{"id":52,"date":"2026-04-07T03:26:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/?p=52"},"modified":"2026-04-19T08:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T08:27:45","slug":"overview-companies-compliance-facilitation-scheme-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/overview-companies-compliance-facilitation-scheme-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overview of the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued General Circular No. 01\/2026 on February 24, 2026, introducing the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026). This scheme was launched to lessen the financial problems faced by defaulting companies under Section 403 of the Companies Act, 2013, which imposes a strict additional fee of Rs. 100 per day for the delayed filing of Annual Returns and Financial Statements.<\/div>\n
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Objective and Scope Recognizing that the number of active companies in India has surpassed 20 lakh, driven largely by the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), One Person Companies (OPCs), and new age entrepreneurs, the MCA observed that many businesses were unable to meet their annual compliance deadlines, resulting in major financial burdens.<\/div>\n
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Invoking powers under Section 460 read with Section 403 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Central Government established the CCFS-2026 as a one-time opportunity. The scheme is designed to condone filing delays, ensure the MCA-21 corporate registry reflects accurate information, and provide a cost-effective exit or dormancy route for inactive entities.<\/div>\n
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The CCFS-2026 will be effective from April 15, 2026, to July 15, 2026.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Key Relief Options Under the scheme, defaulting or inactive companies can select from three primary avenues of relief:<\/div>\n
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Complete Pending Filings: Companies may finalize their pending annual filings by paying the normal prescribed fees along with only 10% of the total additional fees that would typically accrue due to the delay.<\/div>\n
Obtain Dormant Status: Inactive companies wishing to remain on the registry with minimal compliance requirements can apply for ‘dormant company’ status under Section 455 of the Act. By submitting e-form MSC-1 during the scheme, they are required to pay only 50% of the normal filing fees.<\/div>\n
Company Strike-Off: Companies choosing to close down operations can file an application (e-form STK-2) to have their names struck off the register, paying just 25% of the applicable filing fees.<\/div>\n
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Applicable E-Forms The amnesty applies to a wide range of e-forms required under both the Companies Act, 2013, and the Companies Act, 1956. This includes MGT-7, MGT-7A, AOC-4, AOC4 (XBRL), ADT-1, FC-3, and FC-4, as well as older forms such as Form 20B, Form 21A, Form 23AC, and Form 66.<\/div>\n
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Exclusions from the Scheme The scheme is not universally relevant. The following entities are expressly prohibited from availing the benefits:<\/div>\n
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Companies against which a final notice for striking off the name under Section 248 of the Act (or Section 560 of the 1956 Act) has already been initiated by the Registrar.<\/div>\n
Companies that have independently filed applications for striking off their names or for obtaining Dormant Status prior to the inception of this scheme.<\/div>\n
Companies that have vanished or have been dissolved pursuant to a scheme of amalgamation.<\/div>\n
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Immunity Provisions A major incentive of the CCFS-2026 is the immunity granted against penal proceedings under Section 92 and Section 137 of the Act.<\/div>\n
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Concluded Proceedings: If a company completes its filings before an adjudicating officer issues a notice, or within thirty days of the issuance of such a notice, the proceedings will be concluded without the levy of any penalty.<\/div>\n
Waiver of Prospective Action: For specific forms like ADT-1, FC-3, FC-4, and Form 20B, immunity from prospective penal action is granted, provided no prosecution or show-cause notice was initiated prior to the company filing under the scheme.<\/div>\n
No Immunity: Immunity is strictly denied if the 30-day notice period has expired, or if an adjudication order imposing a penalty has already been passed against the company and its officers.<\/div>\n
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Strict Post-Scheme Actions The MCA has emphasized that this is a temporary window. Upon the conclusion of the scheme on July 15, 2026, the Registrars of Companies are instructed to take necessary and timely legal action under the Act against any companies that have failed to utilize the scheme and remain in default.<\/div>\n

\"An<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued General Circular No. 01\/2026 on February 24, 2026, introducing the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026). This scheme was launched to lessen the financial problems faced by defaulting companies under Section 403 of the Companies Act, 2013, which imposes a strict additional fee of Rs. 100 per day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-companies-act-2013"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexemer.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}