INC 20A Filing for Private Limited Companies, OPCs & Other Companies: Complete Guide

Complete your INC 20A Filing with Legzo and fulfill your Declaration of Commencement of Business requirement under Section 10A of the Companies Act, 2013. Our experienced CA & CS-led team handles the complete process—from verifying subscription payments and bank statements to professional certification and MCA filing. INC 20A Filing Completed Quickly & Accurately Verified CA & CS Professionals Managing Your Filing Complete Assistance With Bank Statement Verification, DSC & MCA Submission Transparent Professional Fees With Government Charges Clearly Explained Avoid Late Fees, Penalties & Compliance Issues With Timely Filing Serving Private Limited Companies, OPCs, Public & Section 8 Companies Across India

INC 20A is the Declaration of Commencement of Business. Every company incorporated on or after November 2, 2018 - with a share capital - must file this form within 180 days of incorporation. It's a one-time filing. It doesn't cost much. It takes a few minutes to file. But the consequences of not filing it are severe: the company is legally restricted from commencing business, and the ROC can initiate action to strike it off. Legzo handles INC 20A filing for newly incorporated companies across India. Here's everything you need to know - what it is, who must file, what happens if it's missed, and how to file it correctly. What is INC 20A? INC 20A - Form for Declaration of Commencement of Business - is a form filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under Section 10A of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 10A was inserted into the Companies Act through the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, with effect from November 2, 2018. Before that date, no such declaration was required. Companies incorporated before November 2, 2018 are not required to file INC 20A at all. The form is a declaration by a director that every subscriber to the Memorandum of Association has paid the value of shares agreed upon by them, and that the company has opened a bank account and received the subscription amount. In plain terms: INC 20A tells the ROC that the company has actually received the money from its founding shareholders, has a functional bank account, and is genuinely ready to commence business - as opposed to being a shell company incorporated on paper without any real activity or capital infusion. The filing has a specific attachment: a bank statement showing that the paid-up capital from subscribers has been credited to the company's bank account. Form INC 20A Applicability: Who Must File Companies That Must File Every company incorporated on or after November 2, 2018 that has a share capital must file Form INC 20A within 180 days of incorporation. This includes: Private limited companies Public limited companies One Person Companies (OPCs) Section 8 companies (non-profit companies) Small companies If the company has a share capital and was incorporated after November 2, 2018 - the filing is mandatory. Companies That Do NOT Need to File Companies incorporated before November 2, 2018 INC 20A doesn't apply to them. Section 10A was not in existence when they were incorporated. Companies without share capital Section 10A specifically applies to companies having a share capital. A company incorporated under Section 8 without any share capital (which is rare but possible in specific structures) would technically not be covered by this requirement. LLPs Form INC 20A does not apply to Limited Liability Partnerships . LLPs are registered under the LLP Act, 2008, not the Companies Act, 2013. The Section 10A requirement is specific to companies under the Companies Act. Does LLP have to file INC 20A? No. Definitively not. INC 20A Due Date: The 180-Day Window The due date for filing Form INC 20A is within 180 days of the date of incorporation - the date shown on the Certificate of Incorporation. Not 180 days from the date of the first board meeting. Not 180 days from when the bank account was opened. 180 days from the incorporation date. Example: Company incorporated on January 10 - INC 20A must be filed by July 8 (180 days from January 10). The 180-day window is generous compared to the 30-day windows that apply to many other MCA filings. But companies regularly miss it because the deadline feels distant at incorporation and then arrives suddenly. What "Commencement of Business" Means for the Due Date Section 10A says the company shall not commence any business or exercise any borrowing powers until this declaration is filed. This creates a legal constraint that most founders aren't aware of - they start operating on Day 1 of incorporation while technically the company hasn't completed the requirement that allows it to legally commence business. In practice, the ROC doesn't issue a show-cause notice to every company that receives its first payment before filing INC 20A. But the technical violation exists, and it becomes a problem during due diligence when investors or acquirers review the compliance history. INC 20A Requirements: What's Needed Before Filing The form has a specific requirement that makes it different from most MCA filings: a bank statement showing the receipt of paid-up capital. The Bank Account Requirement Before INC 20A can be filed, the company must: Have opened a bank account in the company's name Have received the subscription amount from all subscribers to the MOA into that bank account The subscription amount is the value of shares taken by the founding shareholders at incorporation. For a company with Rs. 1 lakh paid-up capital split between two founders, both founders must have transferred their respective share of the subscription money to the company's bank account. This seems straightforward. In practice, it causes delays because: Founders sometimes incorporate with a nominal paid-up capital (say Rs. 10,000) without thinking about the bank account requirement The company's current bank account opening takes longer than expected Founders don't transfer the subscription money to the company account because they don't realize it's required None of these are insurmountable. But they need to be resolved before INC 20A can be filed. The Board Resolution for Form INC 20A A board resolution is required before or concurrent with filing INC 20A. The resolution confirms: The company has received the paid-up subscription amount from all subscribers The bank account has been opened and funds received The director is authorized to file Form INC 20A The board resolution is not an attachment to Form INC 20A on the portal - the form is signed and submitted by a director - but maintaining the resolution in the company's statutory records is good compliance practice. INC 20A Fees: What the Government C