Nowadays, the compliance of The Companies Act, 2013, Income Tax Act, 1961, and its rules, GST Act, and other compliances like PF, ESI, Factories Act, etc., have become very important to save time and money for establishments.

In this article, we will discuss monthly, quarterly and annual compliance for startups and private limited companies.

From the very beginning, there are important internal and statutory compliances to comply on time. The following is compliance required immediately after the incorporation of the company, i.e., public or private limited or OPC (one person company) hereafter called "company."  

Mandatory compliance - within 30 days of incorporation/registration of the company.

1. Appointment of the first auditor

Unlike LLPs or traditional partnership firms, the audit is mandatory for companies irrespective of the quantum of the business transactions or revenue once the financial year is closed. Therefore according to Section 173 of the Companies Act, 2013, a new company shall hold its first board meeting within 30 days of its incorporation and under Section 139 and 141 of the Companies Act, 2013 appoint one auditor within 30 days of registration of the company to audit its book of accounts after the closure of the financial year (FY).

2. Preparing and printing share certificates

 The board of directors of the new company shall take steps to preparing, printing Share certificates, and issuing certificates to the subscribers of the memorandum of association (MOA).    

Quarterly compliance (after every 90 days)

Once the company completes a quarter, it shall hold a meeting of the board of directors, and for the board meeting, the following shall be prepared.

• Drafting the notice of board meeting preparing minutes thereof preparation of attendance sheets of the board meetings,
• Preparing the director’s disclosures of interest in other concerns

All the above shall be prepared in compliance with the Companies Act, 2013, and one may take help of a Company Secretary (CS) or a Chartered Accountant (CA) help for this.  

Annual compliance closing the books of accounts

• Once the financial year ends on 31st March (or some companies may follow calendar year), the books of accounts shall be closed and; prepare profit & loss account and balance sheet and other notes, schedules, etc.
• Conduct a board meeting and approve the draft profit & loss account and balance sheet and other notes, schedules, etc. Submit the same to the auditor for his / her comments and audit report.
• Conduct another board meeting and approve the final profit & loss account and balance sheet and other notes, schedules, etc. (together called Financial Statements).
• Approve AGM notice & director report and other annexures to the board report as per the applicability like annual return extract.
• Call for an Annual General Meeting (­AGM) of shareholders. Prepare Annual General Meeting minutes.  

Also read: What are the objectives of an Annual General Meeting of a company?

ROC & Income Tax annual filings

ROC filing

Once all the above process is done, the company shall prepare and submit e-Form AOC 4  (due date is within 30 days from AGM), e-Form ADT 1  and e-Form - MGT 7 to ROC by online and pay the applicable fee.  

ITR filing

The company shall also file Income Tax Return (ITR) in the relevant form within time.  

Labour law compliance

The company shall also comply with applicable Labour Law Compliance like; The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 other Act as applicable.  

GST compliance

GST Registration: The Company shall register under the GST Act and obtain a GST Registration certificate if the turnover is 20 Lakh or more in any financial year the for the service sector and 40 Lakhs for the trading and manufacturing sector.  

Also read: All you need to know about GST: Benefits, registration, documentation

Monthly/quarterly returns

The company shall file monthly GST Returns in GSTR 3B, and GSTR 1 is fit is normal taxpayer and quarterly if it is a composition dealer.

Annual return

 If the turnover of the company is 2 crore or more, then the company shall also file GST Annual return.  

Note: The list is only indicative, not exhaustive. Please contact any professional for more data and services.

Also read: A legal point of view

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