Concerned over increasing delivery defaults on the exchanges, commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission has decided to hike penalty to three per cent and has authorised exchanges to deliver the commodity.
"To protect the interest of the buyer, we have increased the penalty fee to three per cent from earlier 2.5 per cent," Forward Markets Commission (FMC) Chairman B C Khatua told PTI.
Earlier, an affected party was entitled half a per cent of the contracted amount from the defaulters -- buyers and sellers. With the hike in penalty, the affected party would now get one per cent, he said, adding that the remaining two per cent would go to the Exchange's Investor Protection Fund.
New norms would be applicable from October, Khatua said.
Besides penalty, the FMC has also asked exchanges to ensure that delivery takes place on their platforms, if goods are there in the warehouses.
"If a seller has deposited commodity in the exchange- accredited warehouse, the exchanges are authorised to arrange the delivery to the buyer," he said.
The regulator, which has issued a circular to all the commodity exchanges, has also taken some additional measures to protect genuine buyers in case they do not get delivery from sellers.