Центральный совет Индии планирует реформу системы отчетности компаний: 5 ключевых изменений

Centre plans overhaul of company filings under Companies Act: 5 key changes The Centre is consulting stakeholders on a revamp of the filing architecture under the Companies Act, 2013. Here are five changes being considered and what they could mean for companies Listen to This Article Companies could face fewer forms, less repetitive data entry and greater automation in filing information with the government under a proposed overhaul of the corporate filing system.   The Centre is considering consolidating forms, expanding Straight Through Processing (STP), pre-filling information already available with the government and allowing company data to be shared across regulatory systems.   The proposals are part of a filing-rationalisation exercise being undertaken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) through the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). A report by Mint on Thursday said the broader reform exercise could also involve greater use of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and compliance requirements calibrated to a company's size, sector and risk profile.    The IICA consultation document, published in April earlier this year, provided the concrete proposals being considered. Here are five changes that could affect how companies file information with the MCA. 1. Merging overlapping forms According to the document, the MCA is considering consolidation of forms that have overlapping data fields or similar statutory purposes. Also Read The stakeholder questionnaire asked whether reducing the total number of forms, merging forms with similar data, adopting a modular filing model and moving to a “file once, use everywhere” system should be priorities.   The review covered filings across incorporation, capital and securities, deposits and charges, governance, accounts and audit, directors, approvals, restructuring and closure.   However, the consultation also asks stakeholders to identify filings that should remain standalone because of their legal or regulatory significance. These include fraud reporting, charge filings, private placement documents, IEPF returns, liquidation proceedings and certain auditor-related filings. 2. More filings could move to automatic processing The MCA is also considering expanding STP-based auto-approval beyond the limited categories where it currently operates.   The MCA is considering automatic approval for several routine filings. These include regular company filings, appointing or removing directors, reporting changes in loans or charges, changing a company’s share capital and shifting its registered office. It also considers automatic processing for eligible applications to close companies that have no business activity, pending cases or unpaid dues.   The proposal would expand the use of straight-through processing, under which eligible filings can be processed without manual scrutiny.   STP is already widely used on the MCA21 portal. According to an MCA release, about 3.84 crore filings were made through MCA21 between 2021 and 2025. Of these, 3.33 crore were approved through STP, while 40.8 lakh were approved by Registrars of Companies and Regional Directors. 3. Company details could be pre-filled Another proposal is to move towards pre-filled and “delta-based” filings.   Under the proposed interface, information already available with the registry would be pre-populated. Companies would then enter only the changes since the previous filing instead of entering unchanged information again.   The consultation lists several categories that could be pre-filled. These include company master data, director and key managerial personnel details, shareholding patterns, auditor information, charge status, previous-year financial parameters and CSR data.   The proposed approach is part of the MCA's broader move towards a data-centric filing architecture, with the concept note referring to “intelligent system integration, pre-filling, and reuse of registry data” as areas for automation. 4. MCA data could be linked with other regulatory systems The consultation also proposes API-based data-sharing between MCA and other government and regulatory systems to reduce duplicate reporting.   The systems listed include the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), and Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI).   Proposed uses range from validating GST registration and turnover to verifying PAN and income-tax information, checking foreign-investment compliance and synchronising charge information.   The concept note specifically proposed “seamless data-sharing across MCA, GSTN, CBDT, UIDAI, banks, depositories, and allied regulatory systems to eliminate data duplication.”   For incorporation, the consultation also examined whether a single-window system could integrate filings and registrations involving SPICe+, AGILE-PRO, PAN/TAN, GST, EPFO and ESIC. 5. Compliance could vary by company size and risk The proposed framework also considers moving away from identical filing requirements for all companies.   The consultation asks whether compliance should be differentiated based on factors such as whether a company is listed or unlisted, turnover, paid-up capital, whether it is dormant or inactive, and its legal category.   One option under consideration is a simplified annual return for MSMEs below a specified turnover threshold. Another proposes reduced form requirements for companies below a specified paid-up capital threshold.   For small companies, the questionnaire asks whether a single integrated annual return could replace AOC-4 and MGT-7. It also considered separate filing approaches for Section 8 companies, producer companies and One Person Companies.   The consultation document said that the final recommendations will be compiled by IICA and submitted to the MCA. It said these recommendations will be based on stakeholder feedback, legal feasibility and regulatory considerations. More From This Section Topics : Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCA Company News Companies Act Companies Act 2013 Industry News BS Web Reports Decoded Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel First Published: Sep 04 2026 | 12:08 PM IST