The Government of India, through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recently introduced a series of significant amendments to the annual filing forms to be filed by the companies in India. These changes, set to come into effect from July 14, 2025, reflect the Government's ongoing efforts to strengthen corporate governance, enhance transparency, and streamline statutory compliance processes under the Companies Act, 2013.
The amendments mainly relate to filing of financial statements in Form AOC-4 and annual return in Form MGT-7 with the Registrar of Companies (ROC). Along with changes in the process of filing the forms, several new disclosure requirements, additional documentation, and enhanced checks on financial and governance-related information have also been introduced.
Key Changes to Annual Filing Forms
One of the most noticeable procedural shifts is the migration of annual filing forms from the MCA's V2 Portal (i.e. old version) to the MCA's V3 Portal (i.e. new version). All Indian companies will now be required to file their annual financial statements and returns through this upgraded portal, thereby discontinuing the use of the older V2 portal. Not only the filing platforms have changed, but also the structure and contents of the forms have undergone significant revisions. The new filing process mandates that companies must submit an expanded set of information regarding their financial performance, management details, shareholding structure, and compliance status for the relevant financial year.
Emphasis on Employee Welfare Related Disclosures
Another important aspect of these amendments is the emphasis on employee welfare-related disclosures in the Directors' Report. Companies will now be obligated to confirm compliance with labour welfare laws such as the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) in the Directors' Report. Enhanced disclosures of detailed information concerning the number of complaints received, resolved, and pending for more than 90 days under the POSH Act, along with the employees' headcount categorised by gender, will now form part of the annual reporting framework. This is an expansion from the earlier requirement wherein it was enough to only include a statement in the Board's Report that the requirements of POSH Act were complied with. The Government's stated objective is to create safe, inclusive, and law-compliant workplaces. Accordingly, companies are required to have the necessary employment-related policies, internal committees, grievance redressal mechanisms, and proper record-keeping systems in place to ensure seamless compliance and accurate reporting under these new disclosure requirements.
Enhancement in process of filing Form AOC-4 and Form MGT-7
The process of filing Form AOC-4 has now been enhanced by introducing linked e-forms for supporting documents such as extracts of the Directors' Report, Auditor's Reports (both standalone and consolidated, where applicable), and related party transactions disclosures under e-form AOC-2. This marks a departure from the earlier practice of uploading these documents as PDF attachments. These forms will require comprehensive details to be entered electronically into the prescribed e-form, including unique identification numbers for related parties (i.e. PAN/ Passport for individuals and Registration Number for companies/ body corporates etc.) depending upon the type of related party. Accordingly, the companies would be required to obtain such details from the related parties and would be required to keep a record of the same.
Similar changes have been introduced in Form MGT-7, where companies now must attach a photograph of their registered office premises, clearly displaying the external view and the company's name board. Additionally, details of the registered office address need to be disclosed as on two specific dates —the end of the financial year and the date of filing the annual return. Furthermore, the details of the designated person responsible for furnishing details of the persons holding beneficial interest to ROC and a gender-wise classification of the shareholders, including categories for male, female, transgender, and non-individual shareholders, have also been incorporated in Form MGT-7. This is intended to reduce the use of "fake" registered offices by companies.
Conclusion
With these amendments, the Government introduced a more stringent and structured disclosure framework for the Indian companies.
The Government's objective behind these changes appears to be twofold. Firstly, by gathering structured, digital data through e-forms and auto-populated fields, the MCA is aiming to create a centralised, data-driven compliance ecosystem. This will enable quicker data validation and more effective monitoring, thereby moving away from document-based filings to analytics-led approach.
Secondly, the additional disclosures relating to employment details and gender-wise reporting reflect a growing emphasis on promoting social accountability within corporate operations. These measures aim to encourage safer, fairer, and more inclusive workplaces, while reinforcing responsible business practices across the corporates. However, it remains to be seen how companies will comply with every aspect of the employee disclosures, especially related to information considered very personal and private.
Together, these developments indicate the Government's intent to build a more transparent, technology-driven, and socially responsible corporate environment. By embedding detailed disclosures within the annual filing forms, the MCA is equipping itself with real-time and actionable data to oversee compliance, detect irregularities, and strengthen corporate governance standards.
In light of these changes, companies need to take a proactive approach in reviewing their internal compliance systems, data management practices, employment related policies and documentation processes.
These amendments will come into effect from July 14, 2025. Accordingly, these amendments will be applicable on the companies which will approve directors' reports for the financial year 2024-25 on or after July 14, 2025. It would be prudent for the companies to commence preparations immediately.
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