Company Annual Filing in India
AOC-4, MGT-7 & ROC Annual Compliance Under the Companies Act 2013
AOC-4 financial statements, MGT-7 annual return, ADT-1 auditor appointment, DIR-3 KYC, DPT-3 deposit return, and MSME-1 — every mandatory annual filing for Indian companies, tracked against a single compliance calendar and filed on time with the MCA.
Overview
What Is Company Annual Filing?
Company annual filing is the set of statutory filings that every company registered in India must complete each year with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and other authorities under the Companies Act, 2013. It centres on two core forms — Form AOC-4 for the financial statements and Form MGT-7 for the annual return — but a full compliance year also includes the auditor appointment, director KYC, deposit return, and several event-based filings. Missing any of them exposes the company to a Rs. 100-per-day penalty and its directors to disqualification.
At N D Savla & Associates, our Mumbai Chartered Accountants manage the entire annual compliance calendar for private limited companies, public companies, and OPCs. We track every deadline from your AGM, prepare and file each form on the MCA portal, and keep the Registrar's records clean — delivered as one coordinated engagement under our wider company compliance service.
Annual filing is distinct from — but connected to — a company's income tax and GST compliance. The ROC filings report to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, while the income tax return reports to the Income Tax Department. A well-run company treats them as one integrated compliance calendar. The same audited numbers flow into several of these filings, so preparing them together — rather than form by form at each deadline — is both cheaper and far less error-prone.
Annual Filing Requirements
Mandatory Annual Filings for a Company (31 March Year-End)
A company's annual compliance is a set of separate forms, each with its own purpose and deadline. The table below summarises the main ones for a company with a 31 March financial year-end:
| Form | Purpose | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| AOC-4 | Financial statements (balance sheet & P&L) | 30 days from AGM (OPC: 180 days from FY end) |
| MGT-7 / MGT-7A | Annual return (governance snapshot) | 60 days from AGM |
| ADT-1 | Auditor appointment / reappointment | 15 days from AGM |
| DIR-3 KYC | Director KYC for every DIN holder | 30 June |
| DPT-3 | Return of deposits and outstanding loans | 30 June |
| MSME-1 | Half-yearly return of dues to MSME vendors | 30 April and 31 October |
| ITR-6 | Income tax return (filed with Income Tax Dept) | 31 October (audited companies) |
Because most deadlines are anchored to the AGM, holding the AGM on time — by 30 September — is what keeps the whole calendar on track. A delayed AGM pushes every dependent filing and multiplies the risk of penalties.
Compliance Calendar
The Annual Compliance Calendar at a Glance
Good annual compliance runs to a calendar rather than a year-end rush. For a company with a 31 March year-end, the key dates fall roughly as follows:
| Approximate Date | Key Compliance |
|---|---|
| 30 April | MSME-1 return for the October–March period |
| 30 June | DPT-3 return of deposits and DIR-3 KYC for all directors |
| By 30 September | Hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) |
| Within 15 days of AGM | File ADT-1 for auditor appointment / reappointment |
| Within 30 days of AGM | File AOC-4 (financial statements) |
| 31 October | MSME-1 for April–September; ITR-6 income tax return |
| Within 60 days of AGM | File MGT-7 / MGT-7A (annual return) |
By Company Type
How Annual Filing Differs Across Company Types
Every company files annually, but the exact forms and effort vary by structure. Here are the four most common profiles:
Private Limited Companies
The most common filers — submitting AOC-4, MGT-7, and ADT-1 each year, plus DPT-3 and DIR-3 KYC. The most common category where deadlines are missed because founders run compliance alongside the actual business — which is exactly why a managed calendar with early reminders pays for itself.
One Person Companies (OPC)
OPCs file AOC-4 within 180 days of the financial year-end (not 30 days from the AGM) and the simplified MGT-7A annual return — a lighter but still mandatory cycle with its own deadlines, tracked as part of our OPC compliance service.
Public & Listed Companies
Public and listed companies carry the heaviest load — AOC-4 (often XBRL), MGT-7, secretarial audit, and SEBI listing obligations. For a listed company, several filings are also public disclosures with fixed market timelines, raising the stakes considerably beyond what a private company faces.
Dormant & NBFC Companies
Dormant companies file a lighter MSC-3 return but must stay current. NBFCs layer RBI returns on top of ROC annual filings, so both records must stay aligned — a mismatch between the two is a regulatory red flag that a single team handling both sets together prevents.
Companies with MSME Creditors
Companies with outstanding payments to micro and small enterprise vendors beyond 45 days must file the MSME-1 half-yearly return in April and October. This is frequently missed because it sits outside the main AGM-anchored cycle — and the penalties are the same Rs. 100-per-day as every other ROC form.
Companies Behind on Filings
A company that has missed one or more years of annual filings accumulates per-day fees and risks director disqualification. Filing even one pending year resets the three-year continuous default clock and stops disqualification from triggering. Relief measures such as the CCFS have also reduced fees for clearing backlogs.
Our Services
Our Company Annual Filing Services
Our annual filing engagement coordinates every form in the compliance year — so nothing falls through the cracks and every deadline is met as one integrated calendar, not a series of last-minute rushes.
Compliance Calendar Management & AGM Coordination
Form AOC-4 — Financial Statements Filing
Companies Act 2013 – Section 137; due within 30 days of AGM
Form MGT-7 / MGT-7A — Annual Return Filing
Companies Act 2013 – Section 92; due within 60 days of AGM
ADT-1, DIR-3 KYC & DPT-3 Filing
ADT-1: 15 days from AGM | DIR-3 KYC & DPT-3: 30 June
MSME-1 Half-Yearly Return & ITR-6 Coordination
MSME-1: 30 April & 31 October | ITR-6: 31 October
Late Filing & CCFS Regularisation
Section 164(2) — director disqualification after 3 continuous years of default
Broader Practice
Our Broader Company Compliance Services
Annual filing is the centrepiece of the compliance year — but it connects to a full set of company compliance services:
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions on Company Annual Filing
What are the mandatory annual filings for a company?
What is the due date for AOC-4 and MGT-7?
Is annual filing mandatory for a company with no business activity?
What is the penalty for late annual filing?
Can I outsource my company's annual filing?
Keep every annual filing on time — and your directors protected.
Talk to N D Savla & Associates — AOC-4, MGT-7, DIR-3 KYC, DPT-3, MSME-1, and all other annual filings managed as one coordinated calendar.
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