Glossary

Plain-English tax, ROC, GST, MSME, and finance definitions.

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Plain-English terms in the published glossary

15 of 15 definitions shown

ROC compliance
AOC-4
AOC-4 is part of the form family used to file company financial statements and prescribed documents with the Registrar under section 137 and the Companies (Accounts) Rules. The correct route may instead involve AOC-4 CFS, AOC-4 XBRL, AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS), or another current variant depending on consolidated accounts, company class, accounting framework, and other facts. Board approval, signatures, audit evidence, AGM or adoption status, attachments, and the applicable filing clock must be established before a form is selected; portal acceptance does not prove the underlying statements or approvals are correct.
Open definition
Related guides
AOC-4 vs MGT-7 for a Private Limited Company ROC Annual Filing Readiness for a Private Limited Company
ROC compliance
MGT-7
MGT-7 is the annual-return form used under section 92 for company, registered-office, principal-business, holding or subsidiary, share, member, promoter, director, KMP, meeting, remuneration, penalty, certification, and other prescribed annual information. An OPC or small company may use MGT-7A when the current definition, exclusions, and relevant-year facts support that route. MGT-7 or MGT-7A is separate from the AOC financial-statement workstream, has its own AGM-relative clock, and should be reconciled to registers, minutes, share records, director data, and prior event filings before submission.
Open definition
Related guides
AOC-4 vs MGT-7 for a Private Limited Company ROC Annual Filing Readiness for a Private Limited Company
ROC compliance
DIR-3 KYC
DIR-3 KYC is the DIN-holder KYC and particulars-update regime in Rule 12A as substituted by G.S.R. 943(E) with effect from 31 March 2026. It is no longer a blanket annual filing due on 30 September. An individual holding a DIN on 31 March files DIR-3 KYC Web by 30 June immediately following every third consecutive financial year, while a change in personal mobile number, email address, or residential address triggers a separate 30-day update. The web form also supports DIN reactivation under Rule 11. The duty follows the DIN holder, including a former director who still holds a DIN; verify the person's transition cycle, status, access, evidence, and current MCA process without sharing OTPs, credentials, DSC PINs, or identity files.
Open definition
Related guides
DIR-3 KYC Checklist for DIN Holders Under the Current Regime ROC Annual Filing Readiness for a Private Limited Company
ROC compliance
ADT-1
ADT-1 is the prescribed notice through which a company reports an auditor appointment to the Registrar where section 139 and Rule 4 require it. The form does not appoint the auditor: the appointment arises from the applicable Board, member, Comptroller and Auditor-General, or vacancy process. First-auditor, AGM appointment or reappointment, casual-vacancy, resignation, and government-company paths can have different appointing authorities, clocks, and evidence. Confirm auditor consent, section 141 eligibility, approval records, appointment period, company facts, current form fields, and the precise notice requirement before filing.
Open definition
Related guides
ADT-1 and Auditor Appointment for a Private Limited Company ROC Annual Filing Readiness for a Private Limited Company
ROC compliance
DPT-3
DPT-3 is the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules form whose current notified purposes include a return of deposits, particulars of transactions not treated as deposits under Rule 2(1)(c), a combined return, and a historical one-time return. Rule 16 governs annual deposit reporting and audited information; Rule 16A created the fixed one-time disclosure for specified outstanding money or loans through 31 March 2019, so that purpose must not be presented as a recurring annual rule. Entity scope and every receipt's counterparty, date, purpose, conditions, agreement, bank trail, books, audited statements, prior filing, and exact Rule 2(1)(c) limb must be reconciled before selecting a purpose. A ledger labelled loan, advance, or director funding is not a legal classification.
Open definition
Related guides
DPT-3 Classification Checklist for Private Companies ROC Annual Filing Readiness for a Private Limited Company
MSME compliance
MSME Form I
MSME Form I is the half-yearly reporting workstream for a specified company acting as buyer when the current company and micro-or-small supplier conditions are met and payment has remained pending for more than 45 days from acceptance or deemed acceptance under the applicable direction and order. The ordinary recurring periods are April-September, due 31 October, and October-March, due 30 April, subject to a current MCA notice and live-form recheck. The company files the return; the supplier does not file it for the buyer. A medium-enterprise label, a generic 'MSME vendor' tag, or an Udyam certificate alone does not establish the trigger. Non-company buyers can still have separate MSMED Act payment duties without becoming Form I filers under the company orders, and filing the form does not pay the supplier or resolve interest, annual disclosure, or an MSEFC recovery reference.
Open definition
Related guides
MSME Form I Payment Reporting Guide for Companies Udyam Registration: Classification, Readiness, and Updates
Business registration
Udyam registration
Udyam registration is the Government of India's free online self-declaration registration and classification framework for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Current classification uses investment and turnover together, aggregates GSTIN units under the same PAN, and excludes export turnover for that classification calculation. An enterprise uses one registration for its permitted activities and receives a permanent number and online certificate. No renewal is required, but portal information must still be updated and classification maintained. Udyam does not create a legal entity, decide GST registration, or guarantee finance, procurement, subsidy, tax, payment, or recovery outcomes.
Open definition
Related guides
Udyam Registration: Classification, Readiness, and Updates Which Business Registration Does an Indian Founder Need?
GST compliance
GSTR-1
