Resources

Glossary

A working dictionary of e-form names, section numbers and Company Secretary terminology — in plain language, for a founder or general-counsel audience. Distinct from the FAQ, which answers questions about the practice itself.

MCA e-forms

AOC-4: Form for filing the audited financial statements of a company with the Registrar of Companies, due within 30 days of the AGM at which they are adopted.
MGT-7 / MGT-7A: Annual return of a company. MGT-7A is the abridged form used by small companies and One Person Companies; MGT-7 is used by every other company.
ADT-1: Intimation to the Registrar of the appointment of a statutory auditor, filed within 15 days of the AGM at which the appointment is made.
DPT-3: Annual return of deposits and exempted receipts filed by every company (other than a government company) by 30 June for the year ended 31 March.
DIR-3 KYC / DIR-3 KYC Web: Director KYC filings. The e-form DIR-3 KYC is used in the year a DIN is allotted and in any year in which KYC particulars change; the Web variant is used for triennial confirmation under the current three-year cycle.
MSME-1: Half-yearly return by every company disclosing dues outstanding to Micro and Small Enterprises for more than 45 days.
MR-3: Secretarial audit report issued under Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 by a Practising Company Secretary and annexed to the Board's report of prescribed classes of companies.
MGT-14: Filing of certain board and shareholder resolutions with the Registrar within 30 days of the resolution being passed.
PAS-3: Return of allotment filed within 30 days of allotment of shares — including allotments to foreign investors that trigger a parallel FC-GPR filing under FEMA.
DIR-12: Return of appointment, cessation or change in designation of directors and KMPs, filed within 30 days of the event.
FC-GPR: FEMA reporting of an issue of shares or convertible instruments to a person resident outside India, filed on the RBI FIRMS portal within 30 days of allotment.
FC-TRS: FEMA reporting of a transfer of shares or convertible instruments between a resident and a non-resident, filed on the RBI FIRMS portal within 60 days of the transfer.
FLA Return: Annual return on foreign liabilities and assets filed with the RBI by 15 July by every Indian company holding inbound or outbound FDI on its books.
BEN-2: Return filed with the Registrar declaring the Significant Beneficial Owner of a company under Section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the SBO Rules.

Sections of the Companies Act, 2013

Section 2(85): Definition of a small company. Effective 1 December 2025, the thresholds are paid-up capital up to ₹10 crore and turnover up to ₹100 crore, subject to the holding/subsidiary and special-Act exclusions.
Section 168: Resignation of a director. Sets out the notice, the effective date and the intimation to the Registrar on DIR-12.
Section 188: Related-party transactions. Requires board and, in prescribed cases, shareholder approval for specified categories of transactions with related parties.
Section 203 / Section 203A: Section 203 mandates the appointment of Key Managerial Personnel in prescribed classes of companies. Section 203A formalises the resignation process for whole-time KMPs who are not directors — the Company Secretary, the CFO and the Manager.
Section 204: Secretarial audit. Applies to every listed company and to prescribed classes of unlisted public and private companies, and is reported in Form MR-3 annexed to the Board's report.
Section 248 / Section 252: Section 248 is the Registrar's power to strike a company off the register for failure to file returns or carry on business. Section 252 is the corresponding restoration remedy before the NCLT.
Section 441: Compounding of offences under the Companies Act — a mechanism to close out defaults by payment of a compounding sum, without a full prosecution.

Common CS terminology

AGM: Annual General Meeting. Every company (other than an OPC) must hold an AGM in each financial year; the first AGM is held within nine months of the close of the first financial year, and subsequent AGMs within six months of the close of the financial year.
AOC-4 attachments: Documents annexed to the financial statements filed on AOC-4 — Board's report, auditor's report, secretarial audit report (where applicable), Corporate Social Responsibility report, and related-party transaction disclosures.
DIN: Director Identification Number. A unique number allotted by the Central Government to every individual proposing to be appointed as a director.
KMP: Key Managerial Personnel — the Managing Director, the Whole-Time Director, the Manager, the Company Secretary and the Chief Financial Officer, as defined in Section 2(51).
LSF: Late Submission Fee. The MCA / RBI regime for filings made after the statutory deadline, calculated by reference to the length of the delay.
SBO: Significant Beneficial Owner. An individual who, alone or together, holds a specified indirect stake or exercises significant influence in a reporting company; declared and reported under Section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013.
SS-1 / SS-2: Secretarial Standards on Board Meetings and General Meetings issued by the ICSI, prescribing the manner in which meetings are to be convened, conducted and recorded.
Small company: A private company meeting the paid-up capital and turnover thresholds under Section 2(85). Enjoys reliefs including MGT-7A, a lighter board-meeting requirement, and exemption from the cash-flow statement.

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