Your company has never invited public deposits, but it has an outstanding director loan and a bank overdraft. Does it need Form DPT-3? Possibly yes. The annual form can report both deposits and certain money received by a company that the rules specifically do not treat as deposits.
This guide explains how to classify common receipts, what the 30 June deadline covers and how to avoid choosing the wrong purpose on the MCA portal. It is based on the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 Official ↗, subsequent amendments and the MCA DPT-3 instruction kit Official ↗.
For FY 2025–26: The ordinary annual DPT-3 due date was 30 June 2026, using information as at 31 March 2026. If a required return remains unfiled, check the current MCA portal and applicable fees, then address the default promptly. The next ordinary annual cycle, for information as at 31 March 2027, is due by 30 June 2027, subject to any official change.
What is DPT-3?
Form DPT-3 is the company return used to report deposits, particulars of receipts that are not considered deposits under rule 2(1)(c), or both. Rule 16 provides for the annual return by 30 June with a 31 March reporting position. Its explanation, inserted in 2019, expressly covers all three filing purposes for companies other than government companies. The MCA form also contains a distinct one-time return under rule 16A(3), covering an earlier historical period; that is not the purpose to select for a routine 2026 annual filing.
DPT-3 concerns money received by the company. A trade payable the company owes to a supplier is not a receipt and should not be copied into DPT-3 merely because it appears among liabilities. Companies with no public deposits can still have reportable non-deposit transactions.
Who should check whether filing is required?
A private company, public company, One Person Company or section 8 company should review its receipts if the deposit rules apply to it. Under rule 1(3), the rules exclude certain regulated entities, including banking companies and qualifying registered NBFCs and housing finance companies. Rule 16’s explanation excludes government companies from this DPT-3 filing framework. Confirm the entity’s actual legal category before assuming an exemption.
Start with a 31 March schedule of every amount received and still outstanding, then identify the rule 2(1)(c) exclusion, if any, for each item. If actual deposits were accepted or repaid during the year, review the return-of-deposits fields as well, even when the closing balance is nil. A company with no deposits and no reportable non-deposit receipts generally has no annual particulars to submit, but “nil filing” is not a substitute for checking the books and the form instructions.
| Receipt to examine | Classification check |
|---|---|
| Director loan | Was the lender a director when the money was received, and was the required own-funds declaration obtained? |
| Director’s relative | For a private company, check the relative’s status and declaration at the time of receipt. |
| Bank borrowing | Identify the lender and outstanding term loan, cash-credit or overdraft balance. |
| Inter-company loan | Confirm that the lender is another company and trace the year-end balance. |
| Customer advance | Check the contract, purpose, appropriation and time conditions; an old advance may cease to qualify for an exclusion. |
| Share application money | Review allotment or repayment deadlines; an overdue amount can become a deposit. |
| Employee security | Check the rule’s limit and non-interest-bearing employment conditions. |
These are screening examples, not automatic exemptions. An item that fails its specific conditions may be a deposit with a different legal consequence.
Director and relative loans: check the declaration
Rule 2(1)(c)(viii), as amended by MCA’s 2015 notification Official ↗, excludes money received from a person who was a director at the time of receipt or, for a private company, a relative of its director. The lender must give the company a written declaration at the time of giving the money that the amount did not come from funds borrowed or received as loans or deposits from others. The company must also disclose the money accepted in its Board’s report.
For example, if a director advanced ₹4 lakh from personal savings and ₹2 lakh remained payable at 31 March, reconcile the loan ledger to that closing balance and retain the declaration and bank evidence. Do not assume every amount from a director qualifies: the timing, source of money and documentation matter.
Advances and share application money need special care
A customer advance received for goods or services in the ordinary course of business can qualify for an exclusion only while the applicable rule 2(1)(c) conditions remain satisfied. The 365-day appropriation rule is a common checkpoint, with exceptions where legal proceedings or other specific provisions apply. Check the current rule and underlying contract before treating a long-pending balance as routine trade advance.
Money received against an offer of securities is another conditional exclusion. If the company cannot allot the securities within 60 days and does not repay the money within the further 15 days, the amount may be treated as a deposit under the rule.
An outstanding balance should be matched to the right rule clause, not merely to an accounting head named “unsecured loans” or “other current liabilities.”
