Form INC 20 A(Commencement of Business Certificate):

Form 20A is a declaration that needs to be filed by the directors of the company at the time of the commencement of the business. It should be verified by a Chartered Accountant (CA) or Company Secretary (CS) or a Cost Accountant in practice.

On the 2nd of November, 2018 the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 was introduced, hence any company incorporated after this date will be required to file Form INC-20A. within 180 days from the date of incorporation of the company.

Important note: MCA has now provided an additional time limit of 180 days for filing of the aforesaid declaration. It means all the newly incorporated companies can file form INC-20A within a period of 360 days from the date of its incorporation.

Penalty for Form INC 20 A for Commencement of Business:

• Company will be liable to pay Rs. 50,000 penalty for not filing the Form INC 20A
• Every officer who is in default is liable to pay Rs. 1000/- per day of default upto a Maximum Rs. 1,00,000/-
• Registrar may initiate action for the removal of the name of Company / Strike off company name

ADT-1 Form for Appointment of First Auditor

When a company appoints an auditor, it is under obligation to acknowledge the registrar of companies (ROC) about the appointment of auditor in a prescribed manner as per section 139 (1) of new companies act 2013. Form ADT-1 is used for this purpose.

Under Section 139 (1) of new companies act 2013, a company shall communicate the auditor of its appointment and at the same time, a notice of such appointment has to be filed with the registrar of companies within 15 days of this appointment. As per the rules, such notice regarding the auditor appointment is required to be filled in Form ADT 1 in MCA portal.

Through this article, we are trying to narrate you a brief understanding of form ADT-1. Here we go:

ADT-1 Filing Timelines

IN CASE OF NEW COMPANY INCORPORATION:- Form ADT-1 is required to be filed within 15 days from the first board meeting of the company which is required to be held in within 30 days of incorporation in which auditor is appointed by the board of directors of the company.

FOR EXISTING COMPANY:- Form ADT-1 should be filed by the company with the registrar of companies within 15 days of the AGM in which Auditor was appointed or reappointed as the case may be. For example, if the company’s AGM was conducted on 30 September 2020, then the company should file Form ADT-1 by 14th October 2020

Documents which Needs to be Attached with Form ADT-1

Following is the list of documents which needs to be attached with Form ADT-1:

• Company’s Board resolution copy/resolution passed in annual general meeting
• Written consent from the Auditor regarding the appointment
• A certificate from the Auditor that he/she/it is not disqualified or ineligible to be appointed as an Auditor u/s 141
• Copy of the intimation given by the company to the auditor

Penalty Which is Imposed on Delayed Filing of Form ADT-1

Late due date and filing penalty of ADT 1 form will lead to the imposition of the following penalties:

Other Important Points for ADT-1 Form

As per Company fresh start scheme 2020 all previous ADT-1on which late fee was applicable can be filed without paying late fees till 30th September 2020

• All the companies are mandatorily required to file Form ADT 1, be it a listed, unlisted, public, private or any other company.
• The only company is responsible to file Form ADT 1 and not the auditor.
• Company has to file Form ADT 1 even when the appointment of the auditor is for a casual opening.
• In general, it is believed that Form ADT 1 does not to be filed when the first auditor is appointed because rule 4 (2) of company rules, 2014 states the Sec 139 (1) – appointment of auditors only and not the Sec 139 (6) – appointment of the first auditor. However, it is recommended that Form ADT 1 should be filed even for the appointment of the first auditor.

E-filing of Form ADT-1

• Form ADT 1 can be filed electronically and is available for download on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
• E-form is auto-approved
• Concerned Authority sends an acknowledgement email on the registered email ID on the successful registration of the E-form Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2018 MCA made changes in the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 in February 2018, in which the Form ADT 1 and Form ADT-2 were replaced with new forms. Now the new Form ADT-1 can be downloaded for the existing year from the MCA website