Successfully Filing Your AOC-4 XBRL with the MCA – Common Errors & Solutions
Companies in India are required to file Form AOC-4 to the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to showcase their accountability to all stakeholders by submitting company annual financial statements, board reports, and the auditor’s reports. These are filed annually and are to be submitted within 30 days from the date of AGM.
Who should file Form AOC-4 XBRL?
All companies registered in India must mandatorily file Form AOC-4.
In 2011, MCA mandated that Companies in India that meet any of the following criteria need to file XBRL financial statements along with e-form AOC-4, shortly known as AOC-4 XBRL:
- All companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and having a paid up capital of Rs 50 million or more, or a turnover of Rs 1,000 million or more
- All companies that are listed in an Indian stock exchange (NSE/BSE) and their Indian subsidiaries irrespective of their capital or turnover
How to file your e-Form successfully?
Despite being a yearly process, there can be some glitches that one can encounter while filing the AOC forms to MCA.
Here are a few tips to help you file successfully.
- Always download the AOC-4 form newly from MCA website.
- Attach the instance document correctly. XBRL file should always be *.xml format.
- Do not rename or open any xml files generated from your software or supplied by your service provider.
- Ensure the XBRL is submitted on the same day as the day of validation with MCA. Any delay can lead to the error message “ Latest instance document should be attached with the AOC-4 form”
- Choose the appropriate taxonomy/accounting standard and ensure mandatory fields are filled properly with appropriate information.
- Example: If the accounting standard adopted is In IGAAP, your selection on AOC form should be “AS Taxonomy”. If it is IND AS, then the selection on form should be “Ind-AS Taxonomy”. Incorrect selection can lead to submission failure.
Frequently encountered errors or failure notices:
- “Latest Instance Document not attached”:
- Always Download forms from newly submitted e-forms available at the website of the Ministry of corporate affairs. Mismatch between the forms may lead to incorrectness.
- “Pre Scrutiny error”:
- Once the e-form is filled you’ll have to press the Check form option and then check on Pre Scrutiny option. In case of any inconsistency it might throw error such as digital signatures unsigned which should not cross the size beyond 6 MB, only class 2 or equivalent class preferable.
- “Data filled in the form is not viewing after pre- scrutiny”:
- Could be because of mandatory fields not filled from the client end.
- SRN of a form is marked as ‘Defective” :
- Such forms are required to be filed afresh after rectifying the defects/ incompleteness.
Solutions to Technical Issues Faced During Filing of AOC-4 e-Forms on MCA Portal
| Errors | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Form Upload Size is Greater than 6MB: | All e-forms have a 6 MB upload limit. To avoid increasing the file size when affixing DSCs:
|
| Unable to Read File: | Manually fill in all form field details using Adobe Reader 11.0 or later and Internet Explorer 9.0 or later. Avoid using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. |
| Pre-Scrutiny Check Field is Missing in e-Form: | Save the form again before uploading it. Ensure attachment names don’t contain special characters and are under 25 characters long. Use Adobe Reader 11 or later. |
| Form ID is Not Present: | Remove spaces and special characters from the e-form file name and generate the form. Rename and save it before uploading. |
| Form Already Filed: | Use Track SRN service with the same FO login details, search for the form by date range, and cancel it. Then, modify the form and ensure pre-scrutiny is successful before uploading. Rename and save it, removing special characters other than hyphen (-), underscore (_), or space. |
| Forms Not Pre-Scrutinized: | Remove special characters from file names. Edit and regenerate each form. Ensure changes appear in PDFs and avoid uploading SPICE+ PART B as a single form. Wait a few minutes after saving and closing the form before uploading it. |
| ID Number Already Exists Against an Active DIN: | Leave optional sections blank instead of writing “NA.” Check and remove any such entries and try again. |
| Latest Instance Document Not Attached: | Download the latest MCA XBRL Validation Tool Version from the XBRL Portal and use it to validate and pre-scrutinize the XML, then attach it to the form and upload. |
| Details of the Practicing Professional Are Not Valid: | If choosing Company Secretary, provide the COP number and membership number. If choosing Cost Accountant/Chartered Accountant, provide only the membership number. Make sure the DSC matches the membership number. |
| DSC is Already Registered: | If the DSC is registered with a different category, update it before affixing it on the e-forms. |
| User is Already Logged In: | Only one login is allowed per user ID at a time. Log in again after 10 minutes. Log out of the system properly to avoid leaving a session open. |
| Challan Not Generated: | Payment confirmations may be delayed by up to 48 hours. Check payment status at SBI’s third-party verification link and download the challan from MCA’s portal. |
| Errors While Uploading Form: |
|
AOC-4 XBRL : Penalty for Late Filing
As per the latest rules, for delayed filing of AOC-4 , a penalty of INR 100 per day is payable.
For non-filing of AOC-4 , a company can be penalized at INR 10,000 a day upto a maximum of INR 10 Lakhs, and the managing directors and CFOs penalized at INR 1 Lakh + INR 100 per day upto a maximum of INR 5 Lakhs.
Engaging DataTracks to handle your XBRL reporting preparation services can help ease the stress of meeting filing deadlines without compromising on quality, and at competitive rates.
Write to us on enquiry@datatracks.in or contact us on +91 44 4208 1719 to know more.