Annual compliance for a private limited company: the complete checklist

A company whose AGM is held earlier files AOC-4 and MGT-7A from that earlier date. A newly incorporated company holds its first AGM within nine months of the end of its first financial year, and has no AGM in the year of incorporation if that year ended within the nine months.

Board meetings. At least four in a year, with no more than 120 days between two. A small company (paid-up capital up to ₹4 crore and turnover up to ₹40 crore) and a one-person company may hold two, at least 90 days apart. Notice of seven days, or shorter with consent. Every director discloses interests in Form MBP-1 at the first meeting of the year and whenever they change, and confirms non-disqualification in DIR-8.

The AGM. 21 clear days’ notice with the financial statements, the board’s report and the auditor’s report attached, held within six months of the year end and not more than 15 months after the previous one.

Minutes. Entered in the minute book within 30 days of each meeting, signed, and kept at the registered office.

Registers. Members, directors and key managerial personnel, charges, contracts in which directors are interested, loans and investments, and the register of beneficial owners where any individual holds 10 percent or more indirectly. Share certificates are issued within two months of allotment and transfers registered within one month.

Each of these is covered by our event-based ROC filing service; the annual plan covers the cycle above.

• ITR-6 by 31 October each year, with the tax audit report by 30 September where turnover exceeds ₹1 crore (₹10 crore with the 5 percent cash test). Companies file with a digital signature, whatever the size.
• Advance tax in four instalments on 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March.
• TDS: deposit by the 7th of each month and quarterly statements by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May; see our TDS calendar. A company must deduct tax on salaries, rent, contractors and professional fees from its first payment.
• GST returns on the monthly or quarterly cycle where registered.
• Transfer pricing report and the 30 November return date where there are transactions with associated enterprises abroad or specified domestic transactions.

From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 governs the company’s income, with the same dates and new section numbers.

Additional fee. AOC-4 and MGT-7 filed late attract ₹100 a day per form with no upper limit. Two years of arrears on both forms runs past ₹1.4 lakh before any penalty.

Penalties. Failure to file the financial statements or the annual return carries penalties on the company of ₹10,000 plus ₹100 a day to a maximum of ₹2 lakh, and on every officer in default up to ₹50,000, under sections 137 and 92. Small companies and OPCs pay half.

Disqualification. A director of a company that has not filed financial statements or annual returns for three consecutive years is disqualified under section 164(2) for five years from every company, and the DIN is flagged.

Strike-off. The Registrar can remove a company that has not filed for two consecutive financial years, without the company asking, under section 248(1). Restoration is through the tribunal.

The knock-on. Banks ask for filed accounts, investors ask for a clean master data page, and a company with defaults cannot file a strike-off application until the arrears are cleared; see our strike-off guide.

A private company with paid-up capital up to ₹4 crore and turnover up to ₹40 crore is a small company. It files the abridged annual return in MGT-7A, may hold two board meetings a year, need not prepare a cash-flow statement, is exempt from auditor rotation, and pays reduced penalties. It still needs a statutory audit from year one, still holds an AGM, still files AOC-4 and the annual return, and still deducts TDS. The relief is in the volume of paperwork, not in whether the paperwork exists.

Every item on this page is in our annual compliance plan for ₹4,999 a year, run by a compliance manager against the FY 2026-27 calendar. Filings are made on the MCA portal.