The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has marked dues worth ₹76,293 crore as difficult to recover (DTR) at the end of 2023-24, 4.1 per cent higher than the figure of ₹73,287 crore the previous year. DTR dues are those which could not be recovered even after exhausting all the modes of recovery.
Section 28A of the SEBI Act, 1992 and the corresponding provisions of SCRA, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996 empower SEBI to recover money from persons who fail to pay the penalty imposed by an adjudicating officer or fail to comply with any directions of the Board for refund of money or failing to comply with the direction of disgorgement order or failing to pay any fees due to the Board.
pending certificates
A total of 6,781 recovery certificates were generated till March 31, 2024, out of which 3,871 recovery certificates are pending, amounting to ₹1.02 lakh crore, the regulator’s annual report said.
Of this amount, 61.5 per cent or ₹63,206 crore, pertains to collective investment schemes and deemed public issues matters of PACL and Sahara India Commercial Corporation, respectively. A total amount of ₹95,346 crore of the total amount due, which includes PACL and Sahara India Commercial Corporation, are subject to parallel proceedings before various courts and court appointed committees, the report said.
In these cases, SEBI’s recovery proceedings are subject to directions and approvals of respective courts and committees. Matters where Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is invoked, SEBI’s recovery proceedings are affected by the moratorium under the said Code.
Out of the 140 DTR certificates falling under the untraceable category, 131 relate to individuals and nine relate to companies amounting to ₹13.3 crore and ₹15.7 crore, respectively.
There are 418 cases pending before various courts, tribunals and other for a related to matters where recovery certificates are drawn. Majority of these matters are sub-judice before the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
Among the DTR cases, the regulator has classified 380 companies as defunct, with a yet to be recovered amount of over ₹3,000 crore.