Annual ROC filing applies to every private limited company and public limited company registered under ROC Chennai, and it does not apply to a proprietorship or an unregistered partnership since neither files with the Registrar at all. If your entity carries a CIN with the state code TN, this filing is not optional, whatever your revenue looked like this year.
LegalX India files AOC-4 and MGT-7 for companies across Chennai, from a trading firm in George Town to a services company in Adyar, on a flat fee that covers preparation through to submission.
This matters more in Tamil Nadu than founders expect. ROC Chennai administers the filing for the bulk of the state, and the CIN itself carries the TN state code that ties your company to this jurisdiction, regardless of where your registered agent happens to sit. A Tamil Nadu company with a lapsed filing history carries that record into every future loan application and every due diligence check a serious investor runs.
Is annual ROC filing something your company actually owes this year?
If your company held its Annual General Meeting this year, or was required to, both AOC-4 and MGT-7 or MGT-7A become due on a clock that starts from that meeting date. A private limited company files the full MGT-7. A small company, defined by paid up capital and turnover thresholds, or an OPC, files the simpler MGT-7A instead.
A company's first financial year can run longer than twelve months if incorporation happened late in the year, which pushes the first AGM and the first filing cycle out accordingly. Zero activity during the year changes nothing about the obligation itself, only the numbers that go into the financial statement.
Which documents does your CA and CS team need first?
Your CA and CS team will ask for the following before drafting begins:
- Audited balance sheet, profit and loss account and cash flow statement
- Auditor's report and the board of directors' report
- Complete list of shareholders with their shareholding percentages
- Director details including DIN, along with any changes made during the year
- Digital signature certificate of a director, and of the company secretary if one is appointed
Missing shareholder or director changes is the most common gap we see, since a share transfer or a new appointment during the year has to be reflected accurately in MGT-7.
How is your AOC-4 and MGT-7 deadline actually calculated?
AOC-4 is due within 30 days of the AGM. MGT-7 or MGT-7A follows 60 days after the same AGM. Both counts start from the actual AGM date, not from your financial year end, which is the detail most founders get wrong when they estimate their own deadline.
Since most Chennai companies with a March 31 year end hold their AGM by September 30, that puts AOC-4 around late October and MGT-7 around late November for a large share of filers. A company that pushes its AGM closer to the September 30 outer limit compresses its own preparation window without changing the underlying 30 day and 60 day counts.
What happens financially if you file late?
| Delay Period | Additional Fee per Form |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 days late | 2 times normal fee |
| 30 to 60 days late | 4 times normal fee |
| 60 to 90 days late | 6 times normal fee |
| Beyond 90 days late | 10 to 12 times normal fee |
The multiplier applies per form, so a company late on both AOC-4 and MGT-7 pays it twice. Beyond the government fee itself, a director of a company with a persistent filing default can face disqualification under Section 164 of the Companies Act, which bars that person from any directorship for five years. That single sentence of statute covers most of what a Chennai founder actually needs to know about the risk.
What does our filing process look like end to end?
- You upload your audited financial statements, shareholder list and director details.
- Our CA and CS team draft the director's report and prepare both forms against your actual records.
- You review the completed forms before anything is submitted anywhere.
- We file AOC-4 and MGT-7 on MCA V3, routed to ROC Chennai based on your registered address.
- You receive SRNs for both filings as proof of submission.
The whole cycle runs 7 to 10 days once your documents are complete, and a company that shares everything on day one usually finishes closer to the lower end of that range.
Which kinds of Chennai companies slip up on this filing?
A commercial establishment in Anna Nagar that changed its shareholding mid year is a repeat pattern. The trade itself stayed steady, but MGT-7 needs the updated shareholder list reflected accurately, and that detail gets missed when the founder assumes nothing changed because revenue looked the same.
An IT or SaaS company on the OMR corridor shows up differently. These companies often raise a funding round or bring in an ESOP pool during the year, and every one of those changes needs to appear correctly in that year's MGT-7. A founder focused on closing the round can easily let the filing paperwork slip past the 60 day window while the deal itself is still being documented.
What makes a Chennai annual ROC filing different with LegalX India?
We have filed annual returns for companies across Chennai long enough to know the two things that actually cause delay. One is an AGM pushed too close to September 30, and the other is a shareholding change that never made it into anyone's notes until filing week.
Our team builds your filing calendar from your actual AGM date, not a generic template, and every submission goes out through MCA V3 with an SRN you can verify. Read annual ROC filing in India explained for the national rules this page builds on, or share your last audited statement with us and we will tell you exactly what your ROC Chennai deadline looks like this year.