(5B) “Controller of Insurance” means the officer appointed by the Central Government under

section 2B to exercise all the powers, discharge the functions and perform the duties of the
Authority under this Act or the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (31 of 1956) or the
General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (57 of 1972) or the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999);]

Appointment of Controller of Insurance. — 6[(1) If at any time, the Authority is

superseded under sub-section (1) of section 19 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Act, 1999, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
a person to be the Controller of Insurance till such time the Authority is reconstituted under sub-
section (3) of section 19 of that Act.]

(2) In making any appointment under this section, the Central Government shall have due
regard to the following considerations, namely, whether the person to be appointed has had
experience in industrial, commercial or insurance matters and whether such person has
actuarial qualifications.]

3. Registration. — (1) No 4[person] shall, after the commencement of this Act, begin to carry
on any class of insurance business in 3[India] and no insurer carrying on any class of insurance
business in 3[India] shall, after the expiry of three months from the commencement of this Act,
continue to carry on any such business, unless he has obtained from the 5[Authority] a certificate
of registration 6[for the particular class of insurance business]:

7
[Provided that in the case of an insurer who was carrying on any class of insurance business
3
in [India] at the commencement of this Act, failure to obtain a certificate of registration in
accordance with the requirements of this sub-clause shall not operate to invalidate any contract of
insurance entered into by him if before 8[such date as may be fixed in this behalf by the Central
Government by notification in the Official Gazette], he has obtained that certificate.]

9
[Provided further that a person or insurer, as the case may be, carrying on any class of
insurance business in India, on or before the commencement of the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority Act, 1999, for which no registration certificate was necessary prior to
such commencement, may continue to do so for a period of three months from such
commencement or, if he had made an application for such registration within the said period of
three months, till the disposal of such application:

Provided also that any certificate of registration, obtained immediately before the
commencement of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, shall be
deemed to have been obtained from the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act.]
10
[(2) Every application for registration shall be made in such manner and shall be accompanied
by such documents as may be specified by the regulations.]
 1
[(2A) If, on receipt of an application for registration and after making such inquiry as he
deems fit, the 2[Authority] is satisfied that—

(a) the financial condition and the general character of management of the applicant are
sound;

(b) the volume of business likely to be available to, and the capital structure and earning
prospects of, the applicant will be adequate;

(c) the interests of the general public will be served if the certificate of registration is
granted tothe applicant in respect of the class or classes of insurance business specified in the
application; and

(d) the applicant has complied with the provisions of sections 2C, 3[5 and 31A] and has
fulfilledall the requirements of this section applicable to him,

the 2[Authority] may register the applicant as an insurer and grant him a certificate of registration.
4
[(2AA) The Authority shall give preference to register the applicant and grant him a certificate
of registration if such applicant agrees, in the form and manner as may be specified by the
regulations made by the Authority, to carry on the life insurance business or general insurance
business for providing health cover to individuals or group of individuals.]

(2B) Where the 2[Authority] refuses registration, shall record the reasons for such decision and
shall furnish a copy thereof to the applicant.
5
[(2C) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Authority refusing registration may, within
thirty days from the date on which a copy of the decision is received by him, appeal to the
Securities Appellate Tribunal.]
7
[(3) In the case of any insurer having joint venture with a person having its principal place of
business domiciled outside India or any insurer as defined in sub-clause (d) of clause (9) of section
2, the Authority may withhold registration already made if it is satisfied that in the country in
which such person has been debarred by law or practice of that country to carry on insurance
business.

(4) The Authority may suspend or cancel the registration of an insurer either wholly or in so
far as it relates to a particular class of insurance business, as the case may be, —

(a) if the insurer fails, at any time, to comply with the provisions of section 64VA as to the
excess of the value of his assets over the amount of his liabilities, or

(b) if the insurer is in liquidation or is adjudged as an insolvent, or

(c) if the business or a class of the business of the insurer has been transferred to any
person orhas been transferred to or amalgamated with the business of any other insurer without
the approval of the Authority, or
 (d) if the insurer makes default in complying with, or acts in contravention of, any
requirement of this Act or of any rule or any regulation or order made or, any direction
issued thereunder, or

