MCA Extends AOC-4 Filing Deadline to Dec 31, 2026, and MGT-7 Deadline to Jan 31, 2027, for FY 2025-26:

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a General Circular No. 05/2026, dated October 24, 2026, regarding an extension in the time limit of financial statement and annual returns filing under the Companies Act 2013 and relaxation in additional fees.

According to the circular, the ministry had received multiple representations from several stakeholders. All those representations requested for the same, i.e., extension in the deadline for filing annual statutory forms under the Companies Act, 2013, for the Financial Year 2025-26.

Considering those representations, the ministry has decided to further extend the deadlines for financial statements in e-forms AOC-4, AOC-4 (CFS), AOC4 (XBRL), AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS) and AOC-4 CFS NBFC (Ind AS) until December 31, 2026, and filing annual returns in e-Forms MGT-7 and MGT-7A until January 31, 2027, for the financial year 2025-26. This deadline extension is an application without the payment of any additional fees.

The circular has clarified that "this General Circular shall not be construed as conferring any extension of statutory time for holding of AGMs by the companies under the Act and the companies which have not adhered to the relevant statutory timelines shall be liable under the relevant provisions of the Act."

If any concerned filings are made after the expiry of this circular, they will be considered late and hence will attract additional fees in full as per the Companies Rules, 2014 (calculated from their original due date) along with the normal fees.

Refer to the official circular for complete information.