Getting your incorporation certificate feels like the finish line, but for a company with share capital it is really the starting gun on a compliance clock. The single most important early deadline is Form INC-20A, the declaration of commencement of business. Miss it and your company legally cannot trade, cannot borrow, and can even be struck off. This lesson walks you through INC-20A and the other filings that quietly stack up in your first few months.
What INC-20A actually certifies
Form INC-20A is filed under Section 10A of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 23A of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014. It applies to every company with share capital incorporated on or after 2 November 2018. In it, a director declares to the Registrar of Companies that every subscriber to the Memorandum has paid the value of the shares they agreed to take. Until this is filed, your company cannot commence business or exercise any borrowing powers.
So there is a prerequisite you must complete first. Open the company current account, then have each subscriber transfer their subscription money (the paid-up capital promised in the MOA) into it. Even a small subscription, say a few thousand rupees, must genuinely hit the account.
Filing INC-20A: the 180-day clock
You have 180 days from the date of incorporation to file. The key attachment is proof that the capital was received: a bank statement showing credit entries for the subscription money from each subscriber. If the statement is not ready, NEFT or IMPS receipts are accepted. The form must also be digitally certified by a practising Company Secretary, Chartered Accountant, or Cost Accountant, so line up your professional early.
The government fee is small and scales with your authorised capital (for capital up to Rs 1,00,000 it is Rs 200). What hurts is the penalty for missing the window. The company pays Rs 50,000, and every officer in default pays Rs 1,000 per day of continuing default, capped at Rs 1,00,000. Worse, the Registrar can begin striking the company off the register. Late filing also attracts additional fees that scale with the length of the delay, on top of the normal fee. Treat this as a day-one task, not a day-179 task.
The other filings crowding your first months
INC-20A does not stand alone. Several duties land almost immediately:
- First auditor, within 30 days: Under Section 139(6), your Board must appoint the first statutory auditor within 30 days of incorporation. If the Board fails, members must do it within 90 days at an extraordinary general meeting. The first auditor holds office until the conclusion of your first AGM. Form ADT-1 is now filed to intimate the Registrar of the appointment.
- First board meeting, within 30 days: Hold it to appoint the auditor, authorise the bank account and signatories, and note share allotments.
- Share certificates, within 60 days: Issue physical share certificates to subscribers within 60 days of incorporation, on the correct stamp paper as per your state.
- GST registration, when it applies: Register once you cross the turnover threshold (broadly Rs 40 lakh for goods and Rs 20 lakh for services, lower in special-category states), or immediately if you make inter-state supplies or sell via e-commerce. After registering, file monthly GSTR-3B by the 20th and GSTR-1 as applicable.
- TDS and TAN: If you pay salaries, rent, or professional fees above the thresholds, obtain a TAN, deposit TDS by the 7th of the following month, and file quarterly returns.
- Professional tax: Many states require employer and employee professional-tax registration soon after you begin paying salaries. Check your state rules.
Optional but worth doing early
Apply for DPIIT recognition on the Startup India portal. It is free, and it unlocks self-certification, easier public tenders, and eligibility to later claim the Section 80-IAC tax holiday and angel-tax relief. It is not a statutory deadline, but doing it now saves scrambling later.
The practical takeaway: deposit your subscription capital and file INC-20A within weeks, not months, and calendar the 30-day and 60-day items the moment your certificate arrives.