Company Annual Compliance

How to File Form AOC-4 — Line-by-Line Guide (MCA V3)

04 September 2026 Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Form AOC-4 is how a company files its financial statements with the Registrar of Companies every year under Section 137 of the Companies Act, 2013. It carries the balance sheet, statement of profit and loss, cash flow statement, notes, the Board's Report and the Auditor's Report, and is filed once per financial year, separately from the annual return (MGT-7 or MGT-7A). This guide walks through every part of the form as it now appears on the MCA V3 portal.

Which version of AOC-4 applies to you

AOC-4 — most companies: standalone financial statements, non-XBRL.
AOC-4 XBRL — listed companies and their Indian subsidiaries; companies with paid-up capital of Rs 5 crore or more, or turnover of Rs 100 crore or more; companies already filing in XBRL.
AOC-4 CFS — any company with subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures that must prepare consolidated financial statements; filed in addition to AOC-4.
AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS) — NBFCs that prepare accounts under Ind AS, with AOC-4 CFS NBFC for consolidated statements.

Keep these ready before you start

Portal access — the company's MCA V3 login and a registered Business User account for each signing director or professional, with a valid DSC.
Board and AGM details — the date of the Board meeting that approved the accounts, and the AGM date (or the date it was due, plus the GNL-1 SRN if an extension was taken).
Signed documents — final financial statements, Board's Report, Auditor's Report (standalone, and consolidated if applicable) and the CARO report.
Supporting data — CSR figures if Section 135 applies, related-party contract details for e-AOC-2, and subsidiary and associate details for e-AOC-1.

AOC-4 on the MCA V3 portal, part by part

On V3, AOC-4 opens as a web form once you enter the CIN. Several parts are separate linked e-forms — Extract of Board's Report, Extract of Auditor's Report (standalone and consolidated), e-AOC-1 and e-AOC-2 — that must be completed before the main form will submit. CSR-2 is different: it is filed separately, after AOC-4. Work through the form top to bottom.

Part A: general information

CIN — type it and click Prefill; name, registered office, email, incorporation date and category fill in automatically, so check them.
Company email — editable; keep it current because all ROC correspondence goes here.
Financial year from and to — normally 01-04-2024 to 31-03-2025; for a first or changed year, the actual period, with the reason.
Date of the Board meeting that approved the financial statements.
Whether the AGM was held, its date (or the adjourned AGM date), and the statutory due date — within 6 months of year-end, or 9 months for the first AGM.
Whether an AGM extension was granted — if yes, the GNL-1 SRN and extended date; if the AGM was not held, the reason (you still file within 30 days of the due date).

Part B: nature of the financial statements

Standalone or consolidated — standalone for AOC-4; consolidated goes in AOC-4 CFS.
Whether the company is a subsidiary — if yes, the holding company's CIN and name.
Whether it has subsidiaries, associates or JVs — if yes, you also file AOC-4 CFS and attach e-AOC-1, with a list of each entity (name, CIN or registration number, percentage holding, country).
Which division of Schedule III applies — Division I (Indian GAAP), II (Ind AS) or III (NBFC Ind AS); this sets the balance-sheet template.

Part C: balance sheet

Enter every head for the current year and the previous year, rounded to the nearest rupee. On the equity and liabilities side: shareholders' funds (share capital, reserves and surplus), share application money pending allotment, non-current liabilities (long-term borrowings, deferred tax liabilities, long-term provisions) and current liabilities (short-term borrowings, trade payables with an MSME and non-MSME split, other current liabilities, short-term provisions).

On the assets side: non-current assets (property, plant and equipment at gross block, depreciation and net block, capital work-in-progress, intangible assets, non-current investments, deferred tax assets, long-term loans and advances) and current assets (current investments, inventories, trade receivables, cash and cash equivalents, short-term loans and advances). Total equity and liabilities must equal total assets, and the form will not accept figures that do not tally. Also enter contingent liabilities and commitments and any foreign-currency exposure.

Part D: statement of profit and loss

Enter revenue from operations (net), other income, and total expenses broken into cost of materials consumed, purchases of stock-in-trade, changes in inventories, employee benefit expense, finance costs, depreciation and amortisation, and other expenses. Then profit before exceptional items and tax, exceptional or extraordinary items, profit before tax, current and deferred tax, profit or loss for the period, and basic and diluted earnings per share. A separate block captures value of imports, expenditure in foreign currency and earnings in foreign exchange.

