Compliance Calendar

A monthly compliance calendar is one of the most underrated tools in an Indian finance team's arsenal. By FY 2026-27, with the Income-tax portal, GST portal, MCA V3 portal and EPFO/ESIC all running tight deadlines and AIS-driven cross-checks, missing a due date can mean automated late fees, blocked filings and even adverse credit signals. This calendar template can be reused every month for routine direct, indirect and corporate-law obligations applicable to Indian businesses.

Direct Tax Obligations

• TDS payment for the previous month — generally by the 7th, with 30 April due date for March deductions.
• TCS payment by the 7th of the following month.
• Issue of TDS certificates (Form 16A and Form 16B) — within the prescribed time after quarterly TDS return.
• Advance tax instalments on 15 June, 15 September, 15 December and 15 March for the financial year.
• Quarterly TDS returns (Form 24Q, 26Q, 27Q) by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May.
• Equalisation levy challan (Form 1) — generally by 7 of the following month for specified services.

GST Obligations

1. GSTR-1 monthly by the 11th of the following month, or QRMP scheme by the 13th of the month following the quarter.
2. GSTR-3B monthly by the 20th, or staggered 22nd/24th for State-wise QRMP cycles.
3. PMT-06 monthly tax payment by the 25th under QRMP scheme.
4. GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7 and GSTR-8 by the respective monthly due dates.
5. GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C annual return and reconciliation by 31 December of the following financial year.
6. E-way bill compliance for every movement of goods above the State-notified value threshold.

MCA / Companies Act Obligations

Apart from event-based filings like INC-22, MGT-14 and PAS-3, every company maintains an annual rhythm of:

• DIR-3 KYC by 30 September of each financial year for every active DIN holder.
• DPT-3 return of deposits and outstanding receipts not treated as deposits by 30 June.
• MSME-1 half-yearly return of payments outstanding to MSME suppliers by 31 October and 30 April.
• AOC-4 financial statement filing within 30 days of the AGM.
• MGT-7 / MGT-7A annual return within 60 days of the AGM.
• ADT-1 auditor appointment intimation within 15 days of the AGM.

Labour Law and Other Routine Filings

EPFO ECR is due by the 15th of the following month, and ESIC contribution similarly by the 15th. Professional Tax is filed by the State-specific due dates. Maharashtra PTRC returns, for example, are monthly or annual depending on liability. Trade licence renewals, FSSAI renewals, factories returns and pollution-control compliances follow their own State and sectoral calendars.

Annual Tax Compliance Highlights

1. Tax audit report (Form 3CA-3CD / 3CB-3CD) by 30 September of the assessment year, subject to CBDT extensions.
2. Income-tax Return — 31 July for non-audit, 31 October for audit, 30 November for TP cases.
3. Transfer pricing report in Form 3CEB by 31 October.
4. Form 67 for foreign tax credit before filing the return.
5. Belated and revised returns by 31 December of the assessment year.

Building a Robust Compliance Calendar

• Centralise filings in a single tracker mapped to a responsible owner and a reviewer.
• Use email and Slack reminders five days, two days and one day before each due date.
• Maintain copies of every challan, return and acknowledgement in a structured folder.
• Run a monthly reconciliation between books, AIS, Form 26AS, GSTR-2B and bank statements.
• Hold a 30-minute monthly compliance review with finance, HR, legal and operations leads.

Conclusion

A disciplined monthly compliance calendar is the cheapest insurance an Indian business can buy. For FY 2026-27, sync your tracker with the Income-tax portal calendar, GST due-date staggering, MCA V3 timelines and State-specific labour calendars. The goal is not just to file on time — it is to use the calendar as a heartbeat for clean books, reconciled data and audit-ready records.