Corporate Compliance Checklist for Private Limited Companies (2026)

Most new private limited companies in India have a compliance load they only fully understand in their second year, when something gets missed and a notice arrives. This checklist is the kind of single-page reference a founder, in-house finance lead, or junior CS associate can keep at hand.

Month-by-month recurring obligations

Every month

• GST returns (GSTR-3B by 20th, GSTR-1 by 11th, where applicable).
• TDS / TCS deposit by 7th, and quarterly returns where applicable.
• Professional tax remittance (state-specific).
• EPFO and ESIC where applicable.

Every quarter

• Board meeting. At least four board meetings every calendar year, with a maximum gap of 120 days between two meetings. Section 173(1) is not negotiable.
• Advance tax (15-Jun, 15-Sep, 15-Dec, 15-Mar).
• TDS returns (Form 24Q / 26Q etc.).
• GSTR-1 (for quarterly filers).

Every half-year

• MSME-1. Due 30-April for the October–March half; due 31-October for the April–September half.

Every year

• Annual General Meeting (AGM). Within six months of the financial year end, and within fifteen months of the previous AGM.
• AOC-4. Within thirty days of the AGM.
• MGT-7 (or MGT-7A for small companies and OPCs). Within sixty days of the AGM.
• DPT-3. Annual return of deposits — due 30-June, even if there are no deposits.
• Income Tax Return (ITR-6). Due 31-October (with audit) or 31-July (without).
• Statutory audit. Engagement letter signed early in the year; auditor appointment via ADT-1 within fifteen days of the AGM.
• DIR-3 KYC. Every director by 30-September.

Event-based obligations

• Director appointment / resignation: DIR-12 within thirty days.
• Issue of shares: PAS-3 within thirty days.
• Increase in authorised share capital: SH-7 within thirty days, with stamp duty.
• Creation or modification of charge: CHG-1 within thirty days.
• Change of registered office: INC-22 within thirty days.
• Special resolutions: MGT-14 within thirty days.

First-year obligations new companies forget (charted above)

1. INC-20A. Declaration of commencement of business within 180 days of incorporation. The single most-missed first-year filing in India.
2. First auditor appointment. Section 139(6) requires the board to appoint the first auditor within thirty days of incorporation.
3. Registered office filing. If the registered office was not yet finalised at incorporation, INC-22 must be filed within thirty days of the actual office being set up.

Items that are easy to defer and expensive when missed

• Statutory registers. See our separate guide.
• Board minute discipline. Resolutions taken at a meeting that is later not minuted, or minuted months later, are practically unenforceable.
• POSH compliance. Internal Complaints Committee for companies with ten or more employees, annual return to the local district authority.
• FEMA filings. Where there is foreign investment, FC-GPR within thirty days of allotment, FLA return annually by 15-July.
• Beneficial ownership reporting under Section 90. Identify the SBO, file BEN-2.

A practical setup

1. Compliance calendar with every recurring deadline, two-week advance reminder, accountable owner.
2. Master data sheet with directors, KMP, shareholding, registered office, banking signatories.
3. Document store with the incorporation certificate, MOA, AOA, every filing receipt, every signed register page.

Most compliance failures we see are not about not knowing what to do. They are about not having a single place where it is visible that something has to be done this week.