In India running a startup company means registration of the same as a private limited company. And as a startup company, one must follow the laid compliances under the regulatory and statutory bodies. All these compliances for startup are not limited to registrar related but also non-registrar related compliances as well. In this article, we are exploring the different ROC Compliances for Startup that must be fulfilled at all cost.
Registrar related ROC Compliances for Startup:
- Appointment of Auditor (E-form ADT-1):
The very first auditor of the company as per the ROC compliances for startup must be appointed within 30 days of company registration in the first board meeting itself. The subsequent auditors are appointed in the Annual General Meeting for a period of five years. Form ADT-1 is to be filed for the appointment of auditor for five years.
- Holding Board Meeting:
The very first board meeting must be held in the company within 30 days of its incorporation or registration. Also, it is to be noted that one meeting in each half calendar year must be held this means that every year minimum of two meetings must be held. The minimum gap between two meetings must not be less than 90 days.
- Holding Annual General Meeting (AGM):
As part of Compliances for startup, one Annual General Meeting is to be held each year. The maximum gap between two subsequent AGMs must not exceed 15 months in total.
- E- Forms Filing Requirements:
The following forms are to be filed under the ROC compliances for startups-
- E-form MGT-7: This form is filed for filing Annual Returns of the company. It must be filed within 60 days of conclusion of the AGM for the financial year starting from 1st April to 31st March, each year.
- E-form AOC-4: This is to be filed for showing the financial statements of the company by submitting the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account Statements, Director’s Report etc.
- Form MBP- 1:This form is filed by each and every director of the company in the very first board meeting for each financial year. It is filed to disclose the interest of the directors in the organization and other companies. If there is a change in interest of the directors, then the same is to be intimated through filing Form MBP-1.
- Form DIR – 8:It is filed as a disclosure of non-disqualification by each and every director of the company in every financial year.
- Directors Report: Under Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013, for every small company it is required to file a director’s report for furnishing all the information and details regarding the company. The report must be signed by an authorized Chairperson by the board.
- Statutory registers and books of accounts:
One of the important points in the ROC Compliances for startup is to maintain the company’s accounts books and statutory registers along with the following documents-
- Statutory Registers
- Books of Accounts and Financial Statements under Section 44AA
- Minutes Books for:
- Board Meeting
- General Meeting such as Annual General Meeting, Postal Ballots, Debenture Holders Meeting, EGM, Creditors Meeting etc.
- Committee Meeting Register
- Directors Attendance at Board Register
- Circulation of the Financial Statement and other relevant documents: It is the statutory duty of the company under ROC Compliances for Startup to send the following approved documents to the members in the company:
- Financial Statements
- Auditors Report
- Directors Report
These documents are to be sent to the members at least 21 days in advance before the conduction of the Annual general Meeting.
The compliances mentioned above are mandatory to be completed annually for every startup registered in India. These are similar to the checkpoints in the ROC Compliance Checklist for Small Companies in India. It is to be noted that there are other event-based ROC compliances for startup as well that are to be completed either monthly or half yearly or quarterly.
