CA K Sanjay BhargavChartered Accountant
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The annual compliance calendar for an Indian subsidiary of a foreign company, FY 2026-27

CA K Sanjay Bhargav, Chartered Accountant, Bengaluru

Membership No. 250054 · DISA (ICAI)

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Short answer: a private company in India wholly owned by a foreign parent files with four regulators on four clocks — the Registrar of Companies, the Reserve Bank of India, the income tax department and the GST network — plus the payroll authorities every month. The dates that decide the year are the AGM by 30 September, Form 3CEB and the tax audit by 31 October 2026, the return by 30 November 2026, the FLA return by 15 July and GSTR-9 by 31 December. This year also runs on two Income-tax Acts at once, and the calendar below shows which filing belongs to which.

Two Income-tax Acts in one year

The Income-tax Act 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026. It governs tax year 2026-27 — the income being earned now, and the TDS and advance tax paid on it. But the big annual filings made between April 2026 and March 2027 report on FY 2025-26, which the 1961 Act still governs.

Filed in FY 2026-27, reporting onActForms
FY 2025-26 — transfer pricing report, tax audit, return, SFT, Q4 TDS statements1961 Act3CEB, 3CA/3CD, ITR-6, 61A, 24Q/26Q/27Q
Tax year 2026-27 — TDS deposits and statements, advance tax2025 Act138 (salary), 140 (resident non-salary), 144 (non-resident)

The practical point: a team that switches every form to the new numbers on 1 April files the FY 2025-26 transfer pricing report on the wrong form. Form 3CEB is still the form this October. Form 48, its replacement under Section 172 of the 2025 Act, first applies to the report for tax year 2026-27, due in 2027. The detail is in the transfer pricing filings a captive makes.

The March year-end and a December parent

Most foreign parents close on 31 December. An Indian company closes on 31 March. Section 2(41) of the Companies Act allows a subsidiary of a company incorporated outside India to apply to the National Company Law Tribunal for a different financial year where it must follow one for consolidation abroad — but income tax has no equivalent. The tax year is April to March regardless, so the tax audit and return are always prepared on April-to-March figures.

In practice, then, most subsidiaries run two closes:

  • December — a reporting pack in the parent's format (IFRS or US GAAP), on the parent's timetable, often reviewed by the group auditor
  • March — the statutory accounts under Indian standards, audited, adopted at the AGM by 30 September, and the base for every Indian filing that follows

Neither replaces the other. How to schedule one set of audit fieldwork to serve both is covered in the statutory audit and the group reporting pack.

What falls due every month

These recur and are left out of the monthly tables below.

DueFilingRegime
7thTDS deducted in the previous month deposited (March deductions: 30 April)Income tax
11thGSTR-1, outward supplies, for the previous monthGST
15thProvident Fund (PF) and Employees' State Insurance (ESI) contributions for the previous monthPayroll
20thGSTR-3B, summary return and tax payment, including reverse charge on services from the parentGST
20thProfessional tax deducted from salaries (Karnataka; other states differ)Payroll
7 calendar days after month-endForm ECB-2, only for a month in which an external commercial borrowing was drawn or servicedFEMA

ECB-2 changed this year. Until the 2026 amendment to the FEMA borrowing and lending regulations it was a monthly return within seven working days whether or not anything happened; it is now filed for months with a drawdown or debt servicing, within seven calendar days. Whether a loan from the parent should be an ECB at all is in loans from the foreign parent.

April to September 2026

DateFiling or actionRegime
30 AprTDS on March 2026 payments deposited — 1961 Act, old challansIncome tax
30 AprMSME Form I for October 2025 to March 2026, where dues to micro or small suppliers are outstanding beyond 45 daysCompanies Act
30 AprProfessional tax on the company's own enrolment (Karnataka)Payroll
MayBoard meeting — year-end review; audit timetable fixedCompanies Act
31 MayTDS statements for January to March 2026 — Forms 24Q, 26Q, 27QIncome tax
31 MayStatement of Financial Transactions, Form 61A, where the company received ₹10 lakh or more for shares in FY 2025-26Income tax
15 JunAdvance tax, first instalment — 15% of the tax year 2026-27 liabilityIncome tax
15 JunForm 16 to employees for FY 2025-26Income tax
30 JunDPT-3, return of deposits and of loans that are not deposits (a loan from the parent is reported here)Companies Act
30 JunDIR-3 KYC Web — only for directors whose three-yearly filing falls due in 2026Companies Act
15 JulFLA return — foreign liabilities and assets as at 31 March 2026FEMA
31 JulTDS statements, April to June 2026 — first quarter on Forms 138, 140 and 144Income tax
AugBoard meeting — adopt audited accounts, board's report, notice of AGMCompanies Act
15 SepAdvance tax, second instalment — cumulative 45%Income tax
30 SepAnnual general meeting (AGM) — latest dateCompanies Act

The FLA return can be filed on unaudited figures if the audit is not finished, and revised once it is. It is due every year while the foreign investment exists — the recurrence most companies miss, as the FEMA filings post explains.

