Quick answer
What is INC 20A and when must it be filed?
INC 20A is the declaration a director files with the ROC confirming that every subscriber has paid for the shares taken in the memorandum. It is due within 180 days of the incorporation date. Late filing costs a multiple of the normal fee, and the company faces a ₹50,000 penalty plus up to ₹1 lakh per officer.
- Due within 180 days of incorporation
- Applies to companies with share capital formed on or after 2 November 2018
- Bank proof of subscription money is the key attachment
- Certified by a practising CA, CS or cost accountant
- Company penalty ₹50,000; officers ₹1,000 a day up to ₹1 lakh
What is Form INC 20A and who needs to file it?
Form INC 20A is the e-form used under section 10A of the Companies Act, 2013 to declare that a newly formed company has received the subscription money promised in its memorandum. A director files it, and it must reach the ROC within 180 days of the date shown on the certificate of incorporation.
Section 10A was added by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019 with effect from 2 November 2018. It applies to:
- Private limited companies with share capital, including those registered through private limited company registration on SPICe+.
- One person companies with share capital.
- Public companies with share capital.
Companies registered without share capital, such as many Section 8 companies limited by guarantee, fall outside the form. Companies registered before 2 November 2018 never had to file it. LLPs are governed by a different Act and have no equivalent declaration.
A common Delhi pattern: the founders register the company, get busy with GST and a first client, and only remember the declaration when the bank or an investor asks for it. By then the 180 days have often passed.
What is a commencement of business certificate?
People often search for a "commencement of business certificate", but under the 2013 Act the ROC does not issue a separate certificate. The company files the INC-20A declaration, and once the form is approved its SRN and the MCA record serve as proof that commencement has been declared.
Section 10A(1) says the company shall not commence any business or exercise any borrowing powers until the declaration is filed. In practice that touches three things founders care about early on:
- Bank loans and overdrafts. Lenders check the MCA master data before sanctioning credit to a young company.
- Investor due diligence. A missing declaration shows up in every legal check of the company's filings.
- Tenders and vendor registration. Large buyers ask for proof of incorporation compliance, and a gap here delays onboarding.
Need help with INC-20A filing (declaration for commencement of business)? Talk to a chartered accountant in Delhi today. First call is free.
Which documents are needed for INC 20A?
The main attachment for INC 20A is proof that each subscriber paid for the shares written against their name in the memorandum, usually a bank statement of the company's current account showing the credits. Add a regulator's approval where the company's objects need one.
| Document | Why it is needed | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of incorporation, MOA and AOA | Confirms the subscribers and the shares each one took | Already with the company after SPICe+ |
| Company bank statement showing subscription credits | Main proof that the money was received | Company's banker |
| Details of each subscriber's payment (date, amount, mode) | Matched against the memorandum line by line | Founders |
| Valid DSC of the signing director | The form is signed digitally by a director | Director |
| Approval from a sector regulator, where applicable | Needed where objects require RBI, SEBI or similar registration | Company |
| Certification by a practising CA, CS or cost accountant | The professional certifies the form before filing | We arrange this |
Attachments as described by LegalWiz and TaxGuru, checked 10 November 2026. The current e-form is on the MCA V3 portal.
How to file INC 20A: step by step
Filing takes a few working days once the bank statement is ready. The slow part is usually the founders transferring subscription money, so we start with that.
- 1
Check the memorandum
We list each subscriber, the number of shares and the amount payable, straight from the incorporated MOA.
- 2
Collect subscription money
Each subscriber transfers their amount to the company's current account from their own bank account, so the trail is clean.
- 3
Get the bank statement
You download or request a statement showing every subscription credit and send it to us.
- 4
Prepare the form
We fill INC-20A on the MCA V3 portal and attach the statement and any regulator approval.
- 5
Certify and sign
The director signs with a DSC and a practising professional certifies the form.
- 6
Pay the fee and file
The MCA fee is paid online, the SRN is generated, and we send you the challan and approval for your records.
What is the government fee for INC 20A, and what if it is late?
The MCA fee for INC 20A depends on the company's authorised (nominal) share capital, from ₹200 below ₹1 lakh to ₹600 at ₹1 crore and above. If the form goes in after 180 days, an additional fee of 2 to 12 times the normal fee applies, depending on the delay.
| Nominal share capital or delay | Fee |
|---|---|
| Less than ₹1 lakh | ₹200 |
| ₹1 lakh to under ₹5 lakh | ₹300 |
| ₹5 lakh to under ₹25 lakh | ₹400 |
| ₹25 lakh to under ₹1 crore | ₹500 |
| ₹1 crore or more | ₹600 |
| Filed up to 30 days late | 2 times the normal fee as additional fee |
| More than 30 and up to 60 days late | 4 times |
| More than 60 and up to 90 days late | 6 times |
| More than 90 and up to 180 days late | 10 times |
| More than 180 days late | 12 times |
Source: Annexure to rule 12, Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, as reproduced on ca2013.com (valid as on 6 November 2026), cross-checked with LegalWiz. The portal calculates the final fee; check it at the time of filing.
What is the penalty for not filing INC 20A on time?
