New forms or old? Clarity on annual company filings soon
NEW DELHI : The ministry of corporate affairs will soon clarify whether companies should file their annual returns for FY23 in the revamped version of the MCA21 portal with heightened security features or in the earlier version, said a person informed about the development. The clarification is expected before the peak filing season begins this year, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The new forms will be web-based and will enable real-time checking of data keyed in. Over 1.5 million active companies in the country have time till the end of September to hold their annual general meeting (AGM) to approve their financial statements for FY23 and one month from then to file their accounts with the government and two months from the date of the AGM to file their annual returns.
Annual returns can thus be filed latest by the end of November. Nothing prevents a company from holding the AGM earlier than six months from the close of the financial year, but the clock for filing financial statements and annual returns will start ticking from date of AGM, a second person, who is knowledgeable about corporate filings, said.
The ministry did extensive public consultation across multiple cities last month and is closely monitoring the functioning of the portal revamped by a private service provider. The new portal allows only one login account for a user and uses two-factor authentication for filings besides using artificial intelligence for oversight.
While the transition of several forms to the latest version of the MCA21 portal has stabilized, many professionals have in the recent past aired their grievances about glitches on social media platforms. Experts recommended that use of earlier version (V2) of the
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