Company compliance calendar for an Indian private limited company: what is due and when 

An Indian private limited company has a fixed set of yearly meetings and filings: board meetings, the annual general meeting, financial statements and the annual return to the Registrar, the income tax return and audit, and regular tax filings. Missing one brings penalties that grow by the day. A calendar with named owners removes most of that risk.

A compliance calendar is a dated list of every filing, meeting and record a company has to complete in a year, with the person responsible for each. We checked this page against official sources on 5 November 2026. It covers the main Companies Act duties and advance tax, and it is a general guide rather than advice for your company.

Why does compliance handled by whoever remembered cost more than it saves?

Most small companies begin with an informal system in which the founder, an accountant or an office manager simply remembers the dates. That works until the day it does not - the person is on leave, or leaves altogether, or a date moves.

A missed filing costs more than a late fee. Additional fees run for each day of delay, and a default on the annual return or the financial statements can also bring penalties on the company and on its officers. A gap in the filing record can then make it harder to raise a loan or bring in an investor.

The fix costs very little. Write the dates down once, give each one an owner and a backup, and set a reminder two to three weeks ahead. The rest of this page gives you the dates to fill in.

What is the annual calendar?

Most annual company filings are not tied to a fixed calendar date. They count from the date of the annual general meeting, or AGM, and the AGM in turn depends on your financial year end. The table below assumes a year ending on 31 March, which is the usual year in India. If yours ends on another date, shift the dates to match.

Some notes on the table. The AGM deadline is six months from the financial year end, which means 30 September for a 31 March year end. The Registrar can extend it for special reasons, but do not plan on that. The AOC-4 and MGT-7 periods count from the date the AGM is actually held. If no AGM is held, they count from the date it should have been held, and the company must state the reasons for the delay.

The advance tax percentages are cumulative. Each instalment brings the total paid so far up to the stated share. Any advance tax paid up to 31 March counts as advance tax for that year. Whether you owe advance tax at all depends on your estimated tax for the year, so confirm that with your accountant.

We have not given a fixed day for the income tax return and the tax audit, because the Income Tax Department has moved those dates by order in some years. Read the due date on the Income Tax portal for the year you are filing, and confirm it with your Chartered Accountant.

What are the board and shareholder meeting duties?

The Companies Act sets a minimum rhythm of meetings. Put each of these dates in the calendar when the year begins.

• First board meeting: within 30 days of incorporation.
• Board meetings: at least four a year, with no more than 120 days between two meetings.
• First auditor: appointed by the Board within 30 days of registration. The MCA recommends filing ADT-1 for this appointment too, though it is not mandatory.
• First AGM: within nine months of the close of the first financial year.
• Later AGMs: within six months of the close of each financial year, and not more than fifteen months after the previous AGM.

A one person company does not have to hold an AGM. A one person company, a small company, a dormant company and a private company that is a start-up are treated as compliant on board meetings if they hold at least one in each half of the calendar year, with a gap of at least 90 days between the two.

How do you turn the calendar into a working routine?

A table of dates is useful only if someone acts on it. Start with the AGM, because most filings follow from it. Fix the AGM date at the start of the year, count forward to the AOC-4 and MGT-7 dates, and put all three in a shared calendar.

1. List every date for the year in one shared calendar, with the form or meeting named.
2. Name an owner and a backup for each date, so that someone going on leave or resigning does not leave a gap.
3. Set a reminder at least three weeks before each date, and another a week before.
4. Work backwards from the AGM. The accounts have to be ready and reviewed before the meeting, so the audit and the Board review each need their own, earlier date.
5. After each filing, save the acknowledgement and the filed copy together in one folder, named by year.
6. Review the calendar at the start of every financial year, and again after any change in the company's size, class or business.

If a date is going to be missed, act early. Speak to your Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary before the date, not after. Some defaults can be put right on better terms when the company moves quickly and files without waiting for a notice.

Do not copy last year's calendar without checking it. Forms are replaced, thresholds change, and the government sometimes issues circulars that give relief for one year only. Treat that kind of relief as a one-off, and plan to the normal dates unless your adviser confirms otherwise.

Finally, keep the directors informed. They are responsible for the company's compliance, and they should see a short status report at every board meeting showing what has been filed, what is due next and what is late.

Which registers and records must you keep?

The calendar covers filings. A company also has records it must keep up to date through the year. Three examples:

• Register of members (section 88): shows each member and the shares held, by class.
• Register of directors and key managerial personnel (section 170): lists them and their shareholding.
• Minutes of general meetings, board meetings and committee meetings (section 118): written, signed and kept in books with consecutively numbered pages.

These records are looked at when the company is audited, sold or inspected, and gaps in them are hard and expensive to repair after the event. Make one person responsible for keeping them, and review them each time a meeting is held.

What changes with the size of the company?

The rules shift with the type and size of the company. For a private company, four points matter most.

• One person companies and small companies file the shorter annual return, Form MGT-7A, in place of MGT-7.
• One person companies need not hold an AGM, and the Companies Act allows them 180 days from the close of the financial year to file their financial statements.
• Board meeting relief applies to one person companies, small companies, dormant companies and start-up private companies, as described above.
• As a company grows, further duties can apply, for example on audit, reporting and the form of the annual return. Review the calendar whenever the company crosses a legal threshold or changes class.

This page does not list every obligation. Depending on your business, others can apply, such as GST, tax deducted at source, provident fund and state laws. Add them to the calendar once you have confirmed the dates for your own case.

Rules, rates and dates change. Check the current position with your Chartered Accountant before you act.