The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026) for a second time — this is the scheme’s third operative deadline since it was first introduced in February 2026, and comes on the very day the previous 31 August 2026 deadline was due to lapse.

The Circular

  • General Circular No. 04/2026, F.No. Policy-02/2/2020-CL-V-MCA, dated 31 August 2026
  • Issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, addressed to DGCoA, all Registrars of Companies, all Regional Directors, and all stakeholders
  • Subject: Extension of Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026) up to 15th September 2026

Timeline of CCFS-2026 So Far

CircularDatedEffect
General Circular No. 01/202624 February 2026Introduced CCFS-2026; Scheme operative up to 15 July 2026
General Circular No. 03/20268 July 2026First extension — Scheme extended up to 31 August 2026, on account of MCA21 disruption following a fire at the MCA data centre on 5 June 2026
General Circular No. 04/202631 August 2026Second extension — Scheme now extended up to 15 September 2026

Why the Extension

The circular records that the extension follows representations received from various stakeholders, without citing a fresh technical or infrastructure disruption (unlike the July extension, which was explicitly linked to the data-centre fire that had also pushed back the DPT-3 due date under General Circular No. 02/2026). Read together with the ICSI’s public request in August for an extension to 30 September 2026, and a Lok Sabha reply on 10 August 2026 in which the government had stated there was no proposal at the time for a further extension, this suggests the extension was granted close to the wire, in response to continued representations rather than a new operational event.

For companies tracking their filing calendar generally, see the Annual ROC Compliance Calendar for Private Limited Companies, the OPC compliance calendar, and the Section 8 Company compliance calendar — CCFS-2026 is a one-time relief layered on top of these regular due dates, not a replacement for them.

What Stays the Same

Paragraph 3 of the circular is explicit: “All other terms and conditions of the Scheme shall remain unchanged.” That means, for filings made up to the new 15 September 2026 closing date:

  • Annual filings — MGT-7 / MGT-7A, AOC-4 and variants, ADT-1, FC-3/FC-4, and specified legacy Companies Act, 1956 forms such as Form 20B, Form 21A, and Form 23AC — only 10% of the additional fee for delayed filing, with normal filing fees payable as usual.
  • Dormant status (Form MSC-1) — 50% of the normal filing fee.
  • Strike-off (Form STK-2) — 25% of the normal filing fee.
  • Immunity from penalty under Sections 92 and 137 continues on the same conditions as before (filing before adjudication notice, or within 30 days of notice), and immunity from prospective penal action for ADT-1/FC-3/FC-4/legacy forms continues where no prosecution or show-cause notice preceded the filing.
  • The categories excluded from the Scheme (companies under section 248 strike-off action, companies that already applied for strike-off or dormant status, amalgamated and vanishing companies) remain excluded.

In short: nothing about how the Scheme works has changed — only the closing date, which moves from 31 August 2026 to 15 September 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • CCFS-2026 now closes on 15 September 2026, extended for the second time by General Circular No. 04/2026 dated 31 August 2026.
  • The first extension (03/2026) was tied to the MCA21 data-centre fire disruption; this second extension cites stakeholder representations rather than a fresh technical cause.
  • Fee concessions (10% additional fee for annual filings, 50% for MSC-1, 25% for STK-2) and the immunity provisions are unchanged — only the date has moved.
  • Companies should still treat 15 September 2026 as a hard closing date; the government’s 10 August 2026 Lok Sabha statement suggests further extensions should not be assumed as routine.
  • For full scheme mechanics, eligibility, forms covered, and FAQs, see the companion article: Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 (CCFS-2026).

Source / Further Reading