Auto-escalation
A SCORES 2.0 feature that automatically pushes an investor complaint to the next review level when a market participant or Designated Body misses the prescribed redressal timeline.
In plain language
An investor complaint should not sit unattended just because somebody missed a deadline. SEBI's complaint portal now has a built-in fix for exactly that.
The feature is called auto-escalation. If a market participant, or the body reviewing a complaint, fails to act within the timeline SCORES sets, the complaint does not simply stay stuck. It moves up to the next level automatically.
The investor does not have to notice the delay, or chase anyone, for this to happen.
How it works
SCORES 2.0, launched on 1 April 2024, sets a timeline of 21 calendar days from receipt of a complaint for the concerned entity to resolve it and upload an Action Taken Report (ATR). The system runs 2 levels of review: a first review by the Designated Body, if the investor is dissatisfied with the entity's ATR, and a second review by SEBI, if the investor remains dissatisfied after that.
Auto-escalation pushes a complaint to the next level automatically whenever the Market participant or the Designated Body fails to meet its prescribed timeline — the complaint does not need an investor to manually request escalation for this specific trigger. Related timelines that structure this workflow include the 15 calendar days an investor has to request a review after receiving an ATR, and the 10 days a Designated Body has to deliver a revised ATR to the complainant once a review begins.
SCORES 2.0 also integrates with the KYC Registration Agency database, to simplify investor registration on the platform, and introduces auto-routing of complaints to the concerned entity alongside auto-escalation.
A worked example
Mrs Kapadia files a complaint against a listed company on SCORES on 1 March, and the complaint is auto-routed to the company with a copy to its Designated Body. Under the 21-calendar-day timeline, the company should upload its Action Taken Report by 22 March.
The company misses this deadline entirely. Because SEBI's auto-escalation feature is built into SCORES 2.0, Mrs Kapadia's complaint does not remain stuck waiting for the company. It escalates automatically to the Designated Body for a first review, without Mrs Kapadia needing to log back in and manually request that escalation.
Had the company instead submitted its ATR on time, on 20 March, but Mrs Kapadia remained dissatisfied with the resolution, she would need to actively request a review within 15 calendar days of the ATR — a different, investor-initiated trigger from the automatic one that applies when the entity itself defaults on the timeline.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 13, section 13.1, lists auto-escalation as one of the salient features of SCORES 2.0, alongside the 21-day resolution timeline, the two-level review structure and KYC Registration Agency integration.
Expect a question distinguishing auto-escalation, which is triggered by a missed deadline, from an investor-requested review, which is triggered by dissatisfaction with a timely ATR — and on the specific timelines: 21 days to resolve, 15 days to request a review, 10 days for a Designated Body's revised ATR.
Common exam traps
- Auto-escalation is triggered by non-adherence to a timeline, not simply by investor dissatisfaction — dissatisfaction with a timely ATR instead triggers an investor-requested review within 15 days.
- There are two distinct review levels — Designated Body first, then SEBI — and auto-escalation can push a complaint into either, depending on which party misses its deadline.
- 21 calendar days is the entity's resolution deadline; 15 calendar days is the investor's review-request window; 10 days is the Designated Body's revised-ATR deadline — three different numbers, each attached to a different actor and a different stage.
- SCORES 2.0 launched on 1 April 2024, replacing the earlier version of the portal — do not cite the 2011 launch date of the original SCORES platform for the 2.0 features.
Check yourself
1.Within how many days must an entity redress a grievance and upload the Action Taken Report on SCORES?
- a)Fifteen
- b)Twenty-one
- c)Forty-five
- d)Sixty
Show the answer
Answer: (b) Twenty-one
Entities shall resolve the Complaint and upload the Action Taken Report (ATR) on SCORES within 21 calendar days of receipt of the Complaint. The ATR is automatically routed to the complainant.
Note "calendar days", not working days.
This is the headline timeline of SCORES 2.0: the timelines for redressal of investor complaints across the securities market i.e. 21 calendar days from date of receipt of complaint and Monitoring of the timely redressal of the investors' complaints by the 'Designated Bodies'.
The other three salient features: two levels of review: First review by the 'Designated Body'... Second review will by SEBI if the investor is still dissatisfied after the first review · introduction of auto-escalation of complaints to the next level in case of non-adherence to the prescribed timelines by the Market participant or the Designated Body · integration with KYC Registration Agency database for easy registration of the investor on to SCORES.
How the complaint gets to the entity: complaints lodged through SCORES are automatically forwarded to the concerned Entity with a copy marked to the Designated Body.
And missing the deadline has an automatic consequence: if a complainant files a review, or the Entity has not submitted the ATR within 21 days, the Designated Body shall begin the first review with the Entity.
The same 21 calendar days appears in ODR: in pre-conciliation, the market participant needs to resolve the dispute within 21 calendar days.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series VIRelated terms
- Action Taken ReportThe reply an entity must upload on SCORES saying what it did about an investor complaint — it is routed straight to the complainant and starts the clock on their right to ask for a review.
- Designated BodyUnder SEBI's revised SCORES framework, the body that monitors a regulated entity's complaint redressal and conducts the first review; for stock brokers it is the stock exchange.
- SCORES 2.0The version of SEBI's online complaint redress system launched on 1 April 2024, which auto-routes complaints, gives the entity 21 calendar days to file an Action Taken Report, and auto-escalates when it does not.
- Step-up strategyRaising retirement contributions by a set percentage every year instead of holding them flat, so that a saver who cannot afford the full fixed amount today still reaches the corpus.