Part E: corporate social responsibility (Section 135)

State whether CSR applies: it does if, in the immediately preceding financial year, net worth was Rs 500 crore or more, turnover was Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net profit was Rs 5 crore or more. If it applies, enter the prescribed CSR amount (2% of the average net profit of the last three years), the amount spent, the amount unspent, and any transfer to the Unspent CSR Account or a Schedule VII fund. The detailed CSR report goes in Form CSR-2, filed after AOC-4: for FY 2024-25 by 30 December 2025, and from FY 2025-26 within 30 days of filing AOC-4.

Part F: related-party transactions (e-AOC-2)

State whether there are contracts or arrangements with related parties under Section 188. For each one, give the related party's name and relationship, the nature and duration of the contract, the salient terms and value, whether it was at arm's length, the date of Board approval and any advance paid. This is the content of e-AOC-2, now a linked e-form.

Part G: auditor's report

State whether the Auditor's Report contains any qualification, reservation, adverse remark or disclaimer. If it does, enter the text of each one and the Board's reply under Section 134(3)(f). Also state whether the auditor reported any fraud under Section 143(12), and complete the CARO 2020 points as prompted. The Extract of the Auditor's Report (standalone, and consolidated where AOC-4 CFS is filed) is completed as a linked e-form.

Part H: directors' report and secretarial audit

State whether a Secretarial Audit Report (MR-3) applies: it does for listed companies, public companies with paid-up capital of Rs 50 crore or more or turnover of Rs 250 crore or more, and any company with borrowings from banks or public financial institutions of Rs 100 crore or more. If it applies, complete the secretarial-audit table: any qualification or adverse remark, and the Board's response. The Extract of the Board's Report is a linked e-form and now also captures the number of sexual-harassment complaints (received, disposed of, and pending over 90 days) and a declaration of compliance with the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. A small company or OPC may file an abridged Board's Report.

Part I: attachments

Always required: the signed financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow, notes) authenticated under Section 134; the Extract of the Board's Report with its annexures; and the Extract of the Auditor's Report. Where applicable: e-AOC-1 for subsidiaries and associates, and e-AOC-2 for related-party contracts. For XBRL filers: the XBRL data file plus a signed PDF of the full financial statements including the Board's and Auditor's Reports.

Part J: signing and certification

The financial statements are signed by two directors (including the Managing Director if there is one), the CFO if appointed and the Company Secretary if appointed. The form is then digitally signed by a director and, where appointed, the CFO and CS; companies under insolvency use the DSC of the IRP, RP or liquidator. AOC-4 must also carry the certificate of a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or Cost Accountant in whole-time practice, except that a small company or OPC may self-certify through a director.

Fees for filing AOC-4

The normal fee depends on the company's nominal (authorised) share capital:

No share capital, or capital below Rs 1,00,000: Rs 200.
Rs 1,00,000 to under Rs 5,00,000: Rs 300.
Rs 5,00,000 to under Rs 25,00,000: Rs 400.
Rs 25,00,000 to under Rs 1,00,00,000: Rs 500.
Rs 1,00,00,000 or more: Rs 600.

Late filing: additional fee and penalties

Late AOC-4 attracts an additional fee of Rs 100 per day of delay, from the due date to the actual filing date, with no upper limit. This is separate from the penalty under Section 137(3): Rs 10,000 for the company plus Rs 100 per day of continuing default, up to Rs 2,00,000; and Rs 10,000 for the Managing Director, CFO or directors in default plus Rs 100 per day, up to Rs 50,000. Under Section 164(2), a company that fails to file financial statements or annual returns for any continuous period of three financial years disqualifies every one of its directors from reappointment there and from appointment in any company for five years.

Due dates at a glance

Company, AGM held — within 30 days of the AGM.
Company, AGM not held or adjourned — within 30 days of the AGM due date (with reasons), or of the adjourned AGM.
One Person Company — within 180 days of the close of the financial year.
FY 2024-25 — the MCA relaxation allowed filing without additional fee up to 31 January 2026.
FY 2025-26 — for an AGM on 30 September 2026, by 30 October 2026.

