Form DPT-3 Filing: Return of Deposits & Exempted Loans from Directors and Banks

Every company incorporated in India (other than government companies) must file Form DPT-3 annually with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) under Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, framed under Sections 73 to 76A of the Companies Act, 2013. A common misconception among promoters of private limited companies is that DPT-3 is relevant only to entities that accept public deposits in the conventional sense. In fact, DPT-3 is equally mandatory for private limited companies that carry ordinary bank loans, unsecured loans from directors, inter-corporate deposits, or advance payments from customers — the form exists precisely to capture borrowings that are exempt from the strict "deposit" regime but still need to be reported to the ROC each year for transparency.

1. Who Must File Form DPT-3?

• All Private Limited Companies;
• All Public Limited Companies (listed and unlisted);
• All One Person Companies (OPCs) and companies otherwise classified as small companies.

Practical Note: A company with no outstanding loans, deposits, or exempted borrowings whatsoever as at 31 March is still generally advised to file a Nil return in practice, since the ROC form does not automatically distinguish "no filing" from "non-compliance" — maintaining a filed record each year avoids ambiguity in future due-diligence or ROC scrutiny.

Exemptions: Government companies, banking companies, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) registered with the RBI, and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) regulated by the National Housing Bank/RBI are exempt from filing Form DPT-3, since these entities are separately regulated for deposit-taking activity.

2. Key Categories of 'Exempted Borrowings' Disclosed in DPT-3

Most private limited businesses in Chhattisgarh and Odisha file Form DPT-3 under the category "transactions not considered as deposits under Rule 2(1)(c) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014", which typically includes:

1. Unsecured Loans from Directors: A loan received from a director of the company (or, in the case of a private company, from a relative of a director), provided the director/relative furnishes a written declaration that the amount was not given out of funds borrowed by them from others, and the company discloses the loan in the Board's Report.
2. Bank Loans and Financial Institutions: Term loans, working capital Cash Credit (CC) limits, overdrafts, and outstanding bank guarantees as at 31 March.
3. Inter-Corporate Deposits (ICDs): Loans received from another body corporate.
4. Advances for Supply of Goods or Services: Advances received against supply of goods or provision of services, provided the advance is adjusted against a corresponding invoice within 365 days of receipt (an advance not so adjusted within 365 days is treated as a deposit unless covered by another specific exemption, or unless it is the subject matter of a dispute and an interim order of a court/tribunal restrains the refund).
5. Security Deposits: Retentions from contractors and security deposits received from dealers/distributors in the ordinary course of business.
6. Share Application Money: Amounts received towards allotment of securities pending allotment, provided the allotment is made (or the money refunded) within 60 days of receipt as required under company law.

3. Statutory Deadlines & the FY 2025-26 Filing Position

• Annual Due Date: On or before 30th June of every year, disclosing outstanding balances of deposits and exempted deposits as at 31st March of the immediately preceding financial year.
• Statutory Auditor Certification: A certificate from the company's statutory auditor is mandatory when filing DPT-3, confirming the figures reported (both for deposits and exempted deposits).
• Filing relief for FY 2025-26: For the return covering FY 2025-26 (due 30 June 2026), companies should verify the current MCA circular position on any additional-fee relaxation window before relying on an extended date — the statutory due date remains 30 June, and any relaxation is typically a limited, one-time administrative concession rather than a permanent extension of the due date itself.

Practical Warning: Companies frequently assume that only "large" borrowings need disclosure and overlook smaller items such as security deposits from dealers or unadjusted customer advances crossing the 365-day mark. Since DPT-3 requires auditor certification, finance teams should reconcile the trial balance loan and advance ledgers against the DPT-3 categories well before the filing deadline, rather than treating it as a last-minute formality.

4. Penalties under Section 76A for Non-Compliance

Section 76A of the Companies Act, 2013 prescribes punishment for contravention of the deposit provisions (Sections 73 or 76), which extends by reference to failure to file the required return of deposits/exempted deposits:

Practical Note: These penalties attach to contravention of the underlying deposit-acceptance and repayment provisions (Sections 73/76) rather than being calibrated specifically to a delayed DPT-3 filing in isolation — but a delayed or inaccurate DPT-3 filing is frequently the evidentiary trigger that brings a company's deposit position under ROC scrutiny in the first place, making timely and accurate filing the practical safeguard against the much larger exposure under Section 76A.

5. Practical Filing Checklist

1. Extract the trial balance loan, advance, and deposit ledgers as at 31 March and map each balance to the correct DPT-3 exemption category.
2. Collect written declarations from directors/relatives confirming unsecured loans were not funded from their own borrowings.
3. Identify customer advances outstanding beyond 365 days and assess whether they now fall outside the exemption and require reclassification.
4. Reconcile bank loan, CC/OD, and guarantee balances against bank confirmation letters/balance certificates as at 31 March.
5. Engage the statutory auditor early to obtain the mandatory DPT-3 certification before the 30 June due date.
6. File a Nil return where applicable, rather than skipping the filing altogether, to maintain an unbroken compliance record.

Related Advisory Services & Practice Guides

• ROC Annual Compliance & Filing Services in Raipur
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