In a circular released on June 26, market regulator SEBI has mentioned the need for the additional Investor Service Centre (ISC) given the developments of the recent years. But, what is an ISC and what is its role?

ISC are centres facilitating the resolution of investor complaints. The complaints can be against a listed entity or a stock exchange. Also, ISCs provide administrative assistance to arbitration proceedings under Exchange Arbitration Framework. These processes can be done in both physical and electronic format at ISCs.

Currently, the ISCs are in Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad etc., SEBI now feels that there is a need for more such centres given the penetration of securities trading in the last few years. So, we can expect more centres to come up in the future. Through this, exchanges can reach out to investors better. Such moves are important to keep the investor confidence high, which is the backbone of the financial markets.

In case the investors’ queries are not addressed or the complaints are not resolved within 15 days, those will be referred to the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC). GRCs stand above the ISCs. There are several GRCs placed across the country.

If there is a failure to resolve complaints at the ISC and GRC levels, investors can raise the same to SEBI through SCORES – SEBI Complaint Redress system. SCORES is an online platform through which investors can lodge complaints online.

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