AOC-4 in 2026: File Your Company’s Financial Story Before the Penalty Clock Starts Ticking

AOC-4 filing guide for FY 2025-26 & 2026-27: due dates, MCA V3 steps, fees, late penalties, plus the standard deduction explained. File on time.

Sneha Das

11/13/20267 min read

Every company in India has a yearly job: hand its financial statements to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) on time. That job has a name, Form AOC-4. Get it right and nobody notices. Get it wrong, or late, and the fees pile up daily with no ceiling.

This guide walks you through what AOC-4 is, who files it, the dates that matter this year, what late filing really costs, and how licences and the standard deduction fit into your wider compliance picture.

What is Form AOC-4?

Form AOC-4 is the MCA e-form for filing financial statements and other documents with the Registrar. The requirement comes from Section 137 of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 12 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014. You file it online through the MCA V3 portal (mca.gov.in), and it creates the company’s official financial record for that year.

Timely filing, along with Form MGT-7, keeps your ROC compliance in order. Banks, investors, lenders and regulators often rely on these filings, so a clean record also supports your credibility.

What goes into an AOC-4 filing?

Balance Sheet
Statement of Profit and Loss
Cash Flow Statement (where applicable)
Auditor’s Report
Board’s Report
Form AOC-1, where the company has subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures
Form CSR-2, as a linked form, for companies covered by Section 135

On MCA V3, the Board’s Report and Auditor’s Report are completed as linked web forms rather than uploaded as separate PDFs.

Who Needs to File AOC-4?

Almost every registered company, whether private, public, OPC or Section 8. That includes inactive companies with no business activity. The only exception is a company that has obtained dormant status under Section 455, which files Form MSC-3 instead.

Which AOC-4 Variant Applies to You?

Picking the wrong variant is one of the most common reasons filings get rejected or sent back.

An XBRL company may have to keep filing in XBRL in later years even if it falls below the thresholds.

AOC-4 Due Dates: FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27

The standard rule

Companies holding an AGM: within 30 days of the AGM.
One Person Companies (OPCs): within 180 days of the financial year-end, since no AGM is needed.
Companies not holding an AGM: within 30 days of the date the AGM should have been held, with reasons.
Adjourned AGM: if financial statements aren’t adopted at the original AGM, file the unadopted statements within 30 days of that AGM. Once adopted at the adjourned AGM, file the adopted statements within 30 days of that meeting.

FY 2025-26: the extension, explained properly

This is where many people get confused. MCA General Circular No. 05/2026, dated 24 October 2026, lets companies file AOC-4 and its variants up to 31 December 2026 without additional fees. MGT-7 and MGT-7A get until 31 January 2027.

Two things to remember:

This is relief from additional fees, not an extension of the AGM deadline. The AGM timelines are not extended.
If you file after 31 December 2026 (AOC-4) or 31 January 2027 (MGT-7/7A), additional fees are counted from the original due date under the Act, not from the extended date.

The normal filing fee still applies within the relief window; only the additional fee is waived.

Separately, General Circular No. 06/2026 dated 27 October 2026 gives similar relief for Form CRA-4 (cost audit report), up to 31 December 2026.

FY 2026-27 (year ending 31 March 2027)

These dates assume the AGM is held on the last permissible day, 30 September 2027. Your actual date is 30 days from your own AGM.

A note on LLPs: LLPs don’t use AOC-4. They file Form 8 (statement of accounts) by 30 October and Form 11 (annual return) by 30 May each year.

The earlier Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme 2026 (CCFS-2026), which offered a 90% waiver on additional fees for overdue forms, closed on 15 September 2026. Don’t count on a waiver unless the MCA announces a new one.

Who Signs and Certifies AOC-4?

Company signatory: a director authorised by the Board signs with their Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).
Professional certification: a practising Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or Cost Accountant certifies the form after checking it against the books, where required.
Exemption: OPCs and small companies are exempt from professional certification and can file with the director’s DSC alone.

How to File AOC-4 on MCA V3: Step by Step

Since 14 July 2025, AOC-4 has moved to MCA V3’s web-based forms.

Log in to MCA V3 with your registered business user account.
Choose the variant: go to MCA Services → e-Filing → Company Forms and select AOC-4, XBRL, CFS or NBFC (Ind AS).
Fill the linked forms: Board’s Report, Auditor’s Report and, where applicable, CSR-2.
Enter financial details and attach the audited statements, notes to accounts and AOC-1 if relevant.
Apply DSC: the authorised director’s, and the certifying professional’s where required.
Submit, pay and note the SRN for tracking.

An offline Excel utility is available where applicable, and the MCA instruction kit is worth a read before you start.

AOC-4 Filing Fees

Fees depend on nominal share capital under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014.

