MCA Extends CCFS-2026 to 15th September 2026: Everything Companies Need to Know
Companies still sitting on overdue ROC filings have a little more time — but the window is closing fast.
On 31st August 2026, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued General Circular No. 04/2026, extending the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026) to 15th September 2026. This is the second time MCA has pushed back the deadline. The circular, signed by Deputy Director (Policy) Nupur Aishwarya, notes that the extension follows representations received from stakeholders, and that all other terms and conditions of the scheme remain unchanged — only the closing date has moved.
If your company has pending annual filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), this is good news. But with only a short window left, this is the moment to act, not wait.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026) |
| Introduced by | General Circular No. 01/2026, dated 24th February 2026 |
| New deadline | 15th September 2026 (General Circular No. 04/2026, dated 31st August 2026) |
| Fee relief | Normal fee + only 10% of the additional fee (a 90% waiver) |
| Applies to | Companies under the Companies Act, 2013 — not LLPs |
What Is CCFS-2026?
Every company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 must file its Annual Return (Form MGT-7 / MGT-7A) and Financial Statements (Form AOC-4) with the RoC every year, along with related forms such as ADT-1 for auditor appointment. Since 1st July 2018, any delay in these filings attracts an additional fee of 100 per day per form, with no upper cap — so a company with even two or three years of pending filings can find itself facing dues running into lakhs of rupees, quite apart from the risk of penalty proceedings against the company and its directors.
To address this, MCA introduced CCFS-2026 through General Circular No. 01/2026 dated 24th February 2026 (F. No. Policy-02/2/2020-CL-V-MCA), issued under Section 460 read with Section 403 of the Companies Act, 2013. It gives defaulting companies a one-time opportunity to bring their filings up to date — or exit the register cleanly through dormancy or strike-off — at a fraction of the normal cost. It is MCA's second major relief scheme of this kind after the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 (CFSS-2020), and this time it also includes concessional routes for dormancy and strike-off, which CFSS-2020 did not offer.
The Scheme's Timeline So Far
- General Circular No. 01/2026 (24th February 2026) — introduced the scheme, originally operative from 15th April 2026 to 15th July 2026.
- General Circular No. 03/2026 (8th July 2026) — extended the scheme to 31st August 2026, after a fire incident at the MCA data centre on 5th June 2026 disrupted MCA-21 filing services.
- General Circular No. 04/2026 (31st August 2026) — extended the scheme further, to 15th September 2026, in response to stakeholder representations.
Notice that this latest extension is far shorter than the last one — just over two weeks, against nearly seven weeks previously. That is usually a sign the regulator does not intend to keep extending the window indefinitely.
What the Scheme Covers
CCFS-2026 covers annual filing forms for companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013, as well as certain legacy filings under the Companies Act, 1956:
- AOC-4 and its variants (AOC-4 CFS, AOC-4 XBRL, AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS), AOC-4 CFS NBFC (Ind AS))
- MGT-7 / MGT-7A (Annual Return)
- ADT-1 (Auditor appointment)
- FC-3 and FC-4 (for foreign companies)
- Legacy 1956 Act forms: Form 20B, 21A, 23AC/23ACA (and XBRL variants), Form 66, and Form 23B
There is no cap on how far back the default goes — companies with several years of pending filings can regularise all of them in this single window.
Two boundaries worth knowing:
- Event-based filings are not covered. Forms like INC-20A (commencement of business), SH-7 (capital changes), DIR-12 (director changes), and charge-related forms (CHG-1, CHG-4) fall outside the scheme — CCFS-2026 is specifically an annual-filing relief measure.
- LLPs are not covered. The scheme applies only to companies under the Companies Act, 2013; LLPs remain governed separately under the LLP Act, 2008.
The Financial Relief on Offer
- Pending annual filings: normal filing fee plus only 10% of the accumulated additional fee — a 90% reduction.
- Want to formally go dormant (no significant business activity)? File Form MSC-1 under Section 455 at 50% of the normal fee.
- Want to close the company down? File Form STK-2 under Section 248(2) at 25% of the normal fee.
For a company with three or four years of pending filings across multiple forms, this can mean savings running into several lakhs of rupees compared to filing after the window shuts.
Immunity — With an Important Caveat
CCFS-2026 is often described as offering "immunity from prosecution," but the protection is conditional. Under Sections 92 and 137 of the Companies Act, a company avoids penalty proceedings if it completes its filing before an adjudication notice under Section 454(3) is issued, or within 30 days of receiving one. If more than 30 days have passed since such a notice, or an adjudication order has already been passed, the scheme does not undo that liability. The earlier a company files, the stronger its protection.
Who Cannot Use the Scheme
CCFS-2026 does not lay down positive eligibility conditions — instead, it excludes a defined set of companies:
- Companies against which the RoC has already issued a final strike-off notice under Section 248(1)
- Companies that have already filed their own strike-off application (STK-2) under Section 248(2)
- Companies that had already applied for dormant status under Section 455 before the scheme began
- Companies already dissolved or amalgamated under a scheme of arrangement
- Vanishing companies identified by the regulator
Every other company with pending filings is free to use the scheme.
How to File
There is no separate CCFS-2026 application. Companies simply file the relevant e-form through the regular MCA-21 V3 portal, and the discounted fee is applied automatically at the payment stage. One practical point: since AOC-4 and MGT-7 require financial statements adopted at an Annual General Meeting, companies with multiple years of pending filings will typically need to hold AGMs for each of those earlier years and adopt the relevant accounts before filing — this takes time, so it should not be left to the final days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this extension change any of the scheme's benefits? No. Only the closing date has moved, from 31st August to 15th September 2026. The fee concessions and eligibility conditions stay the same.
Are LLPs eligible for CCFS-2026? No — the scheme applies only to companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
Do I need to submit a separate application to avail the scheme? No. File the relevant e-form on the MCA-21 portal; the discounted fee applies automatically.
What happens if I miss the 15th September 2026 deadline? Normal fees resume in full — 100 per day per form, with no cap — and the RoC is expected to initiate action against companies that remain non-compliant.
Get Your Filings in Order Before the Window Closes
If your company has any pending ROC filings — one missed year or several — CCFS-2026 is the most cost-effective opportunity to fix that record since the additional-fee regime began in 2018. At Ashish Jayalata & Associates, we can review your company's filing status, identify exactly which forms are outstanding, work out your savings under the scheme, and handle the entire filing process before the 15th September 2026 deadline. Get in touch with our team today — MCA portals tend to slow down in the final days before any deadline, so the earlier you start, the safer you are.
This article is based on MCA General Circular Nos. 01/2026, 03/2026 and 04/2026, and is intended for general information only — it does not constitute professional advice. Please get in touch with us to confirm how CCFS-2026 applies to your company's specific facts.
