Form DPT-3 under Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014
Report the director loans, group-company loans, bank borrowings and customer advances your Bengaluru company held on 31 March in Form DPT-3, classified clause by clause, checked with your statutory auditor and filed before ROC Bangalore by 30 June. Professional fee from Rs 2,699 per return, excluding GST and MCA fees.
| Item | Position for a Bengaluru company |
|---|---|
| Form | DPT-3, return of deposits |
| Rule | Rule 16, Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 |
| Who files | Every company other than a government company, including private companies and OPCs |
| Figures as on | 31 March |
| Due date | On or before 30 June |
| Registrar | ROC Bangalore, which covers the whole State of Karnataka |
| Auditor's role | Information must be duly audited by the company's auditor |
| Late filing | Additional fee of 2 to 12 times the normal fee, depending on delay |
DPT-3 is often described as a "deposit" return, and founders conclude that a company which has never taken a public deposit has nothing to file. In practice the form has two halves. One reports deposits; the other reports money received that the rules exclude from the definition of deposit. Most private companies in Bengaluru fall into the second half.
The pattern is familiar from the city's startup and services economy. A founder lends the company money to cover payroll before a funding round closes. A parent or group company funds a new Indian subsidiary through an inter-corporate loan. An investor's money comes in as share application money and sits for a few weeks before allotment. A hardware or SaaS business takes annual advances from customers. Each of these is a receipt of money that has to be looked at under Rule 2(1)(c), and most are reported in DPT-3 even when they are not deposits.
The national rules, the fee table and the late-fee bands are set out on our DPT-3 filing page and in the DPT-3 return of deposits guide. This page covers how the return works for a company registered in Karnataka.
DPT-3 is filed on the MCA portal and is taken on record by the Registrar of Companies with jurisdiction over the company's registered office. For every company registered in Karnataka, that is ROC Bangalore. The Registrar's jurisdiction covers the whole state, so a company with its office in Mysuru, Hubballi or Mangaluru files before the same ROC as one in Koramangala.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs restructured several Registrar and Regional Director offices from 16 February 2026. For Karnataka, the change was a new Regional Directorate for the South-Western Region at Bengaluru, covering Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep. ROC Bangalore's jurisdiction over Karnataka companies continued. A DPT-3 default is dealt with by the Registrar; appeals against adjudication orders go to the Regional Director, which for a Karnataka company is now the Bengaluru office.
Source: Press Information Bureau release on the restructuring of RoC and RD offices, effective 16 February 2026.
| Typical item at 31 March | Deposit? | Where it goes in DPT-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Founder or director loan, with written declaration that it is not out of borrowed funds | No | Particulars of transactions not considered as deposit |
| Loan from a director's relative, in a private company, with declaration | No | Same, as not considered as deposit |
| Inter-corporate loan from an Indian parent or group company | No | Same, as an amount received from another company |
| Bank term loan, working-capital limit or NBFC loan | No | Same, as a loan from a bank or financial institution |
| Customer advance for software, hardware or services, adjusted within 365 days | No | Same, as an advance for supply of goods or services |
| Customer advance not adjusted within 365 days | Yes, unless another exception applies | Deposits |
| Share application money allotted within 60 days | No | Same, as not considered as deposit |
| Share application money not allotted in 60 days and not refunded in the next 15 | Yes | Deposits |
Funds from a foreign parent need a separate look. Whether a foreign loan to an Indian company is reportable, and under which clause, depends on its form under foreign-exchange law, so we classify it from the loan documents rather than assume it is an inter-corporate loan.
We start from the trial balance and list every liability that represents money received, not just the ones labelled loans.
Each item is matched to a sub-clause of Rule 2(1)(c) or treated as a deposit. Items that do not fit cleanly, such as a long-pending customer advance, are flagged for a decision before the form is drafted.
Where a director loan has no declaration on file, or an inter-corporate loan has no board approval, we prepare the papers. Gaps found here are better fixed now than explained to ROC Bangalore later.
