Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) has issued a public notice making the filing of Form IEPF-1A with a prescribed Excel template mandatory for certain companies, with a final compliance deadline of August 30, 2025. This directive applies to companies that transferred funds to the IEPF or Central Government under specific clauses of the Companies Act, 1956, but either failed to submit the required statements or did so in non-compliant formats (not the Excel template). Despite an initial 60-day deadline from a 2019 notification and multiple reminders, over 3,000 companies, including 1,758 listed and 1,103 unlisted entities, have not complied. The IEPFA notes that over 31,000 Service Request Numbers (SRNs) for IEPF-1/7 forms were filed without the mandated Excel template, causing difficulties in identifying investor dues and leading to complaints. To facilitate faster claim disbursal, companies now have 30 days from the notice date to comply. Failure to meet the August 30, 2025, deadline will result in regulatory action under the Companies Act, 2013. The IEPFA will send lists of relevant SRNs and templates to company Nodal Officers via email.
Government of India
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority
Ground Floor, Jeevan Vihar Building,
3, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001
E-file No: 284374
Dated: 31.07.2025
PUBLIC NOTICE
Subject: Mandatory Filing of Form IEPF-1A with Prescribed Excel Template under Rule 5 (4A) of the IEPF (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016.
– Final Compliance Deadline: 30.08.2025
The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), in exercise of its regulatory mandate under the Companies Act, 2013, had directed all concerned companies to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of Rule 5 (4A) of the IEPF (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016 (Rules), as inserted vide Notification G.S.R. 571(E) dated 14th August 2019 w.e.f. 20th day of August, 2019 which reads as under:-
“(4A) The companies which have transferred any amount referred to in clauses (a) to (d) of sub-section (2) of section 205C of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) to Investor Education and Protection Fund or Central Government, but have not filed the statement or have filed the statement in any format other than in excel template, as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 5, shall submit details mentioned in sub-rule (1) of rule 5 in Form No. JEPF – 1A along with excel template within sixty days of notification of these amended rule.”
2. As per above, a company is mandatorily required to file Form IEPF-1A along with the prescribed Excel template if:
- Any amount referred to in clauses (a) to (d) of sub-section (2) of Section 205C of the Companies Act, 1956 has been transferred to the IEPF or Central Government without submitting the required statement in any format other than in excel template, as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 5, or
- The companies filed Form IEPF-1 under clauses (a) to (n) of sub-section (2) of Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013 in any format other than the mandated Excel template after the notification date.
2.1 The due date for this compliance was 60 days from the date of the Notification dated 20th August, 2019. The Authority has observed that despite multiple instructions and adequate time provided, over 3,000 companies (comprising 1758 listed and 1103 unlisted companies) have not filed Form IEPF1A or have submitted statements in non-compliant formats. Currently, the Authority holds more than 31,000 SRNs of IEPF-1/7 that were filed in formats other than the Excel template which leads to difficulty in identifying the amounts due to the investor, leading to short payments and investor complaints.
3. As the IEPFA has moved to MCA21 V3, companies that have not filed Form IEPF-1A along with the prescribed Excel template may do so within 30 days of the issue of this notice. A list of relevant SRNs, along with the applicable Excel templates, shall be shared with the Nodal Officers of the companies via their registered email addresses. This measure is intended to facilitate faster disbursal of claims.
4. Companies are hereby informed that failure to comply with the above directive on or before 30.08.2025 shall attract regulatory action under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
5. All stakeholders are hereby directed to ensure compliance with the above requirements.
6. This issues with the approval of the Competent Authority.
IEPF Authority
Ministry of Corporate Affairs Government of India
