Why were the shares not eligible for corporate action benefits even though they were purchased before the ex-date?

Investors need to hold the shares in their demat accounts on or before the ex-date or record date to be eligible for corporate action benefits. In order to receive corporate action advantages, shares must be credited to the demat account by the record date or ex-date. Nonetheless, shares purchased on or before the day before the record date or ex-date will always be credited, with the exception of the following situations:

• Settlement holiday: On the following working settlement day, the shares will be credited to the demat account if there is a settlement holiday on the ex-date or record date. The shares won’t be eligible for any corporate action benefits. For example, if the shares are purchased on Monday but the record date, Tuesday, is a settlement holiday. The shares will only be delivered by Wednesday.
• Short delivery: A transaction is deemed short when the seller does not deliver the shares. In these circumstances, the exchange typically conducts an auction and sends the shares to the demat account by T+2 days. Consequently, shares that are bought on Monday but are credited to the demat account on Wednesday or later because of a delayed delivery would not qualify for corporate action benefits because they were not in the demat account on the ex-date/record date.