Annual deadline and the old one-time return
The annual reporting date is 31 March and the ordinary filing deadline is 30 June of that year. For example, DPT-3 for the position as at 31 March 2026 was ordinarily due 30 June 2026.
Rule 16A(3)’s one-time return was introduced for specified non-deposit money or loans received during 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2019. MCA’s 2019 amendment Official ↗ set the historical cut-off. That filing choice remains visible in MCA’s kit, but it does not replace the annual “particulars of transactions not considered as deposit” option for FY 2025–26.
Which MCA purpose should you choose?
The webform offers return of deposits, particulars of transactions not considered deposits, both, and the old one-time return. Choose the annual purpose that matches the company’s classified receipts. MCA says only one purpose can be selected in the webform. If there are both actual deposits and qualifying excluded receipts, use the combined purpose rather than filing an unrelated one-time disclosure.
MCA’s instruction kit says deposit or combined returns are processed in non-STP mode, while the annual non-deposit particulars option is taken on record through STP mode. The kit notes that the latter has no provision for resubmission.
Records and auditor requirements
Prepare a year-end balance sheet or ledger reconciliation, lender or counterparty details, loan and advance schedules, bank statements, director or relative declarations where applicable, and the board authorisation and valid digital signature of the signatory. Deposit filers may need a list of depositors, trust-deed or charge particulars and other supporting data depending on what the form asks.
Do not overstate the auditor-certificate rule. MCA clarified, as reported by ICAI , that an auditor’s certificate is mandatory only for a return of deposits. For filing only particulars of transactions not considered deposits, the information as at 31 March need not be taken from duly audited financial statements. MCA’s later form and instruction kit Official ↗ provide the statutory-auditor declaration for deposit particulars.
How to file on MCA V3
- Build the receipt schedule. Reconcile opening and closing balances and transactions during the year; identify the rule clause for each non-deposit receipt.
- Resolve exceptions. Investigate old customer advances, unallotted share money and missing director declarations before finalising the category.
- Select the annual purpose. In MCA’s DPT-3 webform, verify CIN, reporting period ending 31 March and the correct deposit/non-deposit/both option.
- Complete the applicable fields. Enter deposit and non-deposit particulars, attach records required by the selected path and obtain auditor involvement for a deposit return.
- Submit and sign. Follow MCA V3’s submission, SRN, DSC upload and fee-payment sequence. The MCA kit Official ↗ notes that an incomplete DSC or payment step can cause the SRN to be cancelled.
- Archive evidence. Save the acknowledgement, filed form, supporting schedules and payment receipt with the year’s corporate records.
Late filing and penalties
A late DPT-3 can attract additional MCA filing fees under the applicable registration-office fee rules; the MCA kit provides a delay-fee schedule, subject to later changes. Rule 21 contains a residual fine for contravention of deposit rules where the Companies Act does not provide a specific punishment: up to ₹5,000, plus up to ₹500 per day for a continuing contravention. It should not be presented as an automatic flat charge for every delayed DPT-3. Improper acceptance or non-repayment of a deposit can engage separate, more serious provisions of the Companies Act, including section 76A, depending on the facts.
If the 2026 annual filing was missed, classify the amounts first, check whether any receipt is actually a prohibited or non-compliant deposit, and file the correct form with the portal-calculated fee.
DPT-3 and MSME-1 serve different purposes
DPT-3 addresses money received by the company and classified under the deposit rules. MSME Form 1 concerns specified overdue payments owed by the company to micro and small enterprise suppliers.
For help checking director loans, customer advances and the correct DPT-3 category, see TaxQue’s DPT-3 filing service. Bring your year-end ledger and source documents so the form follows the actual transactions.
Official references
- MCA DPT-3 webform instruction kit Official ↗: purpose, filing sequence, annual deadline and fee guidance.
- MCA 2019 amendment to rule 16 and rule 16A Official ↗: annual form purposes and historical one-time disclosure.
- MCA 2015 director-loan amendment Official ↗: own-funds declaration and Board’s report disclosure.
- ICAI report of MCA auditor-certificate clarification : audit certification for deposit returns versus non-deposit particulars.
Reviewed against official material available on 7 November 2026. Confirm the current MCA form and any later rule changes for your filing year.
