Annual Compliance for Companies

Filing deadlines and forms are periodically revised. This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.

Board Meetings

Every company must hold a minimum of 4 board meetings a year, with a gap of no more than 120 days between two consecutive meetings, plus an Annual General Meeting (AGM) within 6 months of the financial year end (9 months for the first AGM after incorporation). Small companies and OPCs get relief here, needing only 2 board meetings a year with a minimum gap of 90 days, and OPCs are exempt from holding an AGM at all, as covered in the OPC article on this site.

Annual Filings: MGT-7 and AOC-4

Form AOC-4 (financial statements, including the balance sheet and profit and loss account) is due within 30 days of the AGM. Form MGT-7 (or MGT-7A for small companies and OPCs, a simplified annual return) is due within 60 days of the AGM. Both attract a flat additional fee of ₹100 per day of delay, uncapped, which is what makes even a short delay expensive relative to most other regulatory late fees.

The ROC Compliance Calendar

Beyond AOC-4 and MGT-7, a company’s calendar can include DIR-3 KYC for each director, DPT-3 (return of deposits, even nil), MSME-1 (half-yearly reporting of outstanding MSME dues), and, depending on structure, forms for director changes, charge registration, or share allotments as those events occur. Persistent non-filing of annual returns and financial statements over consecutive years is itself grounds for the company to be struck off and directors disqualified, the same consequence covered for LLPs elsewhere on this site.