What annual compliance does a private limited company in India have to file, and what does it cost?
Every private limited company files the same set each year, even with no revenue: a statutory audit by a chartered accountant, an AGM by 30 September, the financial statements in AOC-4 within 30 days and the annual return in MGT-7 or MGT-7A within 60 days of the AGM on the MCA portal, and the income tax return in ITR-6, whose deadline for audited companies for 2025-26 was moved from 31 October to 21 November 2026. Board meetings start within 30 days of incorporation and then run four a year, no more than 120 days apart. Since 31 March 2026 each director files DIR-3 KYC once every three financial years, by 30 June: free on time, Rs 5,000 late. Government filing fees are small, so the bill is the professional work: Virtual Auditor's packages start at Rs 20,999 plus government fees, and a late ROC form costs Rs 100 a day. Add GST and TDS returns if you are registered for them.
Razorpay's incorporation service for a private limited company, priced at Rs 1,499 plus government fees with DSCs, DIN, name approval, MoA and AoA included and registration in 7 to 10 business days. The page also lays out the documents and the first-year compliance calendar.
A legal-news summary of the April 2026 fee rules read with the directors' rules in force from 31 March 2026: DIR-3 KYC Web is now filed once every three financial years by 30 June, free on time, Rs 5,000 late and Rs 500 for each change filing.
The public broadcaster's report of CBDT Circular 07/2026: for AY 2026-27 the return deadline for taxpayers under audit, which includes companies, moved from 31 October to 21 November 2026, and the tax audit report from 30 September to 21 October 2026.
This is the year-one Indian Pvt Ltd number laid out line by line, in rupees, from a working CA firm: statutory audit 10,000 to 25,000, ROC professional fee 5,000 to 10,000 for AOC-4 and MGT-7A, ROC government fees 400 to 800, ITR-6 prep 5,000 to 10,000, and DIR-3 KYC for both directors. It lands the whole point: registration is cheap, but the total annual bill is 24,400 to 52,800 even for a small company at low revenue.
A small Pvt Ltd (turnover up to 2 crore) runs 24,400 to 52,800 a year in total compliance, dominated by the mandatory statutory audit, not the one-time registration
Statutory audit is compulsory for every private limited company from rupee one of revenue, unlike a proprietorship or LLP below thresholds
Even a dormant company pays roughly 16,000 a year to stay compliant (audit, AOC-4, MGT-7A, ITR-6), so an idle entity is not a free entity
A walk through ITR-6 schedule by schedule, including the rule that a company's return must be filed electronically under a digital signature and that no documents are attached.