An AGM can be held by video conference: MCA General Circular 03/2025 continued that facility until further orders, but expressly did not extend the 30 September deadline.

October 2026 to March 2027

DateFiling or actionRegime
15 OctADT-1, where the auditor was appointed at a 30 September AGMCompanies Act
30 OctAOC-4 (or AOC-4 XBRL above the XBRL thresholds) — financial statements, within 30 days of the AGMCompanies Act
31 OctForm 3CEB — transfer pricing report, FY 2025-26, s.92E of the 1961 ActIncome tax
31 OctTax audit report, Forms 3CA and 3CD, FY 2025-26 — 31 October because s.92E appliesIncome tax
31 OctForm 3CEAB, only if one Indian group entity is designated to file the Master FileIncome tax
31 OctMSME Form I for April to September 2026Companies Act
31 OctTDS statements, July to September 2026Income tax
NovBoard meeting — half-year reviewCompanies Act
29 NovMGT-7 annual return, within 60 days of the AGMCompanies Act
30 NovReturn of income, FY 2025-26, ITR-6 — the date for companies to which s.92E appliesIncome tax
30 NovMaster File, Form 3CEAA — Part A for every group entity, the full form only above the thresholdsIncome tax
15 DecAdvance tax, third instalment — cumulative 75%Income tax
31 DecGSTR-9 annual return, and GSTR-9C reconciliation above ₹5 crore turnover, FY 2025-26GST
31 DecAnnual Performance Report — only if the Indian company itself has an overseas investmentFEMA
JanGroup reporting pack for the parent's 31 December closeGroup
15 JanLabour Welfare Fund contributions for calendar year 2026 (Karnataka)Payroll
31 JanTDS statements, October to December 2026Income tax
FebBoard meeting — third-quarter review, budget, audit planningCompanies Act
15 MarAdvance tax, fourth instalment — 100%Income tax
31 MarGST Letter of Undertaking for FY 2027-28, for zero-rated exports of services to the parentGST

Four board meetings, spaced as above, keep every gap under the 120-day limit in Section 173. A subsidiary can never use the small-company relaxation, because Section 2(85) excludes holding and subsidiary companies from that definition.

AOC-4 and MGT-7 are computed from the AGM date: an earlier AGM brings both forward. Late filing costs ₹100 a day per form — the mechanics are in the annual ROC filings.

Two conditional items are not in the table. CSR applies where net worth reaches ₹500 crore, turnover ₹1,000 crore or net profit ₹5 crore, and brings Form CSR-2 with AOC-4. Country-by-country reporting applies only to groups with consolidated revenue of ₹6,400 crore or more; for a parent whose year ended 31 December 2025, the Indian entity's notification falls two months before the parent's report is due, which works out to 31 October 2026 — confirm whether the portal takes Form 3CEAC or its new-Act equivalent, Form 58, for that year.

Dates the CBDT and MCA routinely move

Treat these as the statutory dates, not promises:

  • Tax audit, Form 3CEB and the return. As at 23 September 2026 no extension has been notified for FY 2025-26, although professional bodies have asked for one. Watch the detail when it comes: in 2025 the CBDT extended the audit and return dates for ordinary audit cases but expressly left Form 3CEB at 31 October. An extension for other companies is not an extension for a subsidiary with transfer pricing.
  • ROC forms. The MCA extends AOC-4 and MGT-7 dates without additional fees occasionally, usually close to the deadline, and occasionally runs a one-off settlement scheme. Neither can be planned around.
  • GSTR-9. Extended in some years, not in others.

FEMA dates, by contrast, are almost never extended. The FLA return is due on 15 July every year.

Filings triggered by events

TriggerFilingWithin
Shares allottedPAS-3 (ROC) and FC-GPR (RBI, through the authorised dealer (AD) bank)30 days of allotment
Share subscription money received from abroadAllot the shares, or refund the money60 days of receipt
Shares transferred between a resident and a non-residentFC-TRS60 days of transfer or payment, whichever is earlier
Authorised capital increasedSH-730 days
Director appointed or resignsDIR-1230 days
Director's mobile, email or address changesDIR-3 KYC Web30 days
Declaration received from a significant beneficial ownerBEN-230 days of receipt
Declaration from a nominee holding shares for the parentMGT-630 days of receipt
Charge created on assetsCHG-130 days
Loan from the parent structured as an ECBForm ECB (loan registration number) before the first drawdownBefore drawdown
Downstream investment by the subsidiary into another Indian companyForm DI30 days of allotment
Payment to the parent — fees, dividend, interestTax deducted under s.393 of the 2025 Act; Form 145, and Form 146 where required, before remittingBefore the remittance
Change in GST registration detailsREG-14 amendment15 days

The two that surprise foreign parents are BEN-2 — the Indian company must identify the individuals at the top of the parent's chain, set out in significant beneficial owners of a foreign parent — and FC-TRS, which arises on a share sale even though no money reaches the company.