(e) if the Authority has reason to believe that any claim upon the insurer arising in
India under any policy of insurance remains unpaid for three months after final judgment
in regular court of law, or

(f) if the insurer carries on any business other than insurance business or any
prescribed business,
or

(g) if the insurer makes a default in complying with any direction issued or order
made, as the case may be, by the Authority under the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999), or

(h) if the insurer makes a default in complying with, or acts in contravention of, any
requirement of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) or the General Insurance
Business (Nationalisation)Act, 1972 (57 of 1972) or the Foreign Exchange Management
Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) or the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2002),
or

(i) if the insurer fails to pay the annual fee required under section 3A, or

(j) if the insurer is convicted for an offence under any law for the time being in force,
or

(k) if the insurer being a co-operative society set up under the relevant State laws or,
as the case may be, the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 (39 of 2002),
contravenes the provisions of law as may be applicable to the insurer.

(5) When the Authority suspends or cancels any registration under clause (a), clause (d),
clause (e), clause (f), clause (g) or clause (i) of sub-section (4), it shall give notice in writing
to the insurer of its decision, and the decision shall take effect on such date as it may specify
in that behalf in the notice, such date not being less than one month not more than two months
from the date of the receipt of the notice in the ordinary course of transmission.

(5A) When the Authority suspends or cancels any registration under clause (b), (c), (j) or
(k) of sub-section (4), the suspension or cancellation, as the case may be, shall take effect on
the date on which notice of the order of suspension or cancellation is served on the insurer.]
1
[(5B) When a registration is cancelled the insurer shall not, after the cancellation has
taken effect, enter into any new contracts of insurance, but all rights and liabilities in respect
of contracts of insurance entered into by him before such cancellation takes effect shall,
subject to the provisions ofsub-section (5D), continue as if the cancellation had not taken
place.]
2
[(5C) Where a registration is suspended or cancelled under clause (a), clause (d),
clause (e), clause (f), clause (g) or clause (i) of sub-section (4), the Authority may at its
 discretion revive the registration, if the insurer within six months from the date on which the
suspension or cancellation took effect complies with the provisions of section 64VA as to
the excess of the value of his assets over the amount of his liabilities or has had an application
under sub-section (4) of section 3A accepted, or satisfies the Authority that no claim upon
him such as is referred to in clause (e) of sub-section (4) remains unpaid or that he has
complied with any requirement of this Act or the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999), or of any rule or any regulation, or any order made
thereunder or any direction issued under those Acts, or that he has ceased to carry on any
business other than insurance business or any prescribed business, as the case may be, and
complies with any directions which may be given to him by the Authority.]

1
[(5D) Where 2[the registration of an insurance company is cancelled under sub-section (4),
the 3[Authority] may,] after the expiry of six months from the date on which the cancellation
took effect, apply to the Court for an order to wind up the insurance company, or to wind up
the affairs of the company in respect of a class of insurance business, unless the registration
of the insurance company has been revived under sub-section (5C) or an application for
winding up the company has been already presented to the Court. The Court may proceed
as if an application under this sub-section were an application under sub-section (2) of section
53, or sub-section (1) of section 58, as the case may be.]
4
[(5E) The Authority may, by order, suspend or cancel any registration in such manner
as may be determined by the regulations made by it:

Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be made unless the person concerned
has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.]
6
[(7) The Authority may, on payment of such fee, not exceeding five thousand rupees,
as may be determined by the regulations, issue a duplicate certificate of registration to
replace a certificate lost, destroyed or mutilated, or in any other case where the Authority is
of opinion that the issue of duplicate certificate is necessary.]
7[3A. Payment of annual fee by insurer.— (1) An insurer who has been granted a
certificate of registration under section 3 shall pay such annual fee to the Authority in such
manner as may be specified by the regulations.
(2) Any failure to deposit the annual fee shall render the certificate of registration
liable to becancelled.]

1[27. Investment of assets. — (1) Every insurer shall invest and at all times keep invested

assets equivalent to not less than the sum of—

(a) the amount of his liabilities to holders of life insurance policies in India on
account of matured claims, and

(b) the amount required to meet the liability on policies of life insurance maturing for
payment in India,
 less—

(i) the amount of premiums which have fallen due to the insurer on such policies but
have not been paid and the days of grace for payment of which have not expired, and

(ii) any amount due to the insurer for loans granted on and within the surrender values
of policies of life insurance maturing for payment in India issued by him or by an insurer
whose business he has acquired and in respect of which he has assumed liability in the
following manner, namely: —

(a) twenty-five per cent. of the said sum in Government securities, a further sum
equal to not less than twenty-five per cent. of the said sum in Government securities
or other approved securities; and

(b) the balance in any of the approved investments,

as may be specified by the regulations subject to the limitations, conditions and

(2) In the case of an insurer carrying on general insurance business, twenty per cent. of
the assets in Government Securities, a further sum equal to not less than ten per cent. of the
assets in Government Securities or other approved securities and the balance in any other
investment in accordance with the regulations of the Authority and subject to such
limitations, conditions and restrictions as may be specified by the Authority in this regard.

Explanation. —In this section, the term “assets” means all the assets of insurer at their
carrying value but does not include any assets specifically held against any fund or portion
thereof in respect of which the Authority is satisfied that such fund or portion thereof, as the
case may be, is regulated by the law of any country outside India or miscellaneous
expenditure or in respect of which the Authority is satisfied that it would not be in the interest
of the insurer to apply the provisions of this section.

(3) For the purposes of sub-sections (1) and (2), any specified assets shall, subject to such
conditions, if any, as may be specified, be deemed to be assets invested or kept invested in
approved investments specified by regulations.

(4) In computing the assets referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2), any investment made
with reference to any currency other than the Indian rupee which is in excess of the amount
required to meet the liabilities of the insurers in India with reference to that currency, to the
extent of such excess, shall not be taken into account:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect the operation of sub-
section (2):
Provided further that the Authority may, either generally or in any particular case, direct
that any investment shall, subject to such conditions as may be imposed, be taken into
account, in such manner as may be specified in computing the assets referred to in sub-
sections (1) and (2) and where any direction has been issued under this proviso, copies
thereof shall be laid before each house of Parliament as soon as may be after it is issued.
 (5) Where an insurer has accepted re-insurance in respect of any policies of life insurance
issued by another insurer and maturing for payment in India or has ceded re-insurance to
another insurer in respect of any such policies issued by himself, the sum referred to in sub-
section (1) shall be increased by the amount of the liability involved in such acceptance and
decreased by the amount of the liability involved in such cession.
(6) The Government securities and other approved securities in which assets are under
sub-section (1)or sub-section (2) to be invested and kept invested shall be held by the insurer
free of any encumbrance, charge, hypothecation or lien.
(7) The assets required by this section to be held invested by an insurer incorporated or
domiciled outside India shall, except to the extent of any part thereof which consists of
foreign assets held outside India, be held in India and all such assets shall be held in trust for
the discharge of the liabilities of the nature referred to in sub-section (1) and shall be vested
in trustees resident in India and approved by the Authority, and the instrument of trust under
this sub-section shall be executed by the insurer with the approval of the Authority and shall
define the manner in which alone the subject-matter of the trust shall be dealt with.
Explanation. —This sub-section shall apply to an insurer incorporated in India whose
share capital to the extent of one-third is owned by, or the members of whose governing
body to the extent of one-third consists of members domiciled elsewhere than in India.]

1[43.Record of insurance agents. —(1) Every insurer and every person who, acting on
behalf of an insurer employs insurance agents shall maintain a record showing the name and
address of every insurance agent appointed by him and the date on which his appointment
began and the date, if any, on which his appointment ceased.
(2) The record prepared by the insurer under sub-section (1), shall be maintained as
long as theinsurance agent is in service and for a period of five years after the cessation of
appointment.]

101B. Advisory Committee. (1) 2 [The Authority with the previous approval of the
Central Government] shall, for the purposes of section 101 A, constitute an Advisory
Committee consisting of not more than five persons having special knowledge and
experience of the business of insurance.
(2) The term of office of, and the allowances payable to, members of the Advisory
Committee, the procedure to be followed by, and the quorum necessary for the transaction
of business of, the Committee and the manner of filling casual vacancies therein shall be
such as may be 3[determined by the regulations made by the Authority].