--- title: "Running a Company in India: Annual Filings & Costs 2026" description: "Running an Indian private limited company: the audit, AGM and annual filings with the registrar, 25.168% corporate tax, payroll filings and monthly costs." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/india/entity-running-costs-and-filings --- # What it costs to run a company in India. An Indian private limited company has its accounts audited, holds an annual general meeting, files its financial statements and annual return with the registrar, and runs payroll and tax filings every month. Teamed can keep the company running for you. If you run your own entity in India, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, a designated person who manages your account, and one system from your first contractor to your own entity. Served by Teamed's own legal entity in India Last reviewed 15 October 2026 ยท India guide ![A red-brick colonial-era building with arched verandas behind a garden of tall trees on a quiet street in central Bengaluru, in soft overcast morning light.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/india/entity-running-costs-and-filings/images/hero.webp) India at a glance ## The facts most people need first The government charges little to keep a company on the register. The cost of running one in India is the volume of filings: company law, income tax, GST and payroll each have their own calendar, and a foreign-owned company adds reporting to the Reserve Bank. State rules here are Karnataka's, for an office in Bengaluru. Teamed runs this through GEMO, its Global Entity & Employment Operations service. - **Annual return and financial statements**: Filed with the registrar every 12 months, after the AGM - **Registrar's fee for the annual return**: INR 300 at the usual small authorised capital - **Statutory audit**: Required every year, for every company - **Corporate tax**: 25.168% effective, under the concessional regime - **Payroll filings**: Tax deducted at source every month and reported each quarter - **Who answers for it**: The directors The registrar's fee, the filing cycle and the labour rules below are the government's own published figures, read through copies of the official texts, so we are waiting on direct confirmation from the live government services before we treat them as settled. Four calendars ## Running an Indian company means four calendars People expect one annual bill and one annual form. An Indian company answers to the registrar, the income tax department, the GST network and the labour bodies, each on its own rhythm, and late filing fees run by the day. The table shows what falls due, to whom and how often. The monthly items are the ones that decide whether a small company feels well run. | Filing | Who to | When | | --- | --- | --- | | Financial statements and annual return | Registrar of Companies | Every 12 months, within set periods after the AGM | | Income tax return | Income tax department | Once a year | | Tax deducted at source on salaries | Income tax department | Paid monthly, reported quarterly | | GST returns, once registered | GST network | Monthly or quarterly, plus an annual return | | Provident fund and state insurance, where they apply | EPFO and ESIC | Every month | | Professional tax | Karnataka | Deducted and paid monthly | | Foreign liabilities and assets return | Reserve Bank of India | Once a year | Once a year ## How the annual filings work India does not fix one calendar date for everyone. The rule runs from the annual general meeting. The [Companies Act](https://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/CompaniesAct2013.pdf) sets a deadline for holding the AGM after the financial year ends, then a period after the meeting for the financial statements and a longer one for the annual return. For most companies the financial year ends in March, so the meeting and both filings fall in the second half of the calendar year. A company that holds its meeting early files early. The official fees are small. The annual return costs INR 300 at the usual small authorised capital, on the [registrar's fee table](https://www.mca.gov.in/content/dam/mca-aem-forms/instructionkits/Instruction%20Kit_SH-7.pdf), and the financial statements carry a fee on the same scale. Late filing adds a fee for every day, which is how a forgotten form turns expensive. Every company also has its accounts audited by a chartered accountant before the meeting, whatever its size. The audit and the accountant who prepares the statements are where the yearly money goes. What you actually pay ## What does it cost to run an Indian company each month The government's share is small. Where Teamed runs the company, each government fee passes through at cost, so you can check it against the published schedule. The real cost is professional work, and it grows with the number of invoices and payslips rather than with the company's size on paper. Firms that price in rupees for a small team sit at the lower end of the range below. Firms that price in dollars for foreign parents sit at the top. Market estimate INR 4,500 to INR 52,000 a month What the market charges each month for bookkeeping and routine company, GST and TDS filings, before audit, rent and payroll. Not a Teamed price. A company that opts for the concessional regime pays an effective 25.168%, including surcharge and cess, under [section 200 of the Income-tax Act 2025](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-200-75). The option gives up most other deductions and cannot be reversed, so decide it with your adviser before the first return. Every month ## Payroll is the part that never pauses Once you employ anyone, the monthly rhythm takes over. Income tax is deducted from salaries and paid each month, and reported in a quarterly statement under the company's TAN. Professional tax is deducted and paid in Karnataka. Provident fund applies once the company employs 20 or more people, and the state health insurance scheme from a lower headcount, under the [Code on Social Security](https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/16823/1/aA2020-36.pdf). Below those numbers a small company can still join provident fund by agreement, which is how teams keep people in a scheme they already have. The Bengaluru office itself registers under the [Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act](https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/acts_states/karnataka/1962/Act%20No.