CCFS 2026: one-time fee relief for pending filings

The Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 lets a company clear pending filings — AOC-4 and its variants, MGT-7, MGT-7A, ADT-1, FC-3 and FC-4 — by paying the normal fee plus only 10% of the additional fee, with immunity from penalty for those defaults. The reduced fee is calculated automatically at the payment stage on V3. The window opened on 15 April 2026 and, after extensions, currently closes on 15 September 2026; check the latest MCA circular before relying on the date. Companies already under a strike-off notice, or that have applied for strike-off or dormant status, cannot use the scheme.

Frequently asked questions

Form AOC-4 is the form a company uses to file its financial statements with the Registrar of Companies each year under Section 137 of the Companies Act, 2013 — the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow statement, notes, the Board's Report and the Auditor's Report.

Every company registered under the Companies Act — private, public, OPC or Section 8 — must file AOC-4 or the applicable variant (AOC-4 XBRL, AOC-4 CFS, AOC-4 NBFC Ind AS) for every financial year, whether or not it did any business during the year.

Within 30 days of the Annual General Meeting. If no AGM is held, within 30 days of the date the AGM was due, with reasons. For a One Person Company, within 180 days of the close of the financial year. For an AGM held on 30 September 2026, AOC-4 is due by 30 October 2026.

Yes. MCA allowed the revised V3 e-forms (AOC-4 series and MGT-7/MGT-7A) for FY 2024-25 to be filed up to 31 January 2026 without additional fee. This did not extend the statutory AGM date, and the normal plus Rs 100/day additional fee applies after that.

AOC-4 is normally filed first, because the annual return (MGT-7/MGT-7A) asks for the SRN of the financial statements. AOC-4 is due within 30 days of the AGM; the annual return is due within 60 days of the AGM.

File plain AOC-4 for standalone, non-XBRL accounts. File AOC-4 XBRL if the company is listed, is an Indian subsidiary of a listed company, or has paid-up capital of Rs 5 crore or more or turnover of Rs 100 crore or more. File AOC-4 CFS in addition if the company must prepare consolidated financial statements.

The signed financial statements; the Extract of the Board's Report with its annexures; and the Extract of the Auditor's Report (standalone, and consolidated if applicable). Add e-AOC-1 for subsidiaries and associates and e-AOC-2 for related-party contracts. XBRL filers also attach the XBRL file plus a signed PDF of the full financial statements.

It depends on the company's nominal share capital: Rs 200 up to Rs 1 lakh, Rs 300 for Rs 1–5 lakh, Rs 400 for Rs 5–25 lakh, Rs 500 for Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore, and Rs 600 for Rs 1 crore and above. A company without share capital pays Rs 200.

An additional fee of Rs 100 per day of delay, with no upper limit, on top of the normal fee. Separately, Section 137(3) provides a penalty of Rs 10,000 for the company (plus Rs 100/day, capped at Rs 2,00,000) and Rs 10,000 for the MD, CFO or directors in default (plus Rs 100/day, capped at Rs 50,000).

Yes. Under Section 164(2), if a company fails to file its financial statements or annual returns for any continuous period of three financial years, every director of that company is disqualified from reappointment there and from appointment in any company for five years.

Yes. A nil, dormant or non-operating company must still prepare financial statements, have them audited and file AOC-4. There is no exemption for having done no business during the year.

For most companies, yes — AOC-4 must carry the certificate of a CA, CS or Cost Accountant in whole-time practice confirming the form is drawn correctly from the books. A small company or One Person Company may instead self-certify through a director.

No. For companies to which Section 135 applies, the CSR report is filed in a separate e-form, CSR-2, after AOC-4 has been filed — not as an addendum and not a pre-condition. For FY 2024-25 the CSR-2 due date was 30 December 2025; from FY 2025-26 it is within 30 days of filing AOC-4.

Yes. A revised AOC-4 can be filed — for example after the financial statements are revised under Section 130 or 131, or to correct an error — by selecting the revised option and giving the SRN of the original filing, with any Board or NCLT approval that is required.

Both. You can complete the web form online after logging in, or use the offline route: enter basic company details, download the form as an Excel or template file, fill in the detailed data and upload it back. In both cases the linked forms and DSCs are applied on the portal.

The first AGM must be held within nine months of the close of the first financial year. AOC-4 is then due within 30 days of that AGM. If the AGM is not held, file within 30 days of the date it was due, with the reasons stated in the form.

An SRN (Service Request Number) is generated when you submit and pay for the form. Use it under Track SRN or Transaction Status on the MCA portal to see whether the form is Pending, Approved or marked for resubmission.

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