Is ROC filing mandatory every year?

Yes, The companies incorporated in India under the Companies Act 2013 must do ROC Filing annually with the Registrar of Companies to check their compliance with the laws and the provisions. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in penalties and legal consequences, including fines and company deregistration. Therefore, companies need to ensure that they file their ROC filing promptly.

ROC filing - Financial statements of a company

According to section 137 of the Companies Act 2013, every company has to file a financial statement copy through Form AOC-4 with the Registrar of Companies. Following Company Act 2013, all registered firms in India must file annual financial statements with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Form AOC-4: This Form is used For filing the financial statement and other documents
Form AOC4 – CFS: This is the Form for filing a statement containing salient features of the consolidated financial statement of a group
Form AOC4 – XBRL: For filing extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) documents in respect of financial statements

Due Date for Filing AOC-4

As per the Companies Act, all companies must file financial statements duly adopted at the company's annual general meeting within 30 days of conducting an Annual General Meeting. Note: One Person Company (OPC) must file financial statements within 180 of the closure of the fiscal year.

ROC filing - Annual Return MGT-7/MGT-7A

Annual Return is one of the main compliances companies must fulfill during Annual ROC Filing. As per section 92(4) of the Companies Act 2013, every company must file a copy of Annual returns through Form MGT-7 and nominal fees with the Registrar of Companies. Every company must file its annual Return except for OPC and Small Company in Form No.MGT-7 .

Additional Fees Details:

The additional fee for delays in the filing of annual returns/financial statements is as follows:

Period of Delays	Fees
Up to 30 days	Two times the regular fees
More than 30 days and up to 60 days	Four times the regular fees
More than 60 days and up to 90 days	Six times the regular fees
More than 90 days and up to 180 days	Ten times of regular fees
More than 180 days and up to 270 days	Twelve times the regular fees

MGT 7 Form Late Filing Fees (MCA)

In case of delay in filing the MGT 7 annual company return, a company is required to pay an additional fee as a penalty along with the regular price. The MGT 7 late filing fees are INR 100 per day.

Annual returns for OPCs and Small Companies – eForm MGT-7A

One Person Company and Small Company must file a yearly return in Form No.MGT-7A from the financial year 2020-2021 onwards

Additional fee

The following table of additional fees will be applicable for delays in filing annual returns.

Period of delay	Additional fee payable (in Rs.)
Delay beyond the period provided under Section 92(4) of the Companies Act	Hundred per day
Delay beyond the period provided under Section 137(1) of the Companies Act	Hundred per day

In addition to the fee mentioned above, the following table of additional fees is also applicable for delays in filing of overdue annual returns or balance sheet/financial statements :

Period of delay	Additional fee payable (in Rs.)
Up to 30 days	Two times of regular filing fees
More than 30 days and up to 60 days	Four times of regular filing fees
More than 60 days and up to 90 days	Six times of regular filing fees
More than 90 days and up to 180 days	Ten times of regular filing fees
Beyond 180 days	12 times of regular filing fees

Due date of filing Form MGT-7/MGT-7A

The company must file Annual Return within 60 days from the company's Annual General Meeting date. Every year, the annual general meeting must be held by the 30th of September following the end of the fiscal year. Therefore, Form MGT-7/MGT-7A must be filed by the 29th of November every year.

Effects of none or late ROC Filing:

A company registered in India is bound to have filed an annual ROC. The delay or non-filing of ROCs can significantly affect the company and its directors. These effects are-

On the directors- For the next five years, the company directors cannot be re-appointed or appointed as directors in any other company if they haven't filed Form MGT-7 and AOC-4.
On the Company- If the company fails to file the annual ROC filing for continuously two years, the ROC will assume that it is closed or inactive. He will likely send a notice to the company to hear their reasons for the non-filing of ROC, and in case of failure, he will strike off the company.