22 Jun 2026If your company has skipped an annual filing — or three — there is finally a low-cost way to clean the slate. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026) through General Circular No. 01/2026 dated 24 February 2026, and it is one of the most generous compliance windows in years.
In plain terms: file your pending forms between 15 April and 15 July 2026 and pay up to 90% less in additional (late) fees. For a private limited company carrying two or three years of defaults, that can be the difference between a few thousand rupees and a few lakhs.
This guide breaks down exactly what the ROC amnesty scheme 2026 offers, which companies and forms qualify, and the practical steps to use it before the window closes.
What is the CCFS-2026 amnesty scheme?
The CCFS is a one-time facilitation scheme that lets companies regularise their pending ROC filings with a sharply reduced financial burden. The MCA’s stated objective is straightforward — improve overall corporate compliance levels and let companies update their records in the MCA registry without the punitive additional fees that normally pile up day after day.
For context, MCA additional fees on a delayed annual filing accrue at escalating multiples of the normal fee based on how late you are, and for long-pending forms they can run to several times the original fee. The amnesty removes most of that penalty, which is why the scheme matters for any SME promoter sitting on overdue filings.
Scheme window: mark these dates
The CCFS-2026 is a strictly time-bound window:
| Particular | Date |
|---|---|
| Scheme effective from | 15 April 2026 |
| Scheme closes on | 15 July 2026 |
There is no indication of an extension, and amnesty schemes rarely get one. If you wait, the normal ROC late filing fees — at full additional-fee rates — return on 16 July. Treat 15 July 2026 as a hard deadline.
The three relief options under CCFS-2026
The scheme is not just about clearing backlog filings. It gives defaulting companies three distinct exit or cleanup routes, each with its own waiver:
1. File pending annual filings — 90% waiver on additional fees
This is the headline benefit. Companies that have not filed their financial statements or annual returns can now do so by paying the normal fee plus only 10% of the additional fee. The 90% waiver applies to the additional (penalty) fees — the normal statutory filing fee is still payable. For a company three years behind on AOC-4 and MGT-7, this is where the bulk of the savings sit.
2. Obtain dormant status — 50% waiver on normal fees
If your company is not currently carrying on business but you want to keep it alive for future use, you can apply for dormant status under Section 455 of the Companies Act, 2013, with a 50% waiver on the normal fees. This is a useful option for holding companies, dormant SPVs, or businesses you intend to revive later.
3. Apply for strike off — 75% waiver on applicable fees
For a company you no longer need, the scheme offers a 75% waiver on the applicable fees for a voluntary company strike off under Section 248(2). This is the cleanest, cheapest exit if the entity has served its purpose.
Important sequencing point: A company cannot apply for strike off while annual filings are pending. In practice, many promoters first use Option 1 to clear backlog filings at the 90% concession, and then apply for strike off under Option 3. Plan the order before you start.
Which forms are covered?
- AOC-4 / AOC-4 XBRL / AOC-4 CFS — filing of financial statements
- MGT-7 / MGT-7A — annual return (MGT-7A for small companies and OPCs)
- ADT-1 — auditor appointment intimation
- FC-3 / FC-4 — filings by foreign companies
- Legacy Companies Act, 1956 forms — including 20B, 21A, 23AC, 23ACA, and similar older annual filing forms
That last category is significant. Companies carrying very old defaults from the 1956 Act era can finally close them out under this window.
Who is NOT eligible?
The scheme is broad, but it deliberately excludes companies already in a terminal or contentious state. You cannot use CCFS-2026 if:
- A final notice for strike off has already been issued against the company
- The company has already applied for strike off
- The company has already applied for dormant status
- The company is a vanishing company
- The company has been dissolved through amalgamation
A quick example: what the savings look like
Consider a small private limited company that has not filed AOC-4 and MGT-7 for FY 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25. Under normal rules, additional fees on each form escalate steeply with the delay — six overdue forms can easily run into ₹1–2 lakh or more in penalties alone. Under CCFS-2026, the additional-fee component drops by 90%: the promoter pays the normal filing fees plus just 10% of what the penalty would have been, frequently bringing the total down to a fraction of the original exposure.
How to use the scheme — a practical checklist
- Run a compliance health check. Pull your company’s master data and filing history from the MCA portal and list every pending form by financial year.
- Confirm eligibility. Make sure none of the five exclusion conditions apply.
- Decide your end goal. Reviving (file backlog), parking (dormant status), or closing (strike off)? This determines the waiver you use.
- Get your documents in order. Audited financials, board resolutions, the auditor’s report, and a signed AOC-4/MGT-7 set.
- File within the window. Submit between 15 April and 15 July 2026 so the concession is applied automatically.
- Keep the acknowledgements. Retain the SRN and challan for every form as proof of regularisation.
The bottom line
CCFS-2026 is a rare, time-limited reset for any company carrying overdue ROC annual filing obligations. Whether you want to bring a live company back into compliance at a 90% reduction in additional fees, park it as dormant, or wind it down through a discounted company strike off, the economics will never be better than they are between 15 April and 15 July 2026.
This article is for general information and does not constitute professional advice. Eligibility, fees, and procedure should be confirmed against MCA General Circular No. 01/2026 and your company’s specific filing status. For a tailored assessment of your ROC compliance and the savings available under CCFS-2026, contact our team.