%208%20of%201962%20Karnataka.pdf) within 30 days of starting work. What you take on ## Who answers when something is late The directors. Indian company law makes them responsible for proper books and timely filings, and a director of a company that keeps missing them can be disqualified from other boards too. An accountant can do the work, but the duty stays with the board. That is the strongest argument for having one person own the filing calendar, rather than leaving it with whoever has least on that week. Your options ## Who can set it up for you The routes that register a company can also run it, and the choice matters more here because it repeats every month. You can run it yourself with accounting software, a company secretary for the registrar's forms and a chartered accountant for the audit. It suits a founder with no staff and few transactions. A compliance firm suits a company with no employees yet. It keeps the books and files the company, GST and TDS returns, and payroll is usually an extra. A law firm or corporate-services firm suits a group with several entities, transfer pricing questions or tax planning across borders. You pay for the advice as well as the filing. For companies that will employ people in India, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, pricing with no hidden costs, and payroll, provident fund and filings on one platform. Teamed's [Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO)](/entity-management) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in India. If you are a founder on your own with nobody to pay, the first two routes will cost you less, and we would tell you so. Worth saying plainly ## This is the cost people forget when they compare Registering is a one-off and it is easy to picture. Running the company is the part that repeats, and in India it includes an audit every year and filings every month. If the yearly running cost looks heavy against the size of your team there, that is useful information. An employer of record carries all of this inside one monthly fee, and it is a fair answer rather than a lesser one. Teamed's employer of record in India is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up and no hidden costs. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or onboarding anyone again. Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers first, the crossover calculator models it for India. Talk to a member of the team Crossover calculator for India Who carries it ## Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact. Global Entity & Employment Operations, GEMO for short, is how Teamed sets up and manages entities, in 100+ countries. You own the company and you are the employer. We form it and keep it running. Teamed also employs people in India through its own legal entity there. Entity Management (GEMO) The Graduation Model Employer cost calculator for India Talk to an expert about setting up in India Questions ## Questions about running an Indian company When are an Indian company's annual filings due? There is no single date. The financial statements and the annual return follow the annual general meeting within set periods, so for a March year end they fall in the second half of the calendar year. What does the registrar charge for the annual return? INR 300 at the usual small authorised capital, with a fee on the same scale for the financial statements. Late filing adds a fee for every day. Does a small Indian company need an audit? Yes. Every company in India has its accounts audited each year, whatever its size. When does provident fund apply? Once the company employs 20 or more people, under the Code on Social Security. A smaller company can still join by agreement. Who is responsible for the filings? The directors. An accountant or company secretary can do the work, but the duty stays with the board. Sources 1. Companies Act 2013, annual return, financial statements and annual general meeting 2. Ministry of Corporate Affairs, fee table for company filings 3. Income Tax Department, section 200 of the Income-tax Act 2025 4. Code on Social Security 2020, provident fund and state insurance thresholds 5. Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 6. Market estimates from published price lists of Indian accounting and compliance firms, read 14 October 2026 The rest of the India guides Setting up Permanent establishment risk When an entity makes sense Moving people across Hiring in India ## More on entities in India - [Hiring in India, overview](/country-hiring-guides/india) - [India entity setup](/country-hiring-guides/india/entity-setup) - [India tax presence risk](/country-hiring-guides/india/permanent-establishment-risk) - [India entity or EOR](/country-hiring-guides/india/eor-vs-entity) - [India moving from an EOR](/country-hiring-guides/india/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity) - [Company formation, by country](/company-formation) - [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management) - [Talk to an expert about India](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-running-costs)