AOC-4 Filing for OPCs: FY 2025-26 Deadline Is 27 September 2026 — What to File, How, and What It Costs to Miss It

Quick Answer

Every One Person Company (OPC) must file its adopted financial statements in Form AOC-4 with the Registrar of Companies within 180 days of the end of its financial year, under Section 137 of the Companies Act, 2013. For the financial year ended 31 March 2026, that 180-day window closes on 27 September 2026. Unlike most companies, an OPC's AOC-4 deadline is not tied to an AGM — OPCs are not required to hold one. Filing late attracts an additional fee of ₹100 per day with no upper limit, and can separately expose the company and its director to a statutory penalty of up to ₹2,00,000 and ₹50,000 respectively under Section 137(3).

Note: these penalty and disqualification figures come from Section 137(3) and Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 directly, not from MCA's AOC-4 instruction kit (which covers only the webform's filing process and fee rules). Readers should confirm current figures against the Act's text on the MCA website before relying on them.

At a Glance

Why OPCs Have a Different Deadline

AOC-4 is the e-form through which every company files its financial statements — balance sheet, profit and loss account, and related documents — with the Registrar of Companies, as required under Section 137 of the Companies Act, 2013. For most companies, the 30-day filing clock starts from the date financial statements are adopted at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

OPCs work differently. Because an OPC is not required to hold an AGM, its filing timeline is instead pegged directly to the end of the financial year, with a 180-day window to file the adopted financial statements. For a financial year ending 31 March, that consistently works out to a 27 September deadline each year.

Who Must File

Every registered One Person Company with a valid, active Corporate Identity Number (CIN) must file AOC-4 for FY 2025-26, regardless of turnover or whether the company had any business activity during the year. Filing is mandatory even for dormant or low-activity OPCs unless the company has formally obtained dormant status or is otherwise exempted.

Certain OPCs will also need to file additional linked forms alongside AOC-4:

• AOC-1 — if the OPC has a subsidiary, associate company, or joint venture.
• AOC-2 — if the OPC entered into any related-party transactions during the year.
• AOC-4 CFS — if consolidated financial statements are required.
• CSR-2 — if 'Section 135' or 'Report for unspent CSR amount' is selected as the basis of CSR applicability, the nature of financial statements is not 'Provisional un-adopted', and the filing is for FY 2024-25 onwards.

Extracts of the Board's Report and Auditor's Report are mandatory attachments in all cases, including for OPCs.

Before You Start: Checklist

The MCA's own instruction kit flags several pre-filing checks that commonly trip up filers. Before you begin, confirm:

• The company's CIN is valid, approved, and not flagged for pending Form INC-22.
• The CIN status is not struck off, amalgamated, converted to LLP, dormant, dissolved, liquidated, under liquidation, or otherwise not available for e-filing.
• No other AOC-4 for the same financial year-end is already pending payment or pending approval.
• The Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) to be affixed is valid, non-expired, non-revoked, and registered on the MCA portal against the correct DIN/PAN/membership number.
• A valid SRN of Form ADT-1 (auditor appointment) is available and approved, where applicable.
• The person filing is registered as a Business User on the MCA portal.

Note: the standard AOC-4 webform does not apply to companies notified under the Companies (Filing of documents and forms in Extensible Business Reporting Language) Rules, 2015 where the type of industry is classified as 'C&I' — such companies file under the XBRL format instead. This is unlikely to affect most OPCs but is worth ruling out before filing.

Step-by-Step: How to File AOC-4

Mandatory and conditional attachments

Government Filing Fee

The normal AOC-4 filing fee for a company with share capital is determined by nominal (authorised) share capital under the Companies (Registration of Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014:

This fee is subject to change under the Act or any rule/notification issued thereunder — always confirm the exact amount on the MCA portal at the time of filing. If AOC-4 CFS is filed as a linked form, its fee is calculated in addition to the standard AOC-4 fee.

What Happens If You Miss 27 September 2026

Missing the deadline carries two separate layers of consequence — one automatic and financial, the other statutory and potentially personal to the director.

