Incorporating a company is the easy part - keeping it compliant year after year is where many founders slip. ROC compliance is recurring and time-bound, and the penalties for delay are steep and accumulate daily.
The core annual filings
- AOC-4 - filing of the financial statements with the ROC.
- MGT-7 / MGT-7A - the annual return with shareholding and company details.
- DIR-3 KYC - annual KYC for every director with a DIN.
- Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held within the prescribed timelines.
The due dates to remember
The AGM is generally held within six months of the financial year-end. AOC-4 is filed within 30 days of the AGM and MGT-7 within 60 days of the AGM. DIR-3 KYC has its own annual deadline. Because these dates chain off each other, a late AGM pushes everything else late too.
What late filing costs
ROC forms carry a flat additional fee for every day of delay, with no upper relief in many cases - so a few months late can become a large bill. Persistent non-compliance can also lead to director disqualification and the company being marked as a defaulter.
Staying on top of it
Maintain a compliance calendar from day one, keep your statutory registers updated, and prepare financials well before the AGM window. For most small companies a simple annual checklist, run on time, is all it takes to avoid penalties entirely.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules can change; confirm specifics for your business before acting.