SEBI vide notification dated November 08, 2023 has issued a Procedural framework for dealing with unclaimed amounts lying with Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and manner of claiming such amounts by unitholders. REITs mandate that not less than ninety percent of Net Distributable Cash Flows (NDCFs) of the REIT shall be distributed to the unitholders.
However, in certain cases it has been observed that the distribution amounts remained unclaimed or unpaid because of various reasons, including failure to update account details by the unitholders. 3.In order to deal with any amount remaining unclaimed or unpaid out of distributions, following procedure is mandated:
- Any amount remaining unclaimed or unpaid out of the distributions declared by a REIT shall be transferred to the ‘Investor Protection and Education Fund’ constituted by the Board.
- A framework defining the procedure to be followed by an REIT for transfer of unclaimed amounts, initially to an Escrow Account and subsequently, to the IPEF and claim thereof by a unitholder, is provided with the circular.
