The annual accounts and the annual return are remembered because they are visible. The filings in this note are forgotten because nothing in the ordinary running of a company reminds anyone that they are due — and because each of them carries a penalty structure that does not scale with the size of the company.
1. DIR-3 KYC — the one that switches a director off
Every individual holding a Director Identification Number as at 31 March of a financial year must file the KYC form for that year. The due date is 30 September following.
Where the particulars are unchanged from the previous year, the filing is made through the web-based service. Where any particular has changed — mobile number, email, address — the full form must be filed, with the revised particulars verified.
2. DPT-3 — the return most private companies wrongly believe does not apply
The return in Form DPT-3 is filed annually, on or before 30 June, for the year ended 31 March. The common error is to assume that a company which has accepted no deposits has nothing to file.
The form covers both deposits and, separately, particulars of transactions that are not deposits — money received that falls within the exemptions. That includes amounts received from directors, amounts received from a holding company, and secured or unsecured borrowings that are excluded from the definition. A private company with a director's loan on its balance sheet at 31 March has something to report, whether or not it has ever taken a deposit.
The return is to be filed with an auditor's certificate where required, and the outstanding figures reported must agree with the audited balance sheet as at 31 March.
3. MSME Form I — half-yearly, and now cross-checked
A company that receives goods or services from a micro or small enterprise, and whose payment to that supplier remains outstanding beyond forty-five days from the date of acceptance, must report the outstanding amount and the reason for delay.
| Period covered | Due date |
|---|---|
| April to September | 31 October |
| October to March | 30 April |
This return should be prepared from the same working that supports the disallowance analysis under Section 43B(h) of the Income-tax Act. If the two are prepared independently by different people, they will disagree — and the disagreement is on public record at the Registry on one side and in the tax audit report on the other.
4. The event-based filings that are missed most often
- INC-20A — declaration for commencement of business, within 180 days of incorporation. Until it is filed the company cannot commence business or borrow, and the Registrar may initiate action to strike the company off.
- ADT-1 — intimation of appointment of auditor, within 15 days of the annual general meeting at which the appointment is made.
- PAS-3 — return of allotment, within 30 days of allotment of any securities. Late filing of this form is one of the most common causes of a subsequent funding round stalling in diligence.
- BEN-2 — return of significant beneficial owners, within 30 days of receipt of a declaration in BEN-1.
- DIR-12 — particulars of appointment or cessation of directors and key managerial personnel, within 30 days.
- PAS-6 — reconciliation of share capital audit report, half-yearly, applicable to unlisted public companies.
- MGT-14 — filing of specified board and shareholder resolutions, within 30 days of passing.
5. Why the additional fee structure punishes small delays hard
For most forms, additional fee accrues on a multiple of the normal fee, stepping up with the length of the delay. For the annual accounts in Form AOC-4 and the annual return in Form MGT-7 or 7A, the position is different and considerably harsher: additional fee runs per day of delay, without an upper multiple, from the day after the due date.
The result is asymmetric. A form filed two days late costs little. The same form filed eight months late, discovered when a bank asks for a company search during a loan appraisal, can cost more than the professional fee for the entire year's compliance.
No company has ever been penalised for a filing it knew was due. Every penalty we have seen was paid on a filing nobody had on a list.The AKV working rule
6. The calendar, in one place
| Filing | Frequency | Due |
|---|---|---|
| MSME Form I (Oct–Mar) | Half-yearly | 30 April |
| DPT-3 | Annual | 30 June |
| DIR-3 KYC | Annual | 30 September |
| MSME Form I (Apr–Sep) | Half-yearly | 31 October |
| AOC-4 | Annual | Within 30 days of the AGM |
| MGT-7 / MGT-7A | Annual | Within 60 days of the AGM |
| ADT-1 | On appointment | Within 15 days of the AGM |
Due dates are occasionally relaxed by circular for a particular year, and the annual filing dates move with the date of the general meeting actually held. The firm's compliance calendar carries the recurring dates across Income-tax, GST, TDS and the Companies Act on one page.
7. What good looks like
An entity-wise register listing every filing the company is subject to, the responsible person, the source document each filing draws from, and the date filed with the service request number. Reviewed once a quarter. It takes an afternoon to build and it makes this entire category of expense disappear.
Scope of advice. This firm advises on the Indian tax, exchange-control and regulatory position. Where a matter also turns on the law of the country in which you are resident or in which an entity is incorporated, we set out the Indian position and coordinate with your adviser in that jurisdiction; we do not render advice on foreign law.
Discussing your position. If any part of this affects a transaction you are contemplating, the useful conversation is the one that happens before it is executed. A scoping call is the appropriate first step.
This article is general commentary on the law as it stands and is not advice on any specific facts. Positions in tax, corporate and exchange-control law change with amendments, notifications and judicial decisions; please confirm the current position with the firm before acting.