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Relaxation has been notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on the additional fees in the filing of Form AOC-4. A notification came on December 29, 2021, by General Circular No. 22/2021. It announced that no additional fees will be levied on the filing of all AOC-4 Forms up to February 15, 2022, for the financial year which had ended on March 31, 2021. Only the nominal fees shall be payable on filing during the third period. If any company fails or delays, will attract a penalty. Although additional fees have been relaxed the normal government fees are still chargeable.
Why Ministry of Corporate Affairs Provided Relaxation
The government has been receiving various requests from Stakeholders regarding the relaxation of the levy of additional fees in the filing of e-forms related to the Financial Statement. Keeping the requests of stakeholders in the mind, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs announced that no additional fees will be levied up to February 15, 2022, for the filing of the following-
1. AOC-4
2. AOC-4 CFS
3. AOC-4 XBRL
4. AOC-4 Non-XBRL
What is Form AOC-4?
As per Company Act 2013[1], form AOC 4 is for filing the company’s financial statement for every financial year with the Registrar of Companies. It has to be filed within 30 days of its Annual General Meeting. This relaxation on additional fees will help the companies to file the financial statement conveniently without any additional charge.
Documents Required While Filing AOC-4 Form
Following are the documents mandatory for the filing of Financial Statements-
1. Balance sheet
2. Statement regarding profit and loss.
3. Statement regarding Cash Flow.
4. Statement related to Change in Equity.
5. One Report from the Board.
6. Another Report from the Auditors.
7. Corporate Social Responsibility Report.
8. Statement of subsidiaries if any.
Guidelines Before Filing AOC-4 Form
1. For the audit of the financial statement of the company, it must appoint an Auditor.
2. Directors have to prepare a Board Report.
3. Board Meeting’s approved Financial Statement should be there.
4. Financial Statements must be framed after the Annual General Meeting. After all shareholders’ approval is necessary.
5. Approval of Board Report by the Board Meeting.
Additional Fees Detail
Following is the detail of Additional fees which levied earlier on the filing of the financial statement Forms-
1. If the delay period will be beyond the period which is provided under Section 92(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 additional fees charged will be RS. 100 per day.
2. If the delay period will be beyond the period which is provided under Section 137(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 additional fees charged will be Rs. 100 per day.
The Government fee for filing will also be increased in addition to the above penalty as follows:
| Days Delayed | Penalty, in case of Late Filing |
| Up to 30 days | Twice of normal filing fees |
| 30-60 days | Normal filing fees + 2 times of normal filing fees |
| 60-90 days | Normal filing fees +6 times of normal filing fees |
| 90-180 days | Normal filing fees +10 times of normal filing fees |
| 180-270 days | Normal filing fees + 12 times of normal filing fees |
Important Points Need to be Discussed
1. The extended due date for the filing of form AOC-4 is the 15th of February 2021.
2. Company need not be filed Companies Fresh Start Schemes 2020 (CFSS 2020), if it has already filed financial statement form till 15th of February 2021.
3. Relaxation has been provided to all the Companies, regardless of the date of holding the Annual General Meeting.
4. There is no such relaxation for a Limited Liability Partnership. Therefore they have to pay additional fees.
5. Normal Government fees are not relaxed. Therefore it is still chargeable.
Conclusion:
For stakeholders and Directors, the financial statement of a company is very important to evaluate the performance of the Company. That is the reason there were various requests received by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs from stakeholders regarding the relaxation on the filing of Financial Statements. Relaxation on the additional fees will be beneficial for the stakeholders as well as the company. It is a mandatory filing. This cannot be ignored. If one delays in the filing, it leads to penalties. Therefore it will be good for the company not to mess with the Filing of the AOC-4 Form.
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