Depositories Act, 1996
No: 22 Dated: Aug, 10 1996
Depositories Act, 1996
(Act No. 22 of 1996)
An Act to provide for regulation of depositories in securities and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Depositories Act, 1996.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 20th day of September, 1995.
2. Definitions.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “beneficial owner” means a person whose name is recorded as such with a depository;
(b) “Board” means the Securities and Exchange Board of India established under section 3 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);
(c) “bye-laws” means bye-laws made by a depository under section 26;
(d) “Company Law Board” means the Board of Company Law Administration constituted under section 10E of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);
(e) “depository” means a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and which has been granted a certificate of registration under sub-section (1A) of section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);
(f) “issuer” means any person making an issue of securities;
(g) “participant” means a person registered as such under sub-section (1A) of section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);
(h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i) “record” includes the records maintained in the form of books or stored in a computer or in such other form as may be determined by regulations;
(j) “registered owner” means a depository whose name is entered as such in the register of the issuer;
(k) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Board;
[(ka) “Securities Appellate Tribunal” means a Securities Appellate Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section 15K of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);]
(l) “security” means such security as may be specified by the Board;
(m) “service” means any service connected with recording of allotment of securities or transfer of ownership of securities in the record of a depository.
(2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956) or the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.
CHAPTER II
CERTIFICATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF BUSINESS
3. Certificate of commencement of business by depositories.—(1) No depository shall act as a depository unless it obtains a certificate of commencement of business from the Board.
(2) A certificate granted under sub-section (1) shall be in such form as may be specified by the regulations.
(3) The Board shall not grant a certificate under sub-section (1) unless it is satisfied that the depository has adequate systems and safeguards to prevent manipulation of records and transactions: Provided that no certificate shall be refused under this section unless the depository concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
CHAPTER III
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF DEPOSITORIES, PARTICIPANTS, ISSUERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS
4. Agreement between depository and participant.—(1) A depository shall enter into an agreement with one or more participants as its agent.
(2) Every agreement under sub-section (1) shall be in such form as may be specified by the bye-laws.
5. Services of depository.—Any person, through a participant, may enter into an agreement, in such form as may be specified by the bye-laws, with any depository for availing its services.
6. Surrender of certificate of security.—(1) Any person who has entered into an agreement under section 5 shall surrender the certificate of security, for which he seeks to avail the services of a depository, to the issuer in such manner as may be specified by the regulations.
(2) The issuer, on receipt of certificate of security under sub-section (1), shall cancel the certificate of security and substitute in its records the name of the depository as a registered owner in respect of that security and inform the depository accordingly.
(3) A depository shall, on receipt of information under sub-section (2), enter the name of the person referred to in sub-section (1) in its records, as the beneficial owner