SEBI Opens Special Window for Physical Share Transfers Missed Before April 2019 Deadline

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a special six-month window allowing investors to re-submit physical share transfer requests that were missed or rejected before the April 1, 2019 deadline.

This initiative, starting from July 7, 2025, and closing on January 6, 2026, is exclusively for cases where transfer deeds were submitted prior to the original cut-off date but were rejected, returned, or left unattended due to incomplete documentation or other issues.

According to SEBI, although the transfer of physical securities was halted in March 2021—following an extended deadline from April 2019—several investors were unable to meet the revised timeline because of documentation problems. Feedback from investors, Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs), and listed companies prompted SEBI to reconsider.

In response, SEBI consulted a panel comprising legal experts, listed companies, and RTAs. The panel recommended giving one more opportunity to those who missed the March 31, 2021, deadline to re-lodge their shares for transfer.

The regulator emphasized that only those transfer requests submitted before April 1, 2019, and later rejected or left unprocessed, are eligible for re-submission during this period.

Additionally, all securities submitted during this window must be converted to dematerialized (demat) form upon transfer. Standard procedures will apply to all transfer-cum-demat requests.

To ensure wide awareness, SEBI has instructed listed companies, stock exchanges, and RTAs to publicly announce the special window every two months through print and social media over the six-month duration.

---