MCA Extends FY26 Filing Deadlines to December 31, 2026
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has announced an extension for filing financial statements and annual returns for FY26, waiving extra fees due to portal issues.
Companies can file financial statements until December 31, 2026, without additional fees.
Annual return deadlines have been extended to January 31, 2027.
The extension addresses concerns over technical difficulties with the MCA-21 Version 3 portal.
In a significant move, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has extended the deadlines for companies to submit their financial statements and annual returns for the fiscal year 2025-26. This decision, announced in a circular dated October 24, allows companies to file without incurring additional fees, responding to requests from stakeholders for more time to meet statutory requirements.
The new deadline for filing financial statements, which includes various versions of Form AOC-4, is set for December 31, 2026. This includes options for consolidated financial statements and filings in XBRL format, as well as forms applicable to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Additionally, the deadline for annual returns, submitted through Forms MGT-7 and MGT-7A, has been extended to January 31, 2027.
The extension comes amid growing concerns from company secretaries and professionals regarding ongoing technical issues with the MCA-21 Version 3 portal. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) had previously requested this extension, citing frequent portal downtimes, slow response times, and various technical glitches that hindered the filing process. These issues included session timeouts, difficulties in logging in, and challenges in managing Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs).
Pawan G Chandak, president of ICSI, emphasized that these technical challenges could prevent compliant entities from meeting the prescribed filing timelines. The MCA's circular clarifies that while the deadlines have been extended, the statutory timelines for holding annual general meetings (AGMs) remain unchanged.
This is not the first time the MCA has granted extensions for annual filings; similar extensions were provided for FY 2024-25 in late 2025. The current extension reflects the ministry's ongoing efforts to facilitate compliance amid evolving technological landscapes and stakeholder concerns.
