Incorporation is the starting line, not the finish
The certificate of incorporation triggers a clock on a dozen obligations, several with hard deadlines in the first six months. Miss them and the penalties compound daily — INC-20A alone carries ₹50,000 for the company plus ₹1,000 per day for officers in default.
The first 30 days
Open a current account and get the subscription money deposited — you cannot file INC-20A (declaration of commencement of business) until every subscriber has paid for their shares, and INC-20A is due within 180 days. Appoint your first auditor within 30 days of incorporation via a board meeting; if the board fails, members must do it at an EGM within 90 days.
Day-one to day-30 essentials
- First board meeting within 30 days of incorporation
- Auditor appointment (ADT-1 follows the first AGM for the 5-year term)
- Current account opening and share subscription money received
- Registered office verification (INC-22, if not filed at incorporation)
- Statutory registers opened: members, directors, charges, related-party contracts
The first 180 days
File INC-20A once capital is received — without it the company cannot legally commence business or borrow. Issue share certificates within 60 days of allotment and pay stamp duty on them (a step almost every founder misses). If you crossed the GST threshold or sell inter-state, register for GST; if you hired employees, check PF (20+ employees) and ESI (10+ employees) applicability and your state's Shops & Establishments and professional tax registrations.
AXAON note — The one everyone misses
Stamp duty on share certificates is a state-law obligation due within 30 days of issue. Unstamped certificates surface as a red flag in every due-diligence exercise, years later, when fixing them is expensive.
Closing the first financial year
Your first AGM is due within 9 months of the first financial-year end. Before it: get the accounts audited, approve them in a board meeting, and circulate the notice 21 clear days ahead. After it: AOC-4 (financials) within 30 days and MGT-7A (annual return) within 60 days of the AGM. Alongside, every director files DIR-3 KYC by 30 September, DPT-3 is due by 30 June if the company holds any loan (including director loans), and MSME-1 half-yearly if you owe MSME vendors beyond 45 days.
Income tax and TDS run in parallel
The company files ITR-6 by 31 October (audit cases). If you pay rent, salaries, contractor fees or professional fees above the thresholds, you must deduct TDS, deposit it by the 7th of the next month, and file quarterly returns (24Q/26Q). Advance tax applies from year one if the liability exceeds ₹10,000 — in four instalments starting 15 June.
Nineteen-plus obligations is a lot to track on a spreadsheet. This is exactly what a compliance calendar with owner-assigned reminders is for.