1. Additional (late) fee — automatic, uncapped

Once the due date passes, the MCA portal automatically applies an additional fee of ₹100 per day of delay, on top of the normal filing fee, with no upper limit. This is calculated simply as the number of days between the due date and the actual filing (posting) date, multiplied by ₹100. A six-month delay, for example, can add well over ₹15,000 in additional fees alone.

2. Statutory penalty under Section 137(3) — separate and discretionary

Independent of the daily additional fee, Section 137(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for a penalty on both the company and the officer(s) in default (for a typical OPC, this is the sole director) where financial statements are not filed within the prescribed period:

This penalty is not automatic at the point of late filing — it is typically imposed through an adjudication process initiated by the Registrar of Companies under Section 454, generally in cases of prolonged non-compliance. In practice, adjudication is more commonly pursued for defaults running into years rather than a filing that is late by a few weeks, but the exposure exists in law from the date of default and is entirely separate from the daily additional fee charged at the time of filing.

3. Director disqualification for repeated default

If a company fails to file its financial statements for three consecutive financial years, its directors can face disqualification from being appointed or re-appointed as a director of any company for five years, under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013. For a single-director OPC, this consequence is particularly consequential, since it can affect the individual's ability to serve as director anywhere else as well.

Compliance Action Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the AOC-4 due date for OPCs for FY 2025-26?
27 September 2026 — 180 days from the financial year-end of 31 March 2026.

Why is the OPC deadline different from other companies?
Because OPCs are not required to hold an AGM, their AOC-4 clock runs from the financial year-end rather than from an AGM date, giving a flat 180-day window instead of 30 days from AGM.

Does an OPC's AOC-4 need to be certified by a CA, CS, or CMA?
No. Certification of the webform by a practicing professional is not mandatory for OPCs — this requirement applies to companies other than OPCs and Small Companies.

What is the penalty for filing AOC-4 late?
An additional fee of ₹100 per day applies automatically, with no cap. Separately, Section 137(3) allows a statutory penalty of up to ₹2,00,000 on the company and up to ₹50,000 on the officer in default, though this typically follows adjudication for sustained non-compliance rather than a brief delay.

Can the director be personally penalised?
Yes. As the officer in default of a single-director OPC, the director can be held personally liable for a penalty under Section 137(3), payable from personal funds, separate from any penalty on the company.

What happens if an OPC misses AOC-4 filing for several years in a row?
Beyond escalating additional fees and possible adjudication penalties, three consecutive years of non-filing can trigger director disqualification under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013.

Where can I file Form AOC-4?
Through the MCA portal's Company e-Filing service, under Annual Filings.

CorpLawUpdates Analysis

For OPC founders juggling compliance alongside running the business, the practical risk here isn't the ₹100/day additional fee itself — a few days' delay is a modest, predictable cost. The real risk is what happens if a first missed deadline turns into a pattern: escalating fees compound quietly, and a company that drifts into a second or third consecutive year of non-filing moves from "administrative delay" into the territory the Registrar's adjudication process is built to catch, with personal exposure for the director. Given that OPC filing doesn't require professional certification of the webform, there's little reason to leave it to the last day — the main dependency is simply having board-approved, audited financial statements ready and a working DSC.

Source Note

Primary references: Section 137, Companies Act, 2013; Rule 12(1), Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014; Companies (Registration of Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014; Section 137(3) and Section 164(2)(a), Companies Act, 2013. Filing process and fee details drawn from MCA's official "Instruction Kit for webform AOC-4." Deadline reminder cross-confirmed against MCA's official notification on its verified X (Twitter) account, @MCA21India (posted reminder: "AOC-4 Filing Reminder for One Person Companies | Financial Year 2025-26, Last Date: 27th September 2026").
Useful official links: Access Form AOC-4 on the MCA portal · MCA FAQs — AOC-4 and linked filings ·MCA fee and payment services. For the full text of Section 137 and Section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013, refer to the Act as published on the MCA website.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Fees and penalty figures are subject to change; readers should verify the exact amount payable on the MCA portal at the time of filing and consult a qualified professional for company-specific guidance.