Statutory Compliances explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The moratorium stops creditors. It does not stop the compliance calendar. From the day of appointment the resolution professional is responsible for a monthly, annual and industry-specific set of filings that continue regardless of the company\'s financial position.
The monthly cycle
| Compliance | Frequency | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit of TDS | Monthly | Generally by the 7th of the following month in which tax is deducted |
| Deposit of GST | Monthly | Generally by the 20th of the following month |
| Provident Fund and ESI | Monthly | Generally by the 15th of the following month |
TDS requires employers and deductors to deposit the deducted amount into the Central Government's account within a specific time frame to avoid penalties. These are the statutory compliances most likely to have been in default before the professional arrived — and, as Chapter 20 records among the limitations an IRP faces, a common finding is TDS deducted from payments but not deposited and GST returns not filed with input credit not availed.
Where TDS was deducted before the liquidation commencement date but never remitted, Regulation 46A(2) of the IBBI (Liquidation Process) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 now treats it as a third-party asset held in trust for the government, excluded from the liquidation estate under section 36(4)(a)(i), and requires the liquidator to verify and remit it directly.
That has a forward-looking consequence for a resolution professional too. Amounts deducted during the CIRP were never the corporate debtor's funds to apply elsewhere, whatever the cash position — which is why depositing TDS ranks differently from paying an ordinary supplier.
The annual cycle
- Renewal of factory licence — generally annually, though in some states the licence can be for a longer duration.
- Pollution control certificate — generally annually, again longer in some states.
- Statutory audit — a legally mandated review of the company's financial statements by an independent external auditor.
- Income tax return — annually, and essential regardless of profit or loss for legal compliance, financial transparency and future benefits.
- Secretarial compliances under the Companies Act — filing of the annual return, financial statements, changes in directors.
- Licences peculiar to the entity, depending on the industry and the laws applicable to it.
The income tax return is the one that costs money to miss
The Background Material singles it out: if the income tax return is not filed on time, carry forward of losses is not allowed — described as very important in the case of loss-making entities.
A company in a CIRP is, almost by definition, loss-making. Its accumulated losses are frequently one of the more valuable things a resolution applicant acquires, because they shelter future profits once the business is revived. Missing the filing deadline destroys that value silently, and no resolution plan can restore it.
Why these statutory compliances are so hard to keep
The obstacles recorded in Chapter 20 are practical rather than legal:
- Financial statements not filed or incomplete for the past two to three years, with inadequate accounting or Tally backup to reconstruct them.
- Statutory dues of PF, gratuity and ESI unpaid, with default notices already received.
- Many industry-specific licences lapsed or about to expire, requiring immediate annual payments and technical clearances.
- The company secretary and other staff not present or not cooperating.
- Difficulty locating the documents needed to pursue compliances, because the management is suspended — which costs time and revenue.
The practical order of priority
- Licences that stop production if they lapse — factory, pollution, industry-specific. Identify every expiry date in the first month.
- Amounts deducted or collected from others — TDS, GST, PF, ESI. These are not the company's money.
- The income tax return, to preserve the carry forward of losses.
- Secretarial filings, to keep the company's own status regular.
- Backlog compliance, once the current cycle is secured.
Common mistakes
- Treating the moratorium as suspending statutory compliances.
- Applying deducted TDS or collected GST to operational payments in a cash crisis.
- Missing the income tax return in a loss-making company and forfeiting the carry forward.
- Discovering a lapsed factory or pollution licence only when operations are stopped.