A SaaS founder in Salt Lake Sector V incorporated her company in March and got straight to work. The product shipped, a client agreed to an advance, and then the bank flagged the account: no INC-20A on record. Everything waited two weeks for a form we complete in 3 to 5 days. INC-20A is the declaration of commencement of business, and until it is approved a new company cannot lawfully trade or borrow. The rules themselves are national, and the full INC-20A filing process nationwide explains them in detail. This page covers what actually matters in Kolkata: the office reviewing your form, the deadline, the penalties and the state registrations that follow.
What is INC-20A and when does the clock start?
Every company with share capital incorporated on or after 2 November 2018 must file INC-20A before it starts business or borrows money. The deadline is 180 days from the date printed on your certificate of incorporation, not from the day your bank account opens. That distinction trips up plenty of founders, because account opening and capital deposits routinely consume a month or more.
The form itself is a declaration by the directors that every subscriber to the memorandum has paid the agreed share capital into the company's bank account. Proof travels with the form as an attachment, usually the bank statement showing each credit.
For a company with its registered office anywhere in West Bengal, the reviewing authority is ROC West Bengal, which sits in Kolkata. Your CIN already tells you this: every company registered in the state carries the state code WB, in the shape U72900WB2026PTC123456. The filing itself happens online on the MCA V3 portal, and nobody visits any office at any stage.
Which Kolkata companies must file it?
The obligation covers every company with share capital, whatever its size or sector. In our Kolkata practice the usual filers look like this:
- A private limited technology company in Sector V that has just been incorporated and wants to invoice its first client.
- A restaurant brand near Park Street that registered a private limited company to bring in franchise investors and cannot touch that money before approval.
- A One Person Company run from a home office, where the sole director signs alone.
- A family trading business in Bowbazar that moved into a private limited structure and now faces its first ROC deadlines.
Companies without share capital, such as Section 8 entities, are exempt. Everyone else files, and the registered office address makes no difference to the route. Salt Lake, New Town, Howrah and Barasat addresses all answer to the same authority, the ROC West Bengal office in the A.J.C. Bose Road area of Kolkata.
What does missing the 180 day deadline cost?
The penalty structure is blunt, and it applies without any notice or hearing. Here is the exposure:
| Default | Who bears it | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Form not filed within 180 days | The company | ₹50,000 |
| Continuing default | Each officer in default | ₹1,000 per day, capped at ₹1,00,000 |
| Filing after the deadline | The company | Higher government fee on the late form |
| Long unexplained default | The company | ROC West Bengal may begin strike off action |
Beyond the fines, the practical damage is worse. A company that has not filed cannot lawfully commence business, so contracts signed in that window sit on shaky ground. Banks in Kolkata increasingly check MCA records before extending full facilities, and an investor doing diligence spots a missing INC-20A in minutes. Late filing remains possible with an increased government fee, and it is always better than waiting for the Registrar to act.
How do we file INC-20A for a Kolkata company?
The whole engagement runs online, over WhatsApp and email, with our team in Barasat handling the portal work. The sequence is fixed:
- You send us the certificate of incorporation, director DINs and the DSC status of each director, and we confirm your exact 180 day deadline the same day.
- We examine the company bank statement to verify that every subscriber's capital has actually been credited, and we flag shortfalls before anything is drafted.
- Our CS drafts the board resolution and prepares Form INC-20A, cross checking the figures against the subscription pages of the MOA.
- Directors sign with their DSCs, and we upload the form on MCA V3 with the bank proof attached, paying the government fee through the portal.
- We track the SRN until ROC West Bengal approves, then send you the acknowledgement with a checklist of what your company should register next.
Most filings clear in 3 to 5 days once the bank statement is clean. The common delay is not the portal; it is a subscriber who has not yet deposited the money.
Which documents should you keep ready?
The list is short, and everything moves as scans:
- Certificate of incorporation showing the incorporation date.
- Memorandum and articles of association, mainly the subscription sheet.
- Company bank statement showing each subscriber's capital credit.
- Valid DSC of every director, which we test before drafting.
- DIN details of all directors.
- Registered office address as it appears on MCA records.
If a director's DSC has expired, we arrange a fresh one first, since the form cannot move without every signature. And if a subscriber has paid from a joint account or in parts, we note it in our working papers so the credits reconcile with the MOA figures.
What does the filing cost in Kolkata?
You pay a professional fee of ₹1,499, covering document review, the board resolution, form preparation, filing on MCA V3 and follow up until approval. The government fee is separate and depends on your authorised share capital under the MCA fee schedule. There is no West Bengal state fee layered on top; this is a central filing, and the cost is the same whether your office is on Park Street or in Rajarhat.
If the 180 day window has passed, the portal charges a higher government fee for the late form. The professional work does not change, so our fee stays ₹1,499 either way. We quote the exact government fee before filing, so you know the full total upfront.
What should you line up right after approval?
Approval of INC-20A is the legal starting gun, and this is where Kolkata companies need a sequence the national guides rarely spell out. Three state registrations usually come next.
First, profession tax. West Bengal levies it, unlike Delhi, so a company here typically needs an enrolment certificate of its own and a registration certificate once it starts paying salaries. West Bengal caps profession tax at ₹2,500 a year, and the monthly deduction for salaried staff never exceeds ₹200.
Second, the trade license. Inside KMC limits this is formally a Certificate of Enlistment, applied for online at kmcgov.in and renewed every year. The authority changes with geography: Salt Lake premises deal with Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, New Town with NKDA, and Howrah with Howrah Municipal Corporation, not KMC.
Third, Shops and Establishments registration with the state Labour Department, taken up shortly after the office starts functioning. We hand every INC-20A client this roadmap with their approval, mapped to their actual locality.
Why Kolkata founders hand this filing to LegalX India
LegalX India is a Kolkata firm, based at 58B, Bidhan Park, Taki Road, Barasat, Kolkata 700124, and ROC West Bengal filings are our daily work rather than an occasional job.
For INC-20A specifically, that experience shows in the boring places. Bank statements are checked line by line before drafting. DSCs are tested before signing day. Figures are reconciled with the MOA so the form clears without resubmission. You get the acknowledgement, the challan and the state registration checklist in one closing email.
Call +91 96356 85435 or request a callback and we respond within 30 minutes. Share your certificate of incorporation today, and the filing can be with ROC West Bengal this week.