The Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) had announced under the circular SEBI/HO/MIRSD/RTAMB/CIR/P/2021/601 dated 23rd July, 2021 that all existing eligible Trading and Demat account holders shall provide a choice of nomination as per the option given in paragraph 2 above, on or before March 31, 2022, failing which the Trading and Demat accounts shall be frozen for debits.
However, they later extended the deadline whereby the provision of freezing of accounts would come into effect only after 30th September 2023(the deadline had earlier been extended to 31st March 2023 already, after which it has been further extended). Therefore, the deadline to add nominees to your Demat account currently stands at 30th September 2023.
Let us look at the process of adding a nominee to a Demat account.
What is the Demat account?
The Demat account is used in dematerializing or converting physical shares into an electronic format. The two organizations that are supposed to maintain every Demat accounts are:
- NSDL (National Security Depository Limited)
- CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited)
To know more about Demat accounts
Adding Nominees to Demat Account
Like in your bank’s savings account, you can add a nominee to your Demat account. You can authorise a person who will be a legal heir(s) of your investments in case of any unfortunate event whereby you cannot handle the account. The person authorised to own, benefit from and handle the account in such a situation is known as a nominee.
How many nominees can be appointed?
You can appoint a maximum of 3 nominees to your Demat account. Additionally, you can also assign percentages to each nominee in your account. For example, if you want to add three nominees, you can give 50% to nominee 1, 30% to nominee 2 and 20% to nominee 3, as per your preference.
Who can be a nominee?
Consider the below points while choosing your nominee(s).
1. Nominee can be your father, mother, spouse, siblings, children or any other individual. A minor can be added as a nominee, provided details of their guardian are also added
2. You can’t appoint non-individuals like a corporation, Karta of HUF, or the society as a nominee.
Process of Adding Nominees to Your Demat Account
The process of adding nominees to your Demat account can be both offline and online.
Online Process to Add Nominees via Angel One
Follow the below steps to add nominee(s) to your Demat account:
1. Visit https://www.angelone.in/trade
2. Log in to your Angel One online account using your Client ID and MPIN (and OTP if required).
3. Visit the “Account” section of the portal.
4. Click on the “Profile” button under the account section.
5. Click on “View All Categories - Details of Nominee and more”.
6 Click on the word “Nominee” (the word is linked to the next page)
7. On the next page, click on “Add Nominee”.
8. Fill in the nominee details - Name, Date of Birth, PAN No., Share Percentage and relationship of the nominee with you, the user. (note that the total share percentage of all nominees should be equal to 100%)
9. At this point, if there are more than one nominee then you can add more by clicking the “Add nominee” button once again.
10. Click on the “Submit E-Sign” button.
11. Thereafter, you will reach the e-Signature portal where you will be first asked to authorise the e-Signature service by checking a box at the top.
12. Now enter your Aadhaar number or your Virtual ID in the mentioned box.
13. Click on the “Send OTP” button. Enter the OTP (or One Time Password) sent to your registered mobile number and email ID and click on “Verify OTP”.
At this point, the process will end from your end - we will thereafter be reviewing your nomination addition request. It will take up to 2 days to process this request.
Offline Process to Add Nominees
You have to fill in the form of nomination (with the account-related details and your physical signature) and courier it to the address of the head office of your broker (e.g.: Angel One) along with a copy of ID proof. When your Demat account nominee will be added, a similar nomination will even be applicable for all your assets under the Demat Account.
Switching a nominee for Demat account
The steps involved in replacing your Demat account nominee include the following:
- While switching a nominee you will have to pay charges of Rs. 25+18% GST.
- You also have to provide the nomination form’s hard copies along with the form of account modification.
Benefits of appointing a nominee
Below are some reasons to add a nominee to your Demat account:
- In case of an unpredicted incident, the presence of a nominee makes the transfer of securities held in a Demat account such as shares, bonds, mutual fund units, G-Secs, etc. easy
- Saves your family members from long-winded procedures (and legal battles) of collecting and submitting multiple documents like NOC (No Objection Certificate) and affidavits to the concerned authorities
Appointing a nominee can save a lot of trouble for you and your relatives in case of an untimely demise of a primary beneficiary. Generally, people select a nominee while opening their Demat account. If you haven’t already done so, you can also add a nominee later on by logging on to Angel One’s web portal.
Conclusion
Nominee helps to ensure a smooth transfer of your investments to your legal heir in the event of an unfortunate incident. It saves a lot of time and trouble for your family members and keeps them financially secure. If you are a new investor, add a nominee while completing the onboarding process. And in case you are an existing Demat account holder, click here to add nominee(s).
With the help of Angel One, you can easily open Demat account and start trading within 5 minutes. You can also visit the official website of Angel One to clear any queries you have with your Demat account.