Using the calendar below

The downloadable calendar below lists every date on this page in one spreadsheet, April 2026 to March 2027, with an event-based section. Each row carries the regime, the form, who it applies to, and two blank columns — Owner and Done — for the company to fill.

The Owner column is the one that matters. Most missed filings in a foreign-owned subsidiary are not missed through ignorance; they sit between the parent's finance team, an Indian accountant and a payroll provider, each assuming another has them.


This calendar sets out the statutory dates for a wholly foreign-owned private company in India for FY 2026-27, as at 23 September 2026. It is not advice on a particular company: whether a conditional filing applies — MSME Form I, CSR, the Master File, country-by-country reporting, ECB reporting — depends on the company's own figures and transactions. The CBDT, the MCA and the GST Council extend dates by circular, and professional tax and labour welfare fund rules differ from state to state; the Karnataka dates given here are an example. Confirm each date against the current notification before relying on it.

Download the India subsidiary compliance calendar, FY 2026-27

Every Companies Act, FEMA, income tax, transfer pricing, GST and payroll date for a foreign-owned private company, month by month, with a column for who owns each one. CSV — opens in Excel or Google Sheets.

Your email is used to answer questions on the calendar and on subsidiary compliance. No third-party sharing, and you can ask to be removed at any time.

Frequently asked questions

Our parent has a December year-end. Can the Indian subsidiary use December too?

Only with the Tribunal's permission, and even then only for company law. Section 2(41) of the Companies Act fixes the financial year at April to March, with one exception: a subsidiary of a company incorporated outside India that must follow a different year for consolidation abroad can apply to the National Company Law Tribunal for another period. Income tax has no such exception. The tax year is April to March for everyone, so a subsidiary that changes its company-law year still prepares April-to-March figures for its tax audit and return. Most groups conclude that two sets of year-end work cost more than the reporting pack they were trying to avoid.

Which filings this year are still on the old Income-tax Act forms?

Everything that reports on FY 2025-26. That year is governed by the Income-tax Act 1961, so the transfer pricing report is Form 3CEB under Section 92E, due 31 October 2026; the tax audit is Forms 3CA and 3CD; the return is ITR-6; and the January to March 2026 TDS statements were on Forms 24Q, 26Q and 27Q. Payments made from 1 April 2026 fall under the Income-tax Act 2025, so this year's TDS statements are on Forms 138, 140 and 144, and the accountant's report for tax year 2026-27 will be Form 48, filed in 2027.

Is DIR-3 KYC still due by 30 September?

No. The Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules 2025, in force from 31 March 2026, replaced the annual director KYC with a filing in Form DIR-3 KYC Web once every three financial years, due by 30 June. A change in a director's mobile number, email address or residential address must still be reported within 30 days of the change. Which year a particular director's triennial filing falls in depends on when that director last filed, so check each DIN's status on the MCA portal rather than assuming a common date for the whole board.

How many board meetings does a wholly-owned subsidiary need?

Four a year, with no more than 120 days between any two consecutive meetings, under Section 173 of the Companies Act. The lighter rule for small companies does not help: Section 2(85) excludes every holding and subsidiary company from the definition of a small company, whatever its size. Directors abroad can attend by video conference, and since 2021 the Board Rules no longer bar approving the annual accounts that way. What matters is the gap: a board that meets in May and then not until October has already defaulted.

Our subsidiary has no revenue yet. Does all of this still apply?

Most of it, yes. The ROC filings, the FLA return, the income tax return and the TDS statements do not depend on revenue. The transfer pricing report is triggered by any international transaction with an associated enterprise, and a parent paying the subsidiary's costs, recharging software licences or lending it money is enough. GST returns run from registration, including nil returns. The items that genuinely depend on size are the tax audit, the Master File beyond Part A, country-by-country reporting, CSR and the IFC reporting exemption.

What does missing a date cost?

It depends on the regulator, which is why the calendar is split by regime. Late AOC-4 and MGT-7 filings attract an additional fee of ₹100 a day each, with no cap. Late FEMA reporting attracts a Late Submission Fee computed on the amount involved, available only within three years of the due date. Late TDS deposit carries interest, and a late TDS statement a daily fee. Late GST returns carry late fees and interest, and block the next return. None of these is large on its own; a subsidiary run without a calendar tends to collect all of them at once.

Running an Indian subsidiary from abroad and unsure what is outstanding?

Send the company name, the last AOC-4 and MGT-7 filed, the FC-GPR acknowledgements and last year's tax return, on WhatsApp or by email. What is overdue, what is due next and who owns each filing are set out before anything is filed.

Related service: Foreign Companies in India