We share the working with your statutory auditor in the format they need. The return carries the auditor's details and must reflect audited figures.
The form is signed with the authorised signatory's DSC and filed. A return that reports only transactions not considered as deposits is processed in straight-through mode, so it is checked line by line before submission because it cannot be corrected by resubmission.
| Stage | Indicative time | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Balances and ledgers shared | 1 - 2 working days | Books being closed for the year |
| Classification and documents | 1 - 2 working days | Number of lenders and advances |
| Auditor verification | Varies | Your auditor's schedule; easiest alongside the annual audit |
| Filing and challan | Same day once approved | MCA portal availability |
For a company with a handful of loans, three to five working days from complete documents is realistic. The bottleneck is almost always the auditor in June, when Bengaluru audit firms are busy with year-end work, so we prefer to start in April or May.
| Nominal share capital | Normal MCA fee |
|---|---|
| Below Rs 1 lakh | Rs 200 |
| Rs 1 lakh to below Rs 5 lakh | Rs 300 |
| Rs 5 lakh to below Rs 25 lakh | Rs 400 |
| Rs 25 lakh to below Rs 1 crore | Rs 500 |
| Rs 1 crore or more | Rs 600 |
| Company without share capital | Rs 200 |
| Delay after 30 June | Additional fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 days | 2 times the normal fee |
| 31 to 60 days | 4 times |
| 61 to 90 days | 6 times |
| 91 to 180 days | 10 times |
| More than 180 days | 12 times |
Source: Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 and the MCA instruction kit for Form DPT-3. The fee on the MCA challan at filing is final.
| Plan | Professional fee | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | From Rs 2,699 per return | Classification of loans and receipts, director declarations, board resolution, auditor coordination and filing of one DPT-3 |
| Standard | On quote | Starter plus companies holding deposits from members under Section 73(2), depositor lists and related particulars |
| Pro | On quote | Backlog returns for earlier years, reconciliation with audited balance sheets and additional fee working |
All plans exclude GST and MCA fees. The statutory auditor's verification is billed by the auditor unless agreed otherwise.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
A return for 31 March 2026 filed in October 2026 is more than 90 days late and sits in the ten-times band. It moves to twelve times once the delay crosses 180 days. The additional fee is paid on the MCA portal with the return; there is no separate application to the Registrar to file late.
Where a Bengaluru company has missed DPT-3 for several years, we file the earlier years in order and reconcile each one to the audited balance sheet for that year. Filing them together is usually cheaper in professional time, and it closes the gap before a notice arrives rather than after.
| Situation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Return filed late | Additional fee on the portal, by the delay band |
| Return not filed and noticed by the Registrar | Show-cause notice and adjudication of penalty |
| Penalty under Section 450 (where no other penalty is provided) | Rs 10,000 on the company and on each officer in default, plus Rs 1,000 a day while the default continues, up to Rs 2 lakh for the company and Rs 50,000 for an officer |
| Amount wrongly accepted as a deposit | Separate consequences under Sections 73 to 76A, which are more serious than a filing default |
Registrars across the country have issued adjudication orders under Section 450 for failure to file DPT-3 returns, imposing penalties on both the company and its directors. Filing late with the additional fee is almost always cheaper than waiting for an adjudication notice.
Section 450 as amended by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020. Adjudication is carried out by the Registrar as adjudicating officer, with appeal to the Regional Director.
| Filing | Due | Link to DPT-3 |
|---|---|---|
| DPT-3 | 30 June | Figures as on 31 March, audited |
| Board's report and financial statements | Before the AGM | Loans shown in the notes must match the return |
| AOC-4 | Within 30 days of the AGM | Balance sheet figures for borrowings |
| MGT-7 or MGT-7A | Within 60 days of the AGM | Indebtedness disclosures |
| DIR-3 KYC | 30 September | Directors' details for the signatory |
Because DPT-3 is due before most AGMs, the figures reported in June have to survive the audit that closes in September. We tie the DPT-3 working to the audit file so the loans in the return and in the financial statements are the same numbers. See annual compliance for private limited companies for the full year-end set.
