It has been noticed that many stock brokers are indicating in the nomination field that investors have opted not to participate as the deadline for Demat account nominations draws closer. Without the investors’ permission, brokers are conducting this experiment. With a circular released on Monday, the nation’s biggest depository, National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), issued a warning to such market players. Participants are particularly requested not to fill up nomination blanks on their own by NSDL, which manages Demat securities worth more than Rs 300 lakh crore.

According to the depository, the broker can only edit this data with the investors’ permission, And According to NSDL, altering the nomination field without the investors’ approval is contrary to the circulars’ intent and has been taken seriously. Some stock brokers are changing the nomination field without the investor’s permission by claiming that the investor has opted out of the process with only four days remaining for the nomination update. Investors who have not altered the nomination themselves are experiencing this. Investors’ trading accounts would become dormant after 30th September, 2023, if they fail to provide nomination information by the deadline, according to SEBI, the market regulator. The stock broker cannot charge for changing the nomination or writing opting out in that area as the market regulator has requested to update the same. In addition, the circular makes clear that investors who submitted nominations prior to the circular’s release are not required to do so again. This has been left up to the discretion of such investors.