CRCS Sahara Refund Portal Launch: The Union Government has launched CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal today. The portal was launched by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah in Delhi. The portal will help crores of depositors of Sahara Group claim their money back.
“The process of returning the money of depositors, which was stuck in four cooperative societies of Sahara Group, has started with the launch of Sahara Refund Portal,” Union Minister Amit Shah said while launching the refund portal.
Earlier in a statement dated July 17, the Ministry of Cooperation said, “To address the grievances of genuine members/depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies for payment of their legitimate deposits, the Ministry of Cooperation had filed an application in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide its order dated 29th March, 2023 had directed that Rs. 5000 Crores be transferred out of the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’, to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) for disbursement against the legitimate dues of the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.”
“A Portal has been developed for submission of legitimate claims by the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies namely- Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd., Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd,” it added.
CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal Link Online
Even as the Sahara Refund Portal has been launched, the online link of the portal was not working as of 2.19 pm on July 18. The link to the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal is available on the website of Ministry of Cooperation (https://cooperation.gov.in/)
(We will share an update here as soon as the online link starts working)
How much money will be refunded?
In the initial phase, the refund portal will disburse up to Rs 5000 crore to depositors. However, each depositor will be able to get only Rs 10,000 in the first phase.
Amit Shah said that initially Rs 10,000 will be returned to investors on a trial basis. Slowly, the amount of refund may be increased if the trial succeeds.
As many as 1 crore and 7 lakh investors can register on the refund portal and claim up to Rs 10,000 in the initial phase, Shah said. There are 4 crore depositors who are eligible to get up to Rs 10,000.
Amit Shah said once this initiative succeeds, further decisions to address claims of depositors, who have more money stuck in the Sahara Group’s cooperative societies will be taken. The entire process of refund will be online.
How to claim refund on Sahara Refund Portal: Two conditions
For making the claim, the depositor’s Aadhaar should be linked to their Mobile numbers and Bank accounts. They will have to provide receipt details also. Shah also said that depositors will have to download a form, fill it and re-upload it on the portal for further processing of the refund.
How long will it take to get a refund?
Shah assured that the money will be deposited into the bank account of the claimants within 45 days.
What will CRCS Sahara Refund Portal do?
The purpose of the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal is to protect the interests of members of the cooperatives. The portal will help address the genuine claims of depositors who had invested money in Sahara Group’s cooperative societies namely – Sahara CreditCooperative Society Ltd, Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd.
Watch: Amit Shah launches Sahara Refund Portal
Supreme Court order
In its order dated 29th March 2023, the Supreme Court of Inia said that Rs 5000 crore be transferred out of the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’ to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) for disbursement against the legitimate dues of the genuine depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.
Earlier on March 29, the Government had said that money will be returned to 10 crore investors of the four cooperative societies of Sahara Group within 9 months. The announcement was made after the above-mentioned SC order.
