Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023

RBI has issued Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Internal Ombudsman for Regulated Entities) Directions, 2023 which mandated regulated entities to appoint an internal ombudsan with the following obligations:

1. Complaints that are outside the purview of these Directions shall be immediately referred back to the regulated entity by the Internal Ombudsman.
2. The Internal Ombudsman shall analyse the pattern of complaints such as product / category wise, consumer group wise, geographical location wise, etc., and suggest means for taking actions to address the root cause of complaints of similar / repeat nature and those that require policy level changes in the regulated entity. The Internal Ombudsman shall examine the complaints based on records available with the regulated entity, including any documents submitted by the complainant and comments or clarifications furnished by the regulated entity to the specific queries of the Internal Ombudsman. The Internal Ombudsman may seek additional information and documents from the complainant, through the regulated entity. In the case of CICs, the Internal Ombudsman may seek additional information from the concerned Credit Institution/s (CI) through CIC. The Internal Ombudsman must record a “reasoned decision” in each case.
3. The Internal Ombudsman may hold meetings with the concerned functionaries of the regulated entity and seek any record / document available with the regulated entity that are necessary for examining the complaint and reviewing the decision. The regulated entity shall furnish all records and documents sought by the Internal Ombudsman to enable expeditious resolution of the complaints without any undue delay.
4. The Internal Ombudsman shall, on a quarterly basis, analyse the pattern of all complaints received against the regulated entity, such as entity-wise (for CICs), product-wise, category-wise, consumer group-wise, geographical location-wise, etc., and may provide inputs to the regulated entity for policy intervention, if so warranted.
5. The Internal Ombudsman shall not represent the regulated entity in legal cases before any court or or authority.
6. In cases of conciliation, where the decision of the Internal Ombudsman is accepted by the complainant, a statement showing the terms of agreement duly signed by the complainant, shall be kept on record.