Sahara depositors will get their refunds within 45 days, Amit Shah launches CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal: Read how it will work

On the 18th of July, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah launched the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS)-Sahara Refund Portal in New Delhi. It has been developed by a subsidiary of IFCI Ltd. and it will help over 10 crore depositors of Sahara Group in claiming their refund in a timely and transparent manner.

Union Minister @AmitShah launches the CRCS – Sahara Refund Portal https://t.co/FeCRfEyDAx in New Delhi today

This portal has been developed for submission of claims by genuine depositors of Cooperative Societies of Sahara Group – Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited,… pic.twitter.com/JeaAA8paou

— PIB India (@PIB_India) July 18, 2023

Former SC Judge and Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation Justice R. Subhash Reddy, several prominent dignitaries, and depositors of these four cooperatives of Sahara group were also present at the launch event. 

Speaking at the launch, Shah said, “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.” He assured that crores of people are going to receive their hard-earned money, which was stuck due to scams, within 45 days of submitting an application for the refunds. 

Hailing it as a great achievement, Shah highlighted that around 1.78 crore small investors, whose deposits of up to Rs. 30,000 were stuck in these four cooperatives will get a refund in the first phase. 

Shah added, “All the (central probing) agencies together filed a petition in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court gave a historic decision to form a committee under the chairmanship of a former Supreme Court judge to start the payment process in a transparent manner.” 

Further, Shah highlighted that depositors would initially get up to a Rs 10,000 refund. Subsequently, the refund amount would be increased for those who had invested higher amounts.

He mentioned that the first phase has begun with a corpus of Rs 5,000 crores with the launch of this portal. After the completion of the Rs 5,000 crore payment, another appeal will be made in the Supreme Court to return the amount to the remaining investors, the Minister said.

Earlier, on the 29th of March, the Union government had assured the depositors that the money will be refunded to 10 crore investors of the four cooperative societies within nine months. This was followed by the Supreme Court order that directed the release of a corpus of Rs 5000 crore from the “Sahara-SEBI Refund Account” to the CRCS so that refund could be disbursed to legitimate depositors of Sahara Group. 

Refund process

The CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal can be directly accessed online through the official website of the Ministry of Cooperation (https://cooperation.gov.in). The depositors will have to fill in all the necessary details to claim their refunds. 

In the initial phase, around 1.7 crore investors will be able to register themselves with the refund portal.

How will the portal work?

The CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal will work by linking your Aadhaar number to your mobile phone number. Second, the Aadhaar card must be linked to their bank account. Additionally, you will have to provide receipt details. Following this, you will be able to download a form, complete it, and re-upload it to the portal. Then the refunding procedure will start.

Notably, there is no charge for submitting the online form. 

How to apply on CRCS Sahara Refund Portal?

1. Open CRCS Sahara Refund Portal: Search https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in/ 
2. To register as a depositor, enter your 12-digit Membership Number, the last 4 digits of your Aadhaar Number, your 10-digit Aadhaar-linked Mobile Number, and the Captcha. Then click “Get OTP.”
3. Enter the OTP received on your Aadhaar-linked mobile number and complete the registration process.

1. On the depositor login screen, enter the last 4 digits of your Aadhaar Number, your 10-digit Aadhaar-linked Mobile Number, and the Captcha. Click “Get OTP.”
2. Enter the OTP.
3. Once logged in, give your consent as prompted by Aadhaar. On the next page, accept the terms and conditions by clicking “I agree.”

1. On the Personal Details screen, enter your 12-digit Aadhaar Number and click “Get OTP.” You will receive the OTP on your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
2. Enter the OTP and click “Verify OTP.”
3. After verifying the OTP, you will see your Aadhaar user details displayed, including First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and Father/Husband Name.
4. Optionally, you can enter your email address and click “Save Email,” then press the “Next” button.
5. Enter the details displayed on the Certificate of Deposit.
6. Click “Submit Claim” to view all the details in the grid below. Here, you can add multiple claim requests.
7. Once all the claim details are entered, the pre-filled claim request form will be prepared. Please ensure all claims are entered before preparing the form, as it cannot be changed or added later.
8. Affix your latest photograph and sign the claim form along with the photograph.
9. Upload the claim form and a copy of your PAN card on the “Upload Document” screen. Note that your PAN card is mandatory if the claim amount is ₹50,000 or more. The size limit for the claim request form, signed with the photograph and PAN card, is 12MB and 50KB.
10. A thank you page will appear with a claim request number. Make sure to note down the claim request number for future reference.

What documents would one need to apply for the refund?

• Membership number
• Deposit account number
• Mobile Number linked with Aadhaar (mandatory)
• Certificate of Deposit/Passbook
• PAN Card (if the claim amount is Rs.50,000/- and above it is mandatory)

How long will the process take?

Next, the Co-operative Societies of the Sahara Group will verify the claim within 30 days of submission. Afterwards, the applicants will be notified about their claim status. This will be done either through a text message or on the portal within 15 days after the verification process. 

The entire refund claim cycle is expected to take around 45 days.

Who all are eligible to get the refund and what are the cut-off dates to apply for claims

Genuine depositors of four Cooperative Societies of the Sahara Group will be able to submit their claims through this portal. These four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group include:

• Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited
• Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Limited
• Hamara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited
• Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited

Notably, the depositors of Cooperative Societies of Sahara Group who have deposited their money before the following dates and have outstanding receipts are eligible:

Depositors of the three following societies who have deposited before March 22, 2022

• Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited
• Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Limited
• Hamara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited

Depositors of the following society who have deposited before March 29, 2023

Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.

Deposits of around 10 crore individuals had been stuck in the four cooperative societies of the Sahara group. But this initiative of the Modi government will help these depositors in getting their refunds back in a timely and secure manner.