MUMBAI, July 5: Even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed the norms governing encashment of dividend/interest warrants, several finance firms and medium-size companies are still facing problems as the central bank has allowed to extend the `at par' encashment facility only on select basis. As this is the season for payment of dividend/interest income, several companies have delayed despatch of warrants following the removal of `at par' facility. Several well-known companies like Wartsila Diesel, Raymond Ltd, Ceat Financial Services, ITC Classic Finance and Hindustan Lever will be able to send dividend/interest warrants within the stipulated time. Earlier these companies faced delay in sending the warrants.

RBI had advised banks that they could relax the ceiling amount of Rs 10,000 prescribed for an instrument payable `at par' and the number of designated branches on merits of each case for select clients. ``These select clients may not include hundreds of finance companies. After the CRB scam, banks are taking extra caution when it comes to interest warrant encashment of finance companies. In view of this development, payment to thousands of investors who had put money in fixed deposit schemes of finance companies are getting delayed,'' said a senior official with a finance company.

The RBI has also stipulated that the decision to exceed the ceiling amount of the instruments to be covered under the facility or to increase the number of designated branches should have the approval of the board/management committee of the bank concerned. ``As a result of this stipulation, banks are taking their own time to get the requisite board permission for giving warrant facility to companies. Established companies will benefit from the relaxation by the RBI. This is discrimination by the RBI. What are the parameters to be considered for the extension of the facility on select basis?'' he said.

Many companies have not sent dividend/interest warrants to investors following the tough norms introduced by the central bank. In the case of several companies, warrants issued by them were not honoured by banks. Nearly 100 companies which have issued cheques to shareholders/depositors will now benefit from the relxation. ``The RBI will have to do something to bail out companies which don't come under the `select clients' category. Otherwise investors will continue to suffer,'' market sources said.