GSTR-1 is the statement of outward supplies in which an applicable registered taxpayer reports invoice, credit or debit note, export, amendment, exempt-supply, and HSN or SAC details for a tax period. It does not by itself discharge the tax liability.
Open definition
Related guides
Close GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B From One Difference Queue A GST Service Invoice Should Survive the Return Close
GST compliance
GSTR-3B
GSTR-3B is the return used to report summarized GST liability, eligible input tax credit, reversals, exempt or non-GST inward supplies, interest or late fee, and payment for the tax period. Auto-populated values assist preparation but still require review before filing.
Open definition
Related guides
Close GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B From One Difference Queue When Input Tax Credit Becomes a Cash-Flow Problem
GST compliance
Input tax credit
Input tax credit is credit of eligible input tax on inward supplies of goods or services, including eligible inputs, input services, and capital goods, that a registered person may use through the electronic credit ledger. It remains subject to the transaction, documents, supplier communication, receipt, payment, return, time-limit, apportionment, and blocked-credit rules. A book entry or GSTR-2B line alone is not the legal conclusion.
Open definition
Related guides
When Input Tax Credit Becomes a Cash-Flow Problem Close GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B From One Difference Queue
Tax advisory
TDS
TDS means tax deducted at source. For Tax Year 2026-27, sections 392 and 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 use payer-, payee-, residence-, payment-, threshold-, aggregation-, and event-specific rules; there is no universal startup exemption, threshold, or rate. For many resident non-salary rows, the controlling event can be the earlier of credit or payment, including a qualifying suspense-account credit. The operating trail continues from the approved applicability decision to deduction, Rule 218 deposit, the correct statement, processed exceptions and corrections, the applicable certificate, and deductee-credit reconciliation. A vendor label, invoice, bank debit, submitted statement, or certificate alone does not prove the chain is correct. Earlier periods and their corrections stay under their original law, section, form, and certificate framework.
Open definition
Related guides
TDS Compliance for Startups and MSMEs: From Payment Review to Certificate Income Tax Planning for Founders in India: A Year-Round System
Tax advisory
Advance tax
Advance tax is current-income tax paid during the tax year before return filing. For Tax Year 2026-27 under sections 403 to 408 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, compute one taxpayer's full-year tax using the applicable individual regime or entity provisions, special-rate income, supported deductions, eligible losses, rebate or relief, surcharge, cess, and qualifying tax deductible or collectible at source. The general liability threshold is net advance tax of Rs 10,000 or more, subject to the exception for a resident individual aged 60 or more during the tax year who has no income from business or profession, and the narrow section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 1 or 3 presumptive path. Most liable taxpayers track cumulative minimums of 15%, 45%, 75%, and 100% by 15 June, 15 September, 15 December, and 15 March, revising remaining instalments when facts change. Gross receipts, last year's tax, expected TDS, or a founder label cannot decide liability. FY 2025-26 / AY 2026-27 remains under the 1961 Act even when a later payment or correction occurs after 1 April 2026.
Open definition
Related guides
Advance Tax Planning for Founders and Consultants: A Cumulative Cash Tracker Income Tax Planning for Founders in India: A Year-Round System
GST compliance
GST invoice
A GST invoice is a tax document issued for a taxable supply with the prescribed supplier, recipient, document, supply, value, tax, and other applicable particulars. The invoice records the selected tax treatment; it does not by itself prove that the rate, place of supply, export status, reverse charge, or recipient ITC position is correct.
Open definition
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Financial compliance
Compliance calendar
A compliance calendar is a maintained source, applicability, rule, occurrence, owner, review, and evidence control for tax, GST, TDS, ROC, payroll, registration, accounting, supplier-payment, and event-based work. The source ledger records the exact official URL, effective interval, access and review state, and superseding or conflicting material. A schedule stores a recurring cadence or event formula; it is not a reader-specific deadline. An occurrence may show an exact India date only after the entity, jurisdiction, period, registration, event, threshold, source, notice scan, formula, and override state are current and resolved. Stale, inaccessible, conflicting, or incomplete evidence produces Recheck required and suppresses the actionable date. A static list of internet dates is not a maintained compliance calendar.
Open definition
Related guides
Compliance Calendar for Indian Startups and MSMEs: Maintain Rules and Sources Startup Compliance Calendar in India: Configure Applicability and Ownership
Finance operations
Cash-flow forecast
A cash-flow forecast is a dated forward-looking liquidity model that carries reconciled opening cash through timed inflow and outflow assumptions to a closing balance for each period. A rolling 13-week version should preserve opening-to-closing continuity, show the lowest close and first negative closing week, label scenario and confidence state, compare prior forecast with actual cash, explain variances, and assign reforecast actions. Expected receipts are assumptions rather than guaranteed collections. The forecast is not accrual profit, a bank reconciliation, a statutory cash-flow statement, or a legal deadline source; it consumes reconciled records and maintained obligation inputs while keeping those controls separate.
Open definition
Related guides
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Plain-English tax, ROC, GST, MSME, and finance definitions.

15 of 15 definitions shown

AOC-4

MGT-7

DIR-3 KYC

ADT-1

DPT-3

MSME Form I

Udyam registration

GSTR-1

GSTR-3B

Input tax credit

TDS

Advance tax

GST invoice

Compliance calendar

Cash-flow forecast

Request a bounded fit and next-step assessment using controlled business context.