The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a reward system to encourage individuals to provide credible information about defaulters' assets, as part of its efforts to recover fines from elusive offenders. The new guidelines, which became effective from March 8th, offer rewards of up to Rs 20 lakh, payable in two stages - interim and final. The interim reward will not exceed 2.5 per cent of the reserve price of the asset or Rs 5 lakh, whichever is less, while the final reward will not exceed 10 per cent of the dues recovered or Rs 20 lakh, whichever is less. SEBI has released a list of 515 defaulters, where informants can provide information.
The Chief General Manager of the Recovery and Refund Department, the concerned Recovery Officer having jurisdiction in the matter, another Recovery Officer nominated by the Chief General Manager, and an officer in the grade of deputy general manager or higher from the Office of Investor Assistance and Education nominated by the Chief General Manager will make up the informant reward committee that will decide whether informants are eligible for rewards and the amount of rewards that will be paid.
Informants must provide original information about the assets of a defaulter concerning the dues that are certified as 'Difficult to Recover' to be eligible for a reward. Difficult-to-recover dues refer to those that could not be recovered even after exhausting all modes of recovery.
The markets regulator classified 67,228 crore rupees worth of debts as "difficult to recover" (DTR) in its annual report for 2021–22. The compensation of the informant shall be paid from the Investor Protection and Education Fund. In order to entice informants to come forward and offer reliable information, SEBI emphasised that the details of the informant, their name, and the payment given to them must be kept private.
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