The certificate of incorporation arrives, and it feels like an ending. It isn't — it's a start gun. From the day your company legally exists, a clock starts running on a set of obligations most founders don't know about until they've already missed one. None of these are prompted by a friendly reminder from the MCA. The portal does not nudge you. You are simply expected to know, and the penalties for not knowing are real: ₹1,000 per day for some defaults, director disqualification for others, and — at the far end — the Registrar striking your company off the register entirely.
The good news is that the first ninety days are finite and knowable. Here is the whole calendar, in order, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Within 30 days of incorporation
Hold your first board meeting
A private limited company must hold its first board meeting within 30 days of incorporation. It can be held over video call if your directors are in different cities — what matters is that minutes are recorded and signed. This first meeting is where several of the items below are formally set in motion, so it's the anchor of the whole sequence.
Appoint your first auditor
The board must appoint the company's first statutory auditor within 30 days of incorporation. That auditor holds office until your first Annual General Meeting. This isn't optional and it isn't something to defer — a company cannot validly close its first year without an auditor appointed at the start of it.
File Form ADT-1
Once the auditor is appointed, Form ADT-1 (notifying the Registrar of the appointment) should be filed within 15 days of the appointment. Treated as good practice and expected by ROC offices, it's a small filing that keeps your statutory record clean from day one.
Open the company bank account and deposit capital
You'll have a current account in the company's name, into which each subscriber deposits the share capital they committed to in the MoA. This step gates the single most important early filing — INC-20A, below — because that filing certifies the capital has actually been received.
The 30-day block, in one line. First board meeting, first auditor appointed, ADT-1 filed, bank account opened and capital deposited. Miss the board meeting or the auditor appointment and you've created a defect in your company's very first year of records.
Within 60 days of incorporation
Issue share certificates
Share certificates must be issued to subscribers within 60 days of incorporation. These are the physical (or dematerialised) proof of ownership in your company. They're easy to overlook because nobody is chasing you for them — but they matter the moment there's an investor, a dispute, or a due-diligence exercise, and reconstructing them later is far harder than issuing them on time.
Within 180 days of incorporation
File Form INC-20A — the one you cannot miss
If there is a single filing to circle in red, it's this one. Form INC-20A, the Declaration of Commencement of Business, must be filed within 180 days of incorporation. It declares that every subscriber has paid for their shares and that your registered office is verified. Until it's filed, your company legally cannot commence business or exercise borrowing powers — and in practice, your current account doesn't function properly.
The penalty structure is deliberately severe to force compliance: ₹50,000 on the company, and ₹1,000 per day on every officer in default, up to a cap. Worse, the Registrar can begin proceedings to strike your company off the register if it remains unfiled. It is, by some distance, the most-adjudicated post-incorporation violation in India — precisely because it isn't prompted and founders don't know it exists. File it as soon as your capital is in and your office is confirmed; there's no advantage to waiting.
| Deadline | What's due |
|---|---|
| 30 days | First board meetingMinutes recorded & signed |
| 30 days | First auditor appointed |
| 15 days of appointment | Form ADT-1 filed |
| ~Early | Bank account opened, capital deposited |
| 60 days | Share certificates issued |
| 180 days | Form INC-20A filedThe critical one — strike-off risk if missed |
The registrations that should happen early too
Strictly, these aren't all 90-day statutory deadlines — but they belong in the same window because waiting on them creates friction everywhere else:
- GST registration, if your turnover or business type requires it — needed before you can raise compliant tax invoices.
- Professional tax registration, which states like Maharashtra and Karnataka require within 30 days of hiring employees.
- Udyam (MSME) registration — free, quick, and the gateway to cheaper credit and a halved government fee on trademarks. There's no reason to delay it.
What the rest of year one looks like
Beyond 90 days, the rhythm becomes annual: DIR-3 KYC for every director by 30 September each year to keep their DIN active; AOC-4 (financial statements) and MGT-7 (annual return) filed after your AGM; your company's income tax return; and, if registered, ongoing GST returns. The penalty for late annual filings is ₹100 per day per form, with no upper cap — and three consecutive years of non-filing can disqualify a director. It compounds quietly, which is exactly why it's dangerous.
One calendar, one contact. Fifteen-plus compliance items across the first year is a lot to track on a spreadsheet, and a missed date is a penalty, not a reminder. The point of a proper compliance partner isn't the filing itself — it's that you're notified before a deadline, not after. The founder's involvement should be one short monthly review, not a series of panic filings.
Where we fit
We run this calendar so you don't have to memorise it. Company formation includes getting these first filings right, and our virtual accounting service keeps the GST, TDS, and ROC obligations ahead of their deadlines on a single monthly rhythm. If you've just incorporated — or you're not sure whether something's been missed — that's a quick conversation, and it's far cheaper than a penalty.