Under section 10A(2), a company that misses the INC 20A deadline is liable to a penalty of ₹50,000, and each officer in default to ₹1,000 for every day the default continues, up to ₹1 lakh. This is separate from the additional MCA fee.
A Delhi example
The ROC Delhi passed an adjudication order dated 24 December 2025 against a company incorporated on 20 January 2023. Its declaration was due by 19 July 2023 but was filed on 18 May 2024, 304 days late. The order imposed ₹50,000 on the company and ₹1,00,000 on one director. Two other directors were let off: one joined after the default, and the other was a non-executive professional director. The order is reproduced on TaxGuru.
Strike-off risk
Section 10A(3) lets the ROC start strike-off proceedings where no declaration has been filed and it has reason to believe the company is not carrying on business. Separately, section 248 allows removal of a company that has not commenced business within one year of incorporation. If your company never started trading, compare restoring compliance with closing the company before paying for a long catch-up.
What else is due in a new company's first months?
INC 20A sits inside a short list of first-year tasks. Doing them together saves a second round of document collection, and our ADT-1 filing page covers the auditor step in detail.
| Task | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First board meeting | Within 30 days of incorporation | Section 173(1) |
| Open current account and receive subscription money | As early as possible | Needed before INC 20A |
| INC 20A declaration | Within 180 days of incorporation | Section 10A |
| Appoint first statutory auditor (ADT-1 where filed) | Early in the first year | Board appoints the first auditor |
| GST, PF or ESI registrations | When thresholds or contracts require | Depends on the business |
| First AGM, AOC-4 and MGT-7 | After the first financial year closes | See annual compliance below |
Board meeting rule per section 173(1) as reproduced on ca2013.com, checked 10 November 2026.
How CA in Delhi handles INC 20A for your company
We take on INC 20A as a fixed-scope job: you send the incorporation kit and the bank statement, and we return the filed form with its SRN and fee challan. If the deadline has already passed, we work out the additional fee first so you know the cost before anything is filed.
- What you send: certificate of incorporation, MOA, the bank statement with subscription credits, and access to a director's DSC (or the token, dropped at our office).
- What we do: check that each subscriber's payment matches the memorandum, prepare the form, arrange certification by a practising professional, and file.
- What you get back: the filed INC-20A, the payment challan, and a note of the next dates: auditor appointment, first AGM and annual filings.
Post-incorporation filings are handled by the listed firm whose services cover ROC compliance, such as Moneymji, or by a partner professional we brief on your file. Compare the options on our list of chartered accountant firms in Delhi. Our office is at Netaji Subhash Place, and founders anywhere in the city can work with us online. Before any work begins, you receive a fixed quote for the filing and any late-fee work.
Frequently asked questions
Is INC 20A mandatory for every company?
It is mandatory for companies having share capital that were incorporated on or after 2 November 2018. Companies without share capital and companies formed before that date are outside section 10A. If your certificate of incorporation is dated after 2 November 2018 and your MOA shows shares, the declaration applies to you.
What is the INC 20A due date?
The declaration is due within 180 days of the incorporation date printed on the certificate of incorporation. Count from that date, not from when the PAN or bank account arrived. A company incorporated on 15 May 2026, for example, should file by mid-November 2026. We confirm the exact last day for your company when you send the certificate.
Can a company do business before filing INC 20A?
Section 10A(1) says a company shall not commence business or exercise borrowing powers until the declaration is filed. Many young companies issue invoices in the gap anyway, which creates a compliance risk lenders and investors will notice. File the declaration first, then start invoicing and borrowing with a clean record.
Who certifies Form INC 20A?
A director signs the form with a DSC, and a practising chartered accountant, company secretary or cost accountant certifies it before it is filed. The professional checks that the subscription money matches the memorandum and that the attachments are in order. We arrange this certification as part of the job.
What if the subscribers paid in cash?
The declaration rests on proof that the money reached the company. Cash deposited into the company's bank account can still show up on the statement, but transfers from each subscriber's own account give a far cleaner trail. Where the trail is unclear, we suggest fixing it before filing rather than attaching a weak document.
Can INC 20A be filed after 180 days?
Yes. The MCA portal accepts the form late with an additional fee of 2 to 12 times the normal fee, depending on the delay. Filing late does not cancel the section 10A(2) penalty, which the ROC can still impose through adjudication. The sooner you file, the lower both costs tend to be.
Is there a separate certificate for commencement of business?
No separate certificate is issued under the 2013 Act. The approved INC-20A filing and its SRN, visible in the company's MCA records, are what banks and auditors accept as proof. Keep the filed form and challan with your incorporation documents.
Does an LLP need to file INC 20A?
No. INC 20A is a Companies Act form. An LLP files Form 3 for its agreement after incorporation, then Form 11 and Form 8 every year. Our page on LLP annual filing explains those two returns and their dates.
Do I need to visit the ROC Delhi office for INC 20A?
No. The form is filed online on the MCA V3 portal and signed with a DSC. You can send documents by email or WhatsApp. If you prefer to talk it through, our office is a short walk from Netaji Subhash Place metro station, or you can find a CA near you through our directory.