News Update

SEBI Directs Market Infrastructure Institutions to Establish Common Online Dispute Resolution Portal


On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a directive to market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges, depositories, and clearing corporations, to create and operate a unified Online Dispute Resolution Portal (ODR Portal). The portal aims to utilize online conciliation and arbitration for resolving disputes arising in the Indian securities markets. According to SEBI’s circular, the MIIs must collaborate to develop and implement the ODR Platform.

All market participants in the securities market, including listed companies, specified intermediaries, and regulated entities, are required to enroll on the ODR Portal. “The MIIs shall, in consultation with their empanelled ODR Institutions, establish and operate a common ODR Portal,” SEBI stated.

The ODR Portal will cover disputes between investors and market participants, such as listed companies, specified intermediaries, and regulated entities. To initiate the dispute resolution process, investors must first raise their grievances directly with the concerned market participant. If the grievance remains unresolved, they can escalate the issue through the SCORES portal. If still dissatisfied with the outcome, investors can opt for dispute resolution through the ODR Portal.

Alternatively, market participants can also initiate dispute resolution through the ODR Portal if the grievance lodged by the investor was not satisfactorily resolved or at any subsequent stage of escalations. Market participants must give at least 15 calendar days’ notice to the investor before initiating dispute resolution through the ODR Portal.

The ODR Portal will facilitate investor and market participant enrollment, complaint filing, and document uploading. It will also provide status updates on the complaints obtained from the ODR Institution.

The implementation of the new framework will occur in two phases. The first phase, starting on August 1, involves the development of the ODR Portal, empanelment of ODR Institutions by the MIIs, empanelment of conciliators and arbitrators by the ODR Institutions, and registration of trading members and depository participants on the ODR Portal by August 15. The second phase, proposed to commence on September 15, includes the registration of all other market participants on the ODR Portal and the initiation of registering complaints against all other market participants and their resolution from September 16.

With the establishment of the common ODR Portal, SEBI aims to streamline dispute resolution and foster a more efficient and transparent mechanism for resolving issues within the Indian securities markets.

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