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Section124
The Companies Act, 2013

Unpaid Dividend Account

In force From 01 Apr 2014 Act 18 of 2013 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 18 of 2013 Ministry Corporate Affairs Enacted 29 Aug 2013 In force 01 Apr 2014 Cited by 4 provisions Instruments 9

Section 124 of the Companies Act, 2013 deals with unpaid Dividend Account. Where a dividend has been declared by a company but has not been paid or claimed within thirty days from the date of the declaration to any shareholder entitled to the payment of the dividend, the company shall, within seven days from the date of expiry of the said period of thirty days, transfer th The Act came into force on 01 Apr 2014.

(1) Where a dividend has been declared by a company but has not been paid or claimed within thirty days from the date of the declaration to any shareholder entitled to the payment of the dividend, the company shall, within seven days from the date of expiry of the said period of thirty days, transfer the total amount of dividend which remains unpaid or unclaimed to a special account to be opened by the company in that behalf in any scheduled bank to be called the Unpaid Dividend Account.

(2) The company shall, within a period of ninety days of making any transfer of an amount under sub-section (1) to the Unpaid Dividend Account, prepare a statement containing the names, their last known addresses and the unpaid dividend to be paid to each person and place it on the website of the company, if any, and also on any other website approved by the Central Government for this purpose, in such form, manner and other particulars as may be prescribed.

(3) If any default is made in transferring the total amount referred to in sub-section (1) or any part thereof to the Unpaid Dividend Account of the company, it shall pay, from the date of such default, interest on so much of the amount as has not been transferred to the said account, at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum and the interest accruing on such amount shall ensure to the benefit of the members of the company in proportion to the amount remaining unpaid to them.

(4) Any person claiming to be entitled to any money transferred under sub-section (1) to the Unpaid Dividend Account of the company may apply to the company for payment of the money claimed.

(5) Any money transferred to the Unpaid Dividend Account of a company in pursuance of this section which remains unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven years from the date of such transfer shall be transferred by the company along with interest accrued, if any, thereon to the Fund established under sub-section (1) of section 125 and the company shall send a statement in the prescribed form of the details of such transfer to the authority which administers the said Fund and that authority shall issue a receipt to the company as evidence of such transfer.

(6) All shares in respect of which1[dividend has not been paid or claimed for seven consecutive years or more shall be] transferred by the company in the name of Investor Education and Protection Fund along with a statement containing such details as may be prescribed:

Provided that any claimant of shares transferred above shall be entitled to claim the transfer of shares from Investor Education and Protection Fund in accordance with such procedure and on submission of such documents as may be prescribed.

2[Explanation.-- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that in case any dividend is paid or claimed for any year during the said period of seven consecutive years, the share shall not be transferred to Investor Education and Protection Fund.]

(7) If a company fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, the company shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees.

Section 124, The Companies Act, 2013 (Act 18 of 2013).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 125 Investor Education and Protection Fund

Referred to by 4

  1. Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act s. 10B Transfer of unpaid or unclaimed money
  2. Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act s. 10B Transfer of unpaid or unclaimed money
  3. s. 125 Investor Education and Protection Fund
  4. s. 126 Right to dividend, rights shares and bonus shares to be held in abeyance pending registration of transfer of shares

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Sageer Rashid K.A. & Ors. v. Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority

    High Court 08 Apr 2025 Persuasive (High Court Single Bench) W.P.(C) No.10247/2025 — Final Order/Judgment 08.04.2025 (Kerala HC — C.S. Dias J.)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Where shares and unclaimed dividends stand transferred to the IEPF under s.124(5)&(6) after remaining unclaimed in the unpaid dividend account for seven years, and claimants’ Form IEPF-5 applications remain pending beyond the sixty-day disposal mandate in Rule 7(6) of the IEPF Rules, the High Court will mandamus the Authority to consider and dispose of the claims expeditiously (here within 90 days), without expressing views on merits.

    On this section: Applies s.124’s unpaid-dividend/IEPF transfer-and-claim architecture: transfer under sub-ss.(5)–(6) triggers claimant entitlement, and prolonged inaction on IEPF Form-5 attracts mandamus for time-bound disposal.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Judgments citing this section

These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.

  1. High Court 29 Jan 2025 TSHC030001082021

    … Shri Radhakrishnayya, held debentures for the respondent company, which were converted into equity shares of the respondent company. As per the records of the respondent company, in compliance of Section 124 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rule made thereunder, one hundred (100) equity shares of Escorts Kubota Limited under Folio No.ESC0128791 belongs to Late Shri Pandurangarao Racherla has been transferred by the respondent company to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) on 04122017. If the petitioner …

    Read this order on eCourtsIndia

Made under this section, and citing it

9 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 124

What have the courts held on Section 124 of the Companies Act?

Sageer Rashid K.A. & Ors. v. Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (08 Apr 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applies s.124’s unpaid-dividend/IEPF transfer-and-claim architecture: transfer under sub-ss.(5)–(6) triggers claimant entitlement, and prolonged inaction on IEPF Form-5 attracts mandamus for time-bound disposal.

How do I find court cases under Section 124 of the Companies Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Companies Act 124, section 124 Companies Act, section 124 of the Companies Act. People searching for it also type corporation act 124. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Sageer Rashid K.A. & Ors. v. Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (08 Apr 2025).

What should I read with Section 124 of the Companies Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 125 (Investor Education and Protection Fund), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 9: most recently G.S.R. 396 (E)-Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Amendment Rules, 2021 (2021), then the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Amendment Rules, 2019 (2019), and 7 more.

When did Section 124 of the Companies Act come into force?

Section 124 of the Companies Act, cited as Companies Act 124, came into force on 01 Apr 2014, having been enacted on 29 Aug 2013. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.