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Unclaimed dividend meaning in simple words: where it goes, IEPF

The Plainomics desk2 sources

Unclaimed dividend: a dividend a company has declared that a shareholder hasn't received or cashed, often because of old bank details or a changed address.

Riya sorts returned envelopes into a cardboard box while Sameer holds one up, puzzled.

The story

two people, one chai stall

Late September 2026. The dividend went out a month ago, but not all of it arrived.

Riya

₹3 lakh of the dividend is still sitting unclaimed. Bounced bank accounts, old addresses.

Sameer

₹3 lakh out of ₹2.5 crore. Can we just keep it?

Riya

Not a rupee. Within 7 days it moves to a separate bank account called the Unpaid Dividend Account, and we put the names on our website.

Sameer

And if nobody comes for it?

Riya

Seven years later it goes to the government's Investor Education and Protection Fund, the IEPF. And if someone hasn't claimed a dividend for seven years in a row, their shares go there too.

Sameer

So they lose it all.

Riya

No. They can file Form IEPF-5 online, send the papers to us to check, and get the shares and money back.

Sameer

Easier if they just update their bank details.

Riya

Much easier. I'm drafting the reminder letters now.

The grown-up version

same idea, exact words

Under Section 124 of the Companies Act, 2013, a dividend not paid or claimed within 30 days of declaration must be moved, within the next 7 days, to a separate Unpaid Dividend Account in a scheduled bank, and a statement of names and amounts placed on the company's website within 90 days. Money still unclaimed 7 years after that transfer goes to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) under Section 125, and shares on which no dividend has been paid or claimed for 7 consecutive years are transferred to the IEPF as well. Nothing is forfeited: the owner can claim the shares and money back from the IEPF Authority by filing Form IEPF-5 online and sending the documents to the company's nodal officer for verification. A new version of Form IEPF-5 has applied since 6 October 2025.

Which rule asks for itSections 124 and 125, Companies Act, 2013; Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016, as amended (Form IEPF-5 substituted from 6 October 2025).

Spot it in the wild

a real annual report, a real page

Bharti Airtel's status of dividends table and IEPF transfer details, with the FY25 unclaimed amount and the FY26 transfer to IEPF circled
Found it: p.319Bharti Airtel Ltd · Integrated Report and Annual Financial Statements 2025-26
  1. Of the FY25 dividend, ₹3.46 million is still unclaimed. If nobody claims it, it goes to the IEPF on 13 September 2032.
  2. In FY26, ₹12.6 lakh of FY18 dividends left unclaimed for seven years, and 21,731 shares, moved to the IEPF.

Don't mix it up

the usual confusions

  • Unclaimed dividend ≠ unpaid dividend

    The law treats them the same: any dividend not paid or claimed within 30 days goes into the Unpaid Dividend Account.

  • Unclaimed dividend ≠ forfeited dividend

    An unclaimed dividend isn't lost. After seven years it moves to the IEPF, and the owner can still claim it back with Form IEPF-5.

  • Unclaimed dividend ≠ IEPF

    The IEPF is the government fund that receives the unclaimed money and shares. The unclaimed dividend is the money itself.

Three quick sips

no sign-up, nothing saved

1/3 ₹3 lakh of the dividend is still unclaimed 30 days after the AGM declared it. How soon must it go to the Unpaid Dividend Account?

Hindi mein

अनक्लेम्ड डिविडेंड (बिना दावे वाला लाभांश)

अनक्लेम्ड डिविडेंड वह डिविडेंड है जो कंपनी ने घोषित तो किया, पर शेयरधारक तक नहीं पहुँचा या उसने लिया नहीं, अक्सर पुराने बैंक खाते या बदले पते की वजह से।

Sources

  1. Companies Act, 2013, India Code
  2. IEPF Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Amendment Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 733(E), 1 October 2025), Ministry of Corporate Affairs