Companies without share capital pay a flat ₹200 per document.

What Happens If You File AOC-4 Late?

Late filing hits you in two separate ways, and both can apply together.

Additional fee (Section 403): ₹100 per day of delay, with no upper cap.
Penalty on the company (Section 137(3)): ₹10,000 plus ₹100 per day of continuing default, up to ₹2 lakh.
Penalty on the MD, CFO or responsible director (Section 137(3)): ₹10,000 plus ₹100 per day, up to ₹50,000.
Director disqualification (Section 164(2)): if financial statements or annual returns go unfiled for three consecutive years, every director is disqualified for five years. They can’t be reappointed in that company or appointed in any other.

Common AOC-4 Mistakes to Avoid

Wrong variant: filing standard AOC-4 when XBRL, CFS or NBFC applies.
Missing AOC-1: needed where there are subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures.
Incomplete XBRL filing: you need the XBRL data file plus the signed PDF of the financial statements.
Mismatched figures: AOC-4 must tally with the audited accounts.
Invalid DSC or missing certification: check validity before you start.
Unfinished linked forms: complete the Board’s Report, Auditor’s Report and other linked forms first.

AOC-4 vs MGT-7: What’s the Difference?

AOC-4 tells the ROC how the company performed. MGT-7 tells it who owns and runs the company.

Beyond ROC Filings: Licences and the Standard Deduction

AOC-4 is only one part of running a compliant business. Depending on what you do, you may also need registrations such as GST, Udyam (MSME), FSSAI, Import Export Code (IEC) and Professional Tax. Requirements differ by state and business type, so check what applies to you.

What is the standard deduction, and who gets it?

If you or your directors draw a salary, this one matters at ITR time. The standard deduction is a flat amount reduced from salary or pension income, with no investments or bills needed.

New regime: ₹75,000. Old regime: ₹50,000.
Family pension: ₹25,000 under the new regime, and ₹15,000 or one-third of the pension (whichever is lower) under the old regime.
It sits under Section 16(ia) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for FY 2025-26 and earlier. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 it falls under Section 19, applying from Tax Year 2026-27.
Slab rates and deduction limits are unchanged. Your ITR for FY 2025-26 is still governed by the 1961 Act.

It applies only to income taxed as salary or pension, not to business profits, professional fees or the company’s own income.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is AOC-4 mandatory for inactive companies?
A: Yes. Unless the company has obtained dormant status under Section 455, in which case it files Form MSC-3, even a company with no turnover must file AOC-4 every year.

Q2. What is the AOC-4 due date for FY 2025-26?
A: The usual date is 30 days from the AGM, which is 30 October 2026 if the AGM was held on 30 September 2026. Under MCA General Circular 05/2026, AOC-4 can be filed up to 31 December 2026 without additional fees.

Q3. Is the 31 December 2026 date an AGM extension?
A: No. It only waives additional fees for filing. AGM timelines stay as they are.

Q4. What if I miss 31 December 2026?
A: Additional fees are then counted from the original due date, not from 31 December.

Q5. What is the AOC-4 due date for FY 2026-27?
A: Within 30 days of the AGM. If the AGM is on 30 September 2027, that is 30 October 2027. OPCs must file by 27 September 2027.

Q6. Do OPCs need CA/CS certification for AOC-4?
A: No. OPCs and small companies are exempt and can file using the director’s DSC.

Q7. What is the penalty for late AOC-4 filing?
A: ₹100 per day under Section 403 with no cap, plus Section 137(3) penalties of up to ₹2 lakh on the company and up to ₹50,000 on each liable officer.

Q8. Which AOC-4 form should I file?
A: Standard AOC-4 for most companies, AOC-4 XBRL for XBRL-covered companies, AOC-4 CFS for consolidated statements of non-XBRL companies, and AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS) for Ind AS NBFCs.

Q9. How much standard deduction can I claim?
A: ₹75,000 under the new regime and ₹50,000 under the old regime, on salary or pension income.

Q10. Is AOC-4 filed online or offline?
A: Online on MCA V3, with linked forms for the Board’s and Auditor’s Reports. An offline Excel utility is available where applicable.

Conclusion

AOC-4 is the backbone of your company’s yearly disclosure to the ROC, and it isn’t a form to leave for the last week. Pick the right variant, match your figures to the audited accounts, complete every linked form, and keep your DSCs valid. The extension to 31 December 2026 is welcome relief, but it only removes the additional fee, so file early rather than testing the deadline. Alongside that, keep your licences current and, if you draw a salary, choose your tax regime with the standard deduction in mind.

Need Help With AOC-4 and ROC Compliance?

Filing4u Consultancy helps startups, entrepreneurs and growing businesses handle ROC filings, MCA compliance, tax and registrations without the stress.