MCA / ROC Filings for a Company in India: Annual Compliance and What Goes to the NCLT (2026)

How-To · Company Compliance

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Every company registered in India has to file forms with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) each year, even if it did no business. Miss them and the extra fees add up daily, directors can be disqualified, and the company can be struck off the register. This guide lists the core annual filings on the MCA portal, their due dates, the late fees, and what a default can lead to, including matters before the NCLT. Last verified: October 2026.

01What ROC filing means

ROC filing means submitting your company’s statutory forms to the Registrar of Companies through the MCA portal run by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The filings keep the public record of your company current: its accounts, its shareholders, its directors and its registered office.

The duty applies to every company under the Companies Act, 2013, whether it is active or dormant, profit making or loss making. A company with no turnover still has to file. This is the point many small founders miss, and it is the reason most strike-off cases begin.

The records are public. Lenders, buyers and courts can all read what you filed, or see that you did not file.

02The core annual filings

Most companies need to complete these filings every year.

1. AOC-4: files the financial statements, meaning the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and the directors’ report with its attachments. Companies that must file in XBRL format use the XBRL version of the form.
2. MGT-7 (or MGT-7A): the annual return. It records shareholders, directors, shareholding pattern and key company details as on the year end. Small companies and One Person Companies file the shorter MGT-7A.
3. DIR-3 KYC: the yearly KYC of every person who holds a Director Identification Number (DIN), filed by the director and not by the company.
4. ADT-1: notice of appointment of the auditor, filed after the AGM at which an auditor is appointed.
5. MSME-1: a half-yearly return for companies that owe dues to micro and small enterprises for more than 45 days.
6. DPT-3: a return of deposits and outstanding loans, due each year by 30 June for the previous financial year.

Which of these apply to you depends on your company type. A listed or large company has more duties. A small private company usually has the first three plus ADT-1. Your company secretary or chartered accountant should confirm the exact list.

03Due dates and late fees

Due dates for AOC-4 and MGT-7 run from the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM), so they move with your AGM date. The AGM itself must be held within six months of the financial year end, which means by 30 September for a year ending 31 March.

For a year ending 31 March, with an AGM held on 30 September, AOC-4 is due by 30 October and MGT-7 by 29 November.

The Rs 100 per day fee has no upper cap, so a long delay can cost far more than the original filing. On top of the extra fee, the Act allows separate penalties on the company and its officers in default.

04How to file on the MCA portal

Filing is done online on the MCA V3 portal at mca.gov.in. The steps are the same for most forms.

1. Log in with the registered user ID of the company or the professional filing on its behalf.
2. Choose the form from the MCA services menu, for example AOC-4 or MGT-7.
3. Fill and attach the details and supporting documents, such as the signed financial statements and the auditor’s report.
4. Sign digitally. The form needs a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of the authorised signatory, and a professional certification where the form requires it.
5. Pay the fee online. The fee depends on the company’s share capital, plus the late fee if you are past the due date.
6. Save the SRN and the filed form. The Service Request Number lets you track the filing, and the approved form is your proof of compliance.

Keep the board resolution, the AGM notice and the signed accounts ready before you start. Most rejected filings fail on mismatched details, not on the portal.

05Event-based forms

Besides the yearly filings, some forms are due only when something changes in the company. Each has its own deadline, often 30 days from the event.

• DIR-12: appointment, resignation or change of directors and key managerial persons.
• PAS-3: return of allotment when shares are issued.
• SH-7: notice of an increase in authorised share capital.
• INC-22: change of the registered office address.
• CHG-1: creation of a charge, such as a loan secured on company assets.

Event-based forms matter in disputes. A lender or a court often checks whether a charge, an allotment or a director change was properly filed.

06What happens if you default

Late fees are only the first step. A company that stays out of compliance faces a chain of consequences.

Strike-off by the Registrar

Under section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Registrar can remove a company from the register if it has not carried on business or operations for two immediately preceding financial years and has not applied for dormant status. The Registrar publishes a notice and then strikes the name off. A struck-off company is treated as dissolved, which freezes its bank accounts and its ability to contract.

Director disqualification under section 164

Under section 164(2), a person who is a director of a company that has not filed financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of three financial years becomes disqualified. The person cannot be re-appointed as a director of that company, or appointed in any other company, for five years. This hits directors personally, even in companies that are otherwise healthy.

Revival and disputes before the NCLT

A struck-off company can ask for restoration. Under section 252 of the Act, an aggrieved person, such as a creditor, a member or the company itself, can appeal to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to restore the name to the register. Disputes over strike-off, over disqualified directors acting in the company, and over unpaid creditors often end up before the NCLT. A creditor may also use a missing filing as a sign of distress in a wider insolvency case.

To follow such a case once it is filed, see how to check NCLT case status.

A company with no business still has to file. Silence on the register is the usual start of a strike-off.

07Where Claw fits

The filings above are done on the MCA portal, and Claw does not file them for you. Where Claw helps is after a default turns into a legal matter.

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

For a lender, a creditor, an advocate or a company secretary, the practical question is often: has any case been filed against this company, has it been struck off, and is there a pending matter before the NCLT? Claw lets you track company matters, strike-off and NCLT cases by company name. Its case management and tracking covers 9,102 forums, including the NCLT, and sends alerts to your WhatsApp and email when a matter moves. Claw has a free plan for individual advocates, and paid plans for teams.

08Sources and further reading

• MCA V3 portal (forms, fees and notices): mca.gov.in
• Companies Act, 2013 (sections 92, 137, 164, 248 and 252): mca.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Last verified: October 2026. Due dates, fees and penalty rules change through MCA circulars, so confirm the current position on the MCA portal or with a company secretary before you file. This guide is general information and not legal advice.

09Frequently asked questions