Every Company needs to mandatorily file certain forms annually – these are called Annual Filings. These forms include statements on the capital position, statement of financial affairs, directors' report and annual accounts, among others.

The following aspects, pertaining to Annual Filings, are to be borne in mind:

• Annual Filings are required to be filed within 30-60 days from the date of Annual General Meeting.
• Filing of annual returns beyond due date would entail penalties (sometimes as high as Rs. 500 – 1,000 per day).
• Non filing of Annual returns, by a Company, for a continuous period of 3 years would have serious consequences:
• Directors of such companies can get disqualified from being a Director for a period of 5 years without any remedial recourse
• Further, Directors of such companies could also be barred from being a Director on any other company as well

Annual Filings carry high stakes – it is best to take the guidance of a competent Company Secretary.