Increased Penalty provisions for non-filing of annual Returns

Every company registered under the Companies act 2013 is required to file certain annual returns forms with the registry of companies. These forms are required to be filed annually by the company as the compliance measure stipulated by the ministry. Company is considered as the separate legal entity and directors are responsible to run it in the fair manner. As a separate legal entity the company is required to fulfil its legal obligations and save itself from penalties. Despite of the existing penal provisions there were many delays in filing of the annual returns by the company. In order to ensure filing of the proper returns the penalty provisions has been made much more stringent. The drastic increment has been made in the amount of penalty levied so that the companies and directors make sure to file the timely returns. In the course of this blog we will be taking a look at the increased penalty rates for the annual filings by the company.

There has been a drastic increase In the amount of penalty levied by the ministry for non-filing annual return of a company. After the introduction of new rules the penalty has been increased to Rs.100 per day per form. For the annual returns the company is required to submit two forms namely MGT-7 and AOC-4. For non filing of the single form the fee will be 100 per day per form and for two forms it becomes 200 rs per day per form which is quite high amount. Considering the increase in penalty it is highly recommended for the companies to file the form prior to the due date. Earlier also the amount of penalty increases as the number of days increases. However, with the new rules in place the amount of penalty has increased significantly. Here is the list of old penalty rates and the new penalty rates applicable for the non-filing of annual returns by the company depending upon number of days delay.

  • Upto 15 days the old penalty rate was 400 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 3000
  • More than 15 days but upto 30 days the old penalty rate was 800 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 6000
  • More than 30 days upto 60 days the old penalty rate was 1600 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 12000
  • More than 60 days but upto 90 days the old penalty rate was 2400 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 18000More than 90 days upto 180 days the old penalty rate was 4000 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 36000
  • More than 180 days but upto 270 days the old penalty rate was 4800 and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 54000More than 270 days the old penalty rate was 100 per day and now the proposed penalty rate is upto 100 per day per form

If you desire to be saved from these hefty penalty rates it is highly recommended that all the companies must file their returns within the due date.