We are a CA and CS practice operating under DSG CORPORATE FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLP. Our Bengaluru office at 26, Krishnalaya Complex, 4th Cross, N.R. Road, Bengaluru 560002 files ROC returns for Karnataka companies across sectors.
| Reference | Relevance |
|---|---|
| Sections 73 to 76A, Companies Act, 2013 | Acceptance of deposits and consequences of contravention |
| Rule 2(1)(c), Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 | Amounts not treated as deposits |
| Rule 16, Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 | Annual return of deposits in Form DPT-3, audited, by 30 June |
| Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 | Normal and additional fees |
| Section 450, Companies Act, 2013 | General penalty where no other penalty is provided |
| Section 454, Companies Act, 2013 | Adjudication of penalties by the Registrar |
| S.O. 831(E), 24 March 2015 | ROC Bangalore jurisdiction over the whole State of Karnataka |
Authority sources: Ministry of Corporate Affairs at mca.gov.in and the Press Information Bureau release of 31 December 2025.
A Bengaluru SaaS company with Rs 10 lakh nominal capital closed 31 March 2026 with a Rs 30 lakh loan from its co-founder, Rs 50 lakh from its US parent's Indian holding company and Rs 18 lakh of annual subscription advances. Two advances, totalling Rs 2.4 lakh, had been on the books since early 2025. We obtained the co-founder's declaration, confirmed the board approval for the inter-corporate loan and raised the old advances with the client: one had been delivered and only needed adjusting, the other was refunded before year end was finalised. The return was filed in May with only non-deposit particulars, at a normal fee of Rs 400.
Illustrative scenario based on typical file patterns. Not a named client engagement.
Same city: Auditor Appointment in Bangalore, Book Finalization in Bangalore, Virtual CFO in Bangalore. National: DPT-3 filing, annual compliance for private limited companies, ROC compliance AMC and our DPT-3 return of deposits guide.
ROC Bangalore. DPT-3 is filed on the MCA portal and taken on record by the Registrar with jurisdiction over the registered office, and ROC Bangalore covers the whole State of Karnataka.
Usually yes. DPT-3 also reports money received that is not treated as a deposit, such as founder loans, inter-corporate loans, bank borrowings and qualifying customer advances. A company with no outstanding loan or receipt of money at 31 March generally has nothing to report.
Not if the co-founder is a director and gives a written declaration, when lending, that the money is not out of borrowed funds. The loan is still reported in DPT-3 as a transaction not considered as a deposit.
The same as everywhere else: on or before 30 June each year, with figures as on 31 March. There is no state-specific date. For the year to 31 March 2026, the return was due by 30 June 2026.
Rule 16 requires the information in the return to be duly audited by the company's auditor, and the form records the statutory auditor's details. We prepare the working so your auditor can verify it quickly.
For a return due on 30 June, filing in October means a delay of more than 90 days, so the additional fee is 10 times the normal fee. Once the delay crosses 180 days it becomes 12 times. The normal fee ranges from Rs 200 to Rs 600 by nominal capital.
Yes. Where no specific penalty applies, the Registrar can adjudicate under Section 450: Rs 10,000 on the company and on each officer in default, plus Rs 1,000 a day while the default continues, up to Rs 2 lakh for the company and Rs 50,000 for an officer.
It depends on how the funding is structured under foreign-exchange law and the loan documents. We classify it from the agreements and the bank records rather than assume it is an ordinary inter-corporate loan, and report it accordingly.
Our professional fee starts at Rs 2,699 per return plus GST. The MCA fee of Rs 200 to Rs 600, and any additional fee for late filing, is paid at actuals. The auditor's verification is billed by the auditor unless agreed otherwise.
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Reviewed by CorporateWalla's CA and CS team · Last Updated 19 October 2026 · · Sources: Ministry of Corporate Affairs, PIB: MCA restructuring of RoC and RD offices, effective 16 February 2026
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