Which companies are outside the return of deposits?
A banking company, a non-banking financial company, and a housing finance company are outside the return of deposits. Any other company that holds a deposit, or a receipt the deposit rules say is not a deposit, files that return. A government company is not one of the three exempt classes.
Who does not file?
The deposit rules leave out those three classes. A private company, a public company, a small company, and a one person company are not left out by their form. A listing does not leave a company out either. Having had no loan since January 2019 is not an exemption. A company that holds neither a deposit nor an amount the rules treat as a receipt other than a deposit has nothing to put in the return.
What is the return?
The return is Form DPT-3. It is filed by 30 June and states the position as on 31 March, with the auditor’s certificate. The one-time return of amounts outstanding on 31 March 2019 is closed. A loan from a director can be a receipt that is not a deposit, and it is still reported. That treatment is on the director’s loan page. The due date, the receipts, and a missed filing are on the DPT-3 page.
What is a different default?
Filing DPT-3 late draws the additional government fee. It does not, by itself, attract the penalty for accepting a deposit in breach of the Act. Section 76A applies where a company accepts or invites a deposit in contravention of section 73 or section 76 or the rules, or fails to repay a deposit or interest within the time specified. The company is punishable with a fine of not less than ₹1 crore or twice the amount of the deposit, whichever is lower, which may extend to ₹10 crore. Every officer in default is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and with a fine of not less than ₹25 lakh, which may extend to ₹2 crore. Those figures are not the fee for a late form.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover a government company, the old one-time return, a quiet loan book, and section 76A.
Is a government company exempt?
No. The rules leave out a banking company, a non-banking financial company, and a housing finance company. A government company is not that list.
Is the one-time return still open?
No. The return of amounts outstanding on 31 March 2019 is closed. The living return is the annual return due on 30 June.
Does a company with no loans since 2019 skip the form?
A company with no deposit, and no receipt the rules treat as an amount that is not a deposit, has nothing to report. The absence of a loan since January 2019 is not itself an exemption.
Is the crore fine the late fee?
No. A late Form DPT-3 draws the additional government fee. Section 76A is a penalty for accepting a deposit, or failing to repay one, in breach of the deposit sections.
Sources
The annual return is rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014. Who is outside the rules is stated on the Form DPT-3 page. A breach of acceptance or repayment is section 76A.