5000% Dividends: Auto Firm To Transfer Unclaimed Dividends, If Missed To Claim Before March 15; How To Apply?

Dividend paying auto giant, Hero MotoCorp has announced the transfer of unclaimed dividends for more than seven years. As per the guidelines, these unclaimed shares are transferred to the demat account of IPEF. Nevertheless, investors can still claim these rewards by following a host of steps. In 2023 alone, Hero Motocorp declared a dividend of up to Rs 100 or 5000%, making it among the dividend-paying stocks.

As per the regulatory filing, Hero MotoCorp said, "pursuant to the provisions of Section 124(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016 (the 'Rules') notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs effective September 7, 2016 (as amended from time to time), all shares in respect to which dividend remained unclaimed for seven consecutive years or more shall also be transferred to the Demat Account of IEPF Authority on the due date."

Here's how to claim these shares back:

The auto player further said, "We request you to claim your dividend immediately, failing which the Company will have to transfer your unpaid/unclaimed dividend amount to the IEPF and subsequently will also transfer the eligible shares to the Demat Account of IEPF Authority on the due date. Please note that no claim shall lie against the Company in respect of the shares so transferred to IEPF."

To claim your unclaimed/unpaid dividend please write to KFin Technologies Limited, the Company's Registrar & Transfer Agent (RTA), and submit along with the request letter:

- The original time-barred Dividend Warrant

- Bank statement for encashment of any previous dividend received (only where original time-barred dividend warrant is not submitted under point 1 above)

- Self-attested copy of PAN Card

- Cancelled Cheque

To enable the company to transfer the amount lying unclaimed/ unpaid against your name to your bank account, Hero MotoCorp said, "We request you to treat this matter as a priority and respond immediately. Please ensure that your response reaches us by March 15, 2024, post which, the Company will initiate the process of transfer of dividends and relevant/ eligible shares to IEPF. Hence any request received after this date will not be entertained."

As per the annual report of FY23, Hero MotoCorp had highlighted that in the fiscal, the company transferred unpaid/ unclaimed dividends, amounting to Rs 3.38 crore for FY 2014-15 (Final Dividend) and 12,135 shares to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority of the Central Government of India. Further, the dividend about the shares transferred to the demat account of the IEPF Authority amounting to Rs 7.85 crore (after deduction of tax) was also transferred to the IEPF Authority.

Further, as of March 31, 2023, Hero MotoCorp stated that unclaimed dividends amounted to Rs 163.97 crore.

For FY23, Hero MotoCorp paid two dividends. Firstly, the interim dividend of Rs 65 per share or 3250%, and the final dividend of Rs 35 per share or 1750%. Overall, in the financial year 2022-23, the company paid a total of Rs 100 dividends per share or a whopping 5000%.

Hero MotoCorp is among the dividend king stocks in the auto sector, and it has declared up to 38 dividends since July 2001. At the current price level, it has a dividend yield of 2.82%. YTD, the auto stock has zoomed by over 38.5% on BSE.

On December 6th, Hero MotoCorp's share price ended at Rs 3,761.80 apiece on BSE with an m-cap of Rs 75,193.55 crore.