Sebi imposes Rs 4 lakh fine on ACI Infocom

Markets regulator Sebi today imposed a penalty of Rs 4 lakh on ACI Infocom for failing to redress the two investor complaints within the prescribed time frame. The two grievances pertained to non-receipt of the shares of the firm by the complainants following a stock-split. After the stock split, the complainants were entitled to receive 1,000 shares each. However, they did not get the share certificates after splitting and complained to Sebi.

While the first complaint was forwarded to ACI Infocom through Sebi Complaints Redressal System (SCORES) in June 2013, the second one was sent to it in December 2013.

In December 2014, the regulator had issued a circular directing all the listed companies to take immediate efforts on receipt of a complaint for its resolution within thirty days, keep the complainant duly informed of the action taken and update the action taken reports (ATRs) along with supporting document in SCORES.

As per Sebi, failure by listed companies to file ATR under SCORES within 30 days of receipt of the grievance should not only be treated as failure to furnish information to Sebi but also be deemed to constitute non-redressal of investor grievance.

“The noticee (ACI Infocom) has not taken steps for redressal of complaints and also not updated the ATR within the time frame…,” the regulator said.

For the violation, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has penalised ACI Infocom.

In a separate order, Sebi has imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Radford Global for not redressing three investor complaints within the specified timeline.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )