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Understand the Market. Evaluate the Evidence. Own the Decision. Portexa cuts through market noise and transforms data into structured intelligence — bringing together trends, momentum, volume, risk, valuation, and market activity so you can identify what matters and act with confidence. We provide the intelligence. You make the call.

Book Close

Market Guide · guide 5 of 7 · Intermediate · about 10 min

Understand the Market. Evaluate the Evidence. Own the Decision.
Portexa cuts through market noise and transforms data into structured intelligence — bringing together trends, momentum, volume, risk, valuation, and market activity so you can identify what matters and act with confidence. We provide the intelligence. You make the call.
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Guide 5 of 7 · Dividends, bonus and rights

Book close: who gets the dividend, bonus or right

A book close is the date a company freezes its shareholder list to decide who receives a corporate benefit. This guide explains the dates around it, the last day you can buy and still qualify, how NEPSE adjusts the price on the ex-date, the tax on each benefit, and worked examples.

On this page

    What a book close is

    A snapshot of the share register on one date.

    When a company decides to pay a dividend, issue bonus shares, offer right shares or hold its annual general meeting, it must know exactly who its shareholders are. It announces a book-close date: whoever holds the shares in their Demat account on that date receives the benefit (or the vote). Nepali companies use a single book-close date rather than a multi-day closure, and NEPSE publishes every one in its notices.

    Cash dividend

    Paid per share as a percentage of the Rs 100 face value: a 12% cash dividend is Rs 12 per share, credited to your bank after 5% tax.

    Bonus shares

    Free shares from reserves in a ratio: 10% bonus = one new share for every ten held. Taxed at 5% of face value, deducted from the cash component or collected separately.

    Right shares

    The chance to buy new shares, usually at Rs 100, in a ratio such as 1:5. Only holders on the book-close date may apply, through MeroShare.

    AGM and others

    Voting rights, mergers, and the swap ratio in an acquisition are also fixed by a book close.

    The four dates, and the one that matters

    Because trades settle on T+2, the last day to buy is two trading days before the book close.

    AnnouncementBoard decisionThe company's board proposes the dividend or issue and sets the book-close date; NEPSE publishes the notice.
    Last cum-dateBook close − 2 trading daysThe last session on which a purchase still settles before the book close. Buy by the close of this day.
    Ex-dateBook close − 1 trading dayNEPSE adjusts the reference price for bonus and rights. Shares bought today do not qualify.
    Book closeThe recordHolders in the Demat register today receive the benefit. Shares bought on or after the ex-date arrive too late.
    The rule in one line. To receive a benefit, own the shares — settled in your Demat — on the book-close date. A purchase settles two trading days later, so the last day to buy is two trading days before the book close; count trading days only (Sunday–Thursday, no holidays).
    Selling works the other way. If you sell on the ex-date or later you keep the benefit; if you sell on or before the last cum-date you give it up — the buyer receives it.

    Worked example: a bank declares 20% (10% cash, 10% bonus)

    Follow one announcement through to the credits.

    Suppose a bank announces a 20% dividend for the year — 10% cash and 10% bonus — with the book close on Thursday. Its share closed at Rs 550 the day before the ex-date.

    1. Notice published two to three weeks earlier

      The board's decision and the book-close date appear in NEPSE's notice and the company's own announcement. The corporate-actions calendar lists it with the last buying date already worked out.

    2. Last cum-date — Tuesday

      Buy by Tuesday's close and the shares settle on Thursday, the book-close date. This is the last day a buyer receives the 20%.

    3. Ex-date — Wednesday

      NEPSE adjusts the reference price for the 10% bonus: Rs 550 ÷ 1.10 = Rs 500. Cash dividends are not adjusted in the reference price, though the market usually marks them down. Trading continues inside the ±10% band around Rs 500.

    4. Book close — Thursday

      CDSC gives the company its list of holders as of today. There is nothing for you to do.

    5. Credits weeks to a few months later

      Cash of Rs 9.50 per share (Rs 10 less 5% tax) arrives in your bank; one bonus share per ten held is credited to your Demat once SEBON approves the bonus issue. Bonus shares are taxed at 5% of face value — Rs 5 per bonus share — which the company usually deducts from the cash dividend.

    Held100 sharesbought at Rs 550 on the last cum-date
    Cash receivedRs 900Rs 1,000 less 5% dividend tax, less Rs 50 bonus tax
    Bonus received10 sharesworth Rs 5,000 at the adjusted price
    Holding after110 × Rs 500= Rs 55,000, the same value as before
    A bonus does not create value on the day. You own more shares of the same company at a lower price. The gain comes only if the price recovers toward the old level — which it may or may not do.

    How the ex-date price is worked out

    Two formulas cover every case.

    BenefitAdjusted reference priceExample (close Rs 1,000)
    Bonus b%Close ÷ (1 + b ÷ 100)20% bonus → 1,000 ÷ 1.20 = Rs 833.33
    Rights r% at price P(Close + r ÷ 100 × P) ÷ (1 + r ÷ 100)1:2 rights (50%) at Rs 100 → (1,000 + 50) ÷ 1.5 = Rs 700
    Bonus and rights together(Close + r ÷ 100 × P) ÷ (1 + b ÷ 100 + r ÷ 100)10% bonus + 1:5 rights at Rs 100 → (1,000 + 20) ÷ 1.30 = Rs 784.62
    Cash dividendNo adjustment in NEPSE's reference priceMarket usually prices the cash out on its own

    The adjusted price becomes the base for the ±10% daily band on the ex-date. Portexa's historical charts are restated by the same adjustment so a bonus never shows as a crash — the price-adjustment record holds every event.

    Right shares: you have to act

    Eligibility is automatic; the application is not.

    1. Be on the register

      Hold the shares on the book-close date (buy by the last cum-date). Eligibility is fixed in the announced ratio — 1:5 means one right for every five shares; fractions are ignored.

    2. Apply in MeroShare during the window

      After SEBON approval the company opens a rights application period, typically 35 days. Apply in My ASBA with your CRN and PIN; the money is blocked in your bank. How to apply →

    3. Unapplied rights are auctioned

      Rights you do not take up lapse; the company auctions the unsubscribed shares later. You do not receive the auction proceeds.

    Is a right worth taking? Only if the adjusted price is above the offer price by more than the costs, and you still want more of the company. A right at Rs 100 when the ex-price is Rs 700 is clearly valuable; a right at Rs 100 when the share trades at Rs 105 is barely a discount.

    Tax on each benefit

    Withheld at source; you receive the net.

    BenefitTaxTaken from
    Cash dividend5% of the dividendThe payment; you receive 95%.
    Bonus shares5% of face value (Rs 5 per Rs 100 share)The cash component, or collected by the company before crediting the shares.
    Right sharesNone on allotmentCapital-gains tax applies when you eventually sell, on the gain over Rs 100.
    Selling later5% (held ≥ 365 days) or 7.5%The sale proceeds, on the gain. Bonus shares' cost base is their face value.

    A checklist for every book close

    Six lines, in order.

    • Read the notice — the benefit, the ratio and the book-close date. Note whether the bonus still needs SEBON approval.
    • Count back two trading days for the last cum-date, skipping Friday, Saturday and holidays.
    • Work out the ex-price with the formulas above and decide whether you want the shares at that price — you are buying the company, not the dividend.
    • Check your bank and Demat details in MeroShare so the cash and the shares land.
    • For rights, diarise the application window and apply early; a lapsed right is gone.
    • Verify the credit in your bank statement and MeroShare's transaction history, and record it in your portfolio log.

    What to remember

    • Whoever holds the shares in their Demat on the book-close date receives the dividend, bonus or right.
    • Because trades settle on T+2, the last day to buy (the last cum-date) is two trading days before the book close.
    • On the ex-date NEPSE adjusts the reference price for bonus and rights — a bonus adds shares, not value, on the day.
    • Rights must be applied for in MeroShare during the window; a right you do not apply for lapses.

    About this guide. Written for investors in the Nepal Stock Exchange. Fees, tax rates, market hours and price bands follow the schedules published by NEPSE, SEBON, CDSC and the Inland Revenue Department and change from time to time — confirm the current figure with your broker or depository participant before you act on it. Nothing here is investment advice.