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All Companies (Private Limited Company, Limited Company, One Person Company) are required to file annual return after the end of each financial year.
The procedure for filing annual return for a private limited company is simple and can be easily completed.
Limited Liability: A private limited company's shareholders have limited liability. This means that as a shareholder, you will only be responsible for the company's liabilities to the extent of your contribution.
Because the shareholders have no personal liability, they are not required to pay the company's liability out of their own funds.
Easy raising of funds: Even though registering a PLC comes with compliance requirements, it is preferred by entrepreneurs as it helps them raise funds through equity, expand and at the same time limits the liability.
Trustworthiness: The Companies Act of 2013 requires companies in India to register with the Registrar of Companies (ROC). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal allows anyone to check the company's details. During the formation of the firm, all the directors' information is also submitted. As a result, a Public Limited Company structure is more trustworthy.
Perpetual Existence: A company has 'perpetual succession,' which means that it will continue to exist until it is lawfully dissolved. Because a company is a separate legal person, it is unaffected by the death or termination of any of its members, and it continues to exist regardless of membership changes.
Maintain proper books of accounts. Prepare financial statements of the company.
Appoint the auditor of the company
Conduct Annual General Meeting of the company
File Annual Return with MCA
It is important for all companies to maintain Book of Accounts not only to comply with the law but also to have control over the business.
The Companies Act, 2013 makes it mandatory for all companies to maintain book of accounts in the specified format. Further, in the absence of book of accounts and effective accounting systems, the Directors may not even know as to whether the company is incurring losses or profits.
Filing regulatory filings such as service tax return, VAT return, TDS return, etc., would also be difficult without proper book of accounts. Therefore, it is imperative that the Company maintain proper Book of Accounts with the following information:
A company is required to file three forms with ROC:
ROC Form MGT 7: which contains details of shareholding structure, change in directorship and details of the transfer of shares during the year if any. Due date for ROC Form MGT 7 would be 28th November that is 60 days from the conclusion of AGM.
ROC Form AOC4: which contains details and annexure relating to Balance Sheet of the Company, Profit & Loss Account, Compliance Certificate, Registered Office Address, Register of Member, Shares and Debentures details, Debt details and information about the Management of the Company. The due date for ROC Form AOC 4 would be 29th October i.e. 30 days from the conclusion of the AGM.
ROC Form ADT 1: is filed for auditor appointment. The due date for ROC Form ADT 1 would be 14th October i.e within 15 days from the conclusion of AGM.
All companies are required to prepare financial statements of the company based on the Book of Accounts. Financial statements mean any statement to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in the financial position of an assesse and includes balance sheet, profit and loss account and other statements and explanatory notes forming part thereof.
Every Company must appoint its first Auditor within one month of the registration of the company. Any person who is a qualified Chartered Accountant in practice, or a firm of Chartered Accountants can be appointed as the Auditors of the Company. However, the following persons / entities cannot be appointed as Auditor of a Company:
It is important to remember that the Auditor of the Company must be independent and not having bias towards the company.
Audit plays an important role in the management of the Company. As per Companies Act, 2013 every company should appoint an Auditor to audit the accounts of the company and present their report on the accounts.
The Auditor after being appointed by the Company would audit the financial statements of the Company and submit his/her report on the accounts of the Company to the members. The Auditor is also required to state in his report whether the accounts of the Company give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company.
If the Auditor is not satisfied with the information / clarification provided in the financial statements of the Company, or if the Auditor has any reservation in respect of the account or book of accounts maintained by the Company, then he/she can bring the facts to the attention of the stakeholders by Qualifying the Audit report.
An Annual General Meeting is a meeting of the shareholders of a Company held every year. Companies Act, 2013 mandates that all company except One Person Company hold one Annual General Meeting every year.
No company is exempt from this requirement. The date of any Annual General Meeting must be within 15 months from the date of immediately preceding Annual General Meeting. However, for a newly incorporated company, the first Annual General Meeting must be held within 18 months from the date of incorporation of the Company.
At the Annual General Meeting, the audited financial statements of the Company with the Auditor’s Report and Directors Report are placed before the members of the Company. The members of the Company on being satisfied about the financial statements of the Company can adopt the Annual Accounts of the company after due consideration. The financial statements of a company are considered final only after it is approved by the Shareholders of the company in the Meeting.