has proposed that SCORES should be redesigned as a platform for investors to seek timely redressal of their grievances from entities directly.