SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (INFORMAL GUIDANCE) SCHEME, 2003
1. This Scheme shall be called “Securities and Exchange Board of India (Informal Guidance) Scheme 2003”.
2.1 This
Scheme is being issued under section 11(1) of SEBI Act, 1992 of the
SEBI Act, in the interests of better regulation of and orderly
development of the securities market.
2.2 The Scheme shall come into operation from 24.6.2003.
3.1 In this Scheme, unless the context otherwise requires:-
(a) ‘Act’ means the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992;
(b) ‘Board’ means the Securities and Exchange Board of India established under section 3 of the Act;
(c) ‘Department’ means a Department of SEBI and includes a Division of SEBI;
(d) ‘Scheme’ means the SEBI (Informal Guidance Process) Scheme, 2003;
3.2 Words
and expressions not defined in this Scheme shall have the same meaning
as have been assigned to them under the Act or the Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956 or the Companies Act, 1956, or any statutory
modification or re-enactment thereof, or any rules or regulations made
thereunder, as the case may be.
[4 The following persons may make a request for informal guidance under the scheme:
any intermediary registered with the Board under section 12 of the Act;
any listed company :
any
company which intends to get any of its securities listed and which has
filed either a listing application with any stock exchange or a draft
offer document with the board or the Central Listing Authority;
any mutual fund trustee company or asset management company;
any acquirer or prospective acquirer under the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997.]
5. The informal guidance mentioned in para 4 may be sought for and given in two forms:
i.
No-action letters: in which a Department of SEBI indicates that the
Department would or would not recommend any action under any Act, Rules,
Regulations, Guidelines, Circulars or other legal provisions
administered by SEBI to the Board if the proposed transaction described
in a request made under para 6 is consummated.
ii.
Interpretive letters: in which a Department of SEBI provides an
interpretation of a specific provision of any Act, Rules, Regulations,
Guidelines, Circulars or other legal provision being administered by
SEBI in the context of a proposed transaction in securities or a
specific factual situation.
6. A request seeking informal guidance shall comply with the following:
i.
It shall state that it is being made under this scheme and also state
whether it is a request for a no-action letter or an interpretive
letter;
ii. It shall be accompanied with a fee of Rs. 25,000;
iii. It shall be addressed to the concerned Department of SEBI; and,
iv. It
shall describe the request, disclose and analyse all material facts and
circumstances involved and mention all applicable legal provisions.
7. SEBI may dispose off the request as early as possible as and
in any case not later than 60 days after the receipt of the request.
The Department may give a hearing or conduct an interview if it feels
necessary to do so. The requestor shall be entitled only to the reply.
The internal records or views of SEBI shall be confidential.
8. SEBI may not respond to the following types of requests:
i. those which are general and those which do not completely and sufficiently describe the factual situation;
ii. those which involve hypothetical situations;
iii. those requests in which the requestor has no direct or proximate interest;
iv. where the applicable legal provisions are not cited;
v. where
a no-action or interpretive letter has already been issued by that or
any other Department on a substantially similar question involving
substantially similar facts, as that to which the request relates;
vi.
those cases in which investigation, enquiry or other enforcement
action has already been initiated;
vii.
those cases where connected issues are pending before any Tribunal or
Court and on issues which are sub judice; and,
viii. those cases where policy concerns require that the Department does not respond.
9.
Where a request is rejected for non-compliance with para 6 or under
para 8, the fee if any paid by the requestor shall be refunded to him
after deducting therefrom a sum of Rs. 5,000 towards processing fee.
10. SEBI
shall not be under any obligation to respond to a request for guidance
made under this scheme, and shall not be liable to disclose the reasons
for declining to answer the request.
11. Confidentiality of request:
a.
Any person submitting a letter or written communication under this
scheme may request that it receive confidential treatment for a
specified period of time not exceeding 90 days from the date of the
Department’s response. The request shall include a statement of the
basis for confidential treatment.
b.
If the Department determines to grant the request, the letter or
written communication will not be available to the public until the
expiration of the specified period.
c. If
it appears to the Department that the request for confidential
treatment should be denied, the requestor will be so advised and such
person may withdraw the letter or written communication within 30 days
of receipt of the advise, in which case the fee, if any, paid by him
would be refunded to him.
d.
In case where a request has been withdrawn under clause (c), no
response will be given and the letter or written communication will
remain in the SEBI files but will not be made available to the public.
e.
If the letter or written communication is not withdrawn, it shall be
available to the public together with any written staff response.
12. A
no-action letter or an interpretive letter issued by a Department
constitutes the view of the Department but will not be binding on the
Board, though the Board may generally act in accordance with such a
letter.
13. The
letter issued by a Department under this scheme should not be construed
as a conclusive decision or determination of any question of law or
fact by SEBI. Such a letter cannot be construed as an order of the Board
under section 15T of the Act and shall not be appealable.
14. Where
a no action letter is issued by a Department affirmatively, it means
that the Department will not recommend enforcement action to the Board,
subject to other provisions of this scheme.
15. The
guidance offered through the letters issued by Departments is
conditional upon the requestor acting strictly in accordance with the
facts and representations made in the letter.
16. SEBI
shall not be liable for any loss or damage that the requestor or any
other person may suffer on account of the request not being answered or
being belatedly answered or the Board taking a different view from that
taken in a letter already issued under this scheme.
17. Where
the Department finds that a letter issued by it under this scheme has
been obtained by the requestor by fraud or misrepresentation of facts,
notwithstanding any legal action that the Department may take, it may
declare such letter to be non est and thereupon the case of the
requestor will be dealt with as if such letter had never been issued.
Where
SEBI issues a letter under this scheme, it may post the letter,
together with the incoming request, in the SEBI website, subject to the
provisions of para 11.
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