Got unresolved equity market related complaint? Know how you can use SEBI’s SCROES, know which ones wont be addressed

Digitisation, heightened investor awareness, and robust market performance have significantly boosted interest in the equity markets in recent years. As of January 2025, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has reported over 11 crore unique investors (identified by PAN numbers), marking a 3.6-fold increase in investor registrations over the past five years.Favourable demographics have attracted many young investors to the stock market. The NSE reports that the median age of investors has decreased from 38, five years ago, to approximately 32 currently, with 40% of investors now under the age of 30. This shift highlights the growing participation of younger individuals in the equity markets.

While many investors have been drawn to the equity markets, some have encountered issues, such as fraud, unfair practices and service deficiencies. To address these concerns, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) provides online options to file complaints.

Investor grievances rose in 2023-24 after declining for two consecutive years
Investors face issues like fraud, unfair practices and service deficiencies.

Scale of grievances

Sebi received 44,599 grievances in 2023-24, which grew by 28.3% year on-year. In February 2025, 3,969 complaints were received by SEBI. According to the data presented by the Minister of State for Finance in the Rajya Sabha, stock market frauds increased to 635 in 2023-24, a 45.9% year-on-year rise.

SEBI, in coordination with stock exchanges and depositories, carries out regular investor education programmes that aim at creating awareness about scams, unsolicited investment schemes and identification of fake entities. The regulator has developed frameworks to safeguard investor interests and addressed 95.7% of the cumulative grievances by the end of 2023-24. Stock market fraud cases have also dropped in the past five years, and SEBI has provided remedies worth Rs.1,083 crore between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

Redressal options

SEBI’s online grievance redressal options include the SEBI Complaints Redressal System (SCORES), SMART Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and Market Intelligence (MI).

SCORES

Before filing a complaint on SEBI’s SCORES platform, investors should approach the concerned intermediary or company for resolution. If the grievance remains unresolved, they can file a complaint online via SCORES within a year. Complaints against listed companies, registered intermediaries (stockbrokers, mutual funds), and market infrastructure institutions can be submitted through the SCORES portal or its mobile app.

Complaints that can be filed

• Complaints related to listed companies, such as non-transfer of securities, non-receipt of bonus shares and buyback consideration, non-payment of dividends, and non-updation of address or signatures.
• Complaints related to mutual funds, such as delay or non-receipt of redemption proceeds, deviation from scheme attributes, discrepancies in the statement of account, wrong or excess charges, failure to stop SIP after intimation, and so on.
• Complaints related to stockbrokers, like squaring of position without consent, IPO application-related issues, or non-execution of orders.
• Complaints related to depository participants, such as closure of account without intimation, delay in dematerialisation request, excess charges, etc.

Complaints that cannot be filed

• Complaints against unlisted companies.
• Complaints against a liquidated company or a company under liquidation.
• Complaints against companies, wherein the company name has been struck off the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
• Complaints falling under the purview of other regulatory bodies, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDAI), and the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
• Complaints that are of the nature of market intelligence (price or volume manipulation, violation of insider trading regulations, buy/sell tips).

Take these steps to resolve disputes…

How to use SCORES

• Investors may register themselves at https://scores.sebi.gov.in/.
• Details like name, date of birth, PAN, address, e-mail ID, and mobile number are needed to register on the portal.
• After filling these, the portal fetches details from the KYC (know your customer) registration agency.
• The user needs to verify the e-mail ID and mobile number through the OTP provided by the portal and can set up the user name and password.
• Once registered, the user can sign into the portal to lodge complaints.

Timelines

• After the investor lodges the complaint, the portal forwards it to the concerned entity and designated body.
• The concerned entities include listed companies, mutual funds, stockbrokers, investment advisers, and depository participants.
• The designated bodies include stock exchanges, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), and depositories.
• The entities are expected to resolve the grievances or file an action taken report (ATR) within 21 days of the receipt of the complaint.

First-level review

• If the investor (complainant) is not satisfied with the remedy or ATR, a review can be requested within 15 days of the date of the ATR. The relevant, designated body intervenes and reviews the complaint with the concerned entity.
• The designated body is expected to submit the ATR within 10 days.

Second-level review

• If the complainant is not satisfied with the remedy provided, a request for review can be made within 15 days.
• SEBI will take up the second review with the designated body or concerned entity.
• If the investor is not satisfied with the SCORES resolution, he has the option of approaching the SMART Online Dispute Resolution, consumer courts, or taking recourse to other appropriate civil remedies. Investors can opt for ODR at any stage of SCORES.

SMART ODR

• This is an online portal that aims to resolve disputes through online counselling and arbitration.
• It provides benefits in the form of convenience, speed, and transparency.
• Investors can use SMART ODR by logging on to https://smartodr.in/login.
• Details like name, e-mail ID, mobile number, PAN number, and residential address are required for registering on the portal.
• Once registered, the investor can file the relevant dispute.
• Before using ODR, an investor must file the dispute directly with the intermediary or concerned entity.

How ODR works

• It involves pre-conciliation, conciliation,and arbitration.
• In pre-conciliation, market infrastructure institutions facilitate an amicable discussion between the investor (complainant) and concerned entities to resolve the issue.
• In the conciliation stage, a neutral third party (called a conciliator) helps the disputing parties to reach an agreement.
• Under arbitration, a legal process is initiated where a dispute is resolved by one or more arbitrators (neutral third parties), and the decision is binding and enforceable.

Market Intelligence portal

• SEBI also provides a Market Intelligence (MI) portal that enables investors to file complaints related to insider trading, corporate governance, price volume manipulation (in equities and derivatives), and mis-statements (over or underreporting) by listed companies in financial statements.
• Investors can file complaints on the MI portal by logging on at https://mi.sebi.gov.in/.
• Investors need to register on the portal to file complaints.
• Information provided by complainants will be analysed by SEBI, and, if found necessary, action will be taken.
• SEBI does not provide the complaint number and status of MI complaints.