TL;DR
- Form DPT-3 is due on or before 30 June each year, reporting the position as on the preceding 31 March, under Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014.
- Every company other than a government company files it, whether or not it holds deposits, because the Explanation to Rule 16 also captures outstanding receipts of money that are not deposits.
- Late filing attracts an additional fee of two to twelve times the normal fee.
Quick Answer: The DPT-3 due date is 30 June each year, covering the financial year ended on the preceding 31 March. Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 requires the return from every company other than a government company, and the figures must be audited. For the year ended 31 March 2026 the date was 30 June 2026.
Form DPT-3 is the return of deposits that a company files with the Registrar of Companies. Most companies that owe it have never taken a deposit, because the Explanation to Rule 16 also brings in outstanding receipts that are not deposits. A private company carrying one director's loan is usually inside the obligation.
DPT-3 at a glance (financial year ended 31 March 2026)
| Particulars | Rule | Reporting date | Due date | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return of deposits accepted by the company | Rule 16 | As on 31 March 2026 | 30 June 2026 | ₹200 to ₹600 by nominal share capital |
| Outstanding receipts not treated as deposits | Explanation to Rule 16 and Rule 2(1)(c) | As on 31 March 2026 | 30 June 2026 | Same fee; one return covers both |
| One-time return for 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2019 | Rule 16A(3) | As on 31 March 2019 | Ninety days from 31 March 2019 | Closed, not a live obligation |
What Is the DPT-3 Due Date?
The due date is on or before 30 June of every year, and the return states the position as it stood on 31 March immediately before. Rule 16 fixes both dates, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) states them in the same terms in its own instruction kit for the form.
The date is stable and the financial year moves. For the year ended 31 March 2026 the return fell due on 30 June 2026; for the year ending 31 March 2027, on 30 June 2027. Rule 16 also requires the information to be audited by the company's auditor, who since 29 August 2022 must also submit a declaration to that effect inside the form.
Does a Fee Relaxation Move the Due Date?
No. A relaxation of the additional fee and an amendment to Rule 16 are different instruments, and only the second moves the date.
For the financial year ended 31 March 2026, MCA allowed Form DPT-3 to be filed without additional fee up to 31 July 2026, by General Circular 02/2026 dated 19 June 2026. The circular relaxed the fee. It did not amend Rule 16, so the due date for that year remained 30 June 2026.
Which Financial Year Does the Return Cover?
One financial year, ending on 31 March. The web form accepts no other date for the period of the return, so a part-year position cannot be reported.
Who Must File Form DPT-3?
Every company other than a government company. The obligation does not turn on being a public company, on having invited public deposits, or on size.
Applicability does not depend on accepting a deposit, because the Explanation to Rule 16 reaches money that is expressly not a deposit. Nor does it depend on being an eligible company under section 76 of the Companies Act, 2013, which governs who may invite public deposits rather than who files. The Rules set no threshold.
Which Companies Are Outside the Deposit Rules?
Rule 1(3) takes four classes of company outside the Rules altogether, and a company in any of them has no DPT-3 obligation:
- a banking company;
- a non-banking financial company as defined in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and registered with the Reserve Bank of India;
- a housing finance company registered with the National Housing Bank under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987;
- a company specified by the Central Government under the proviso to section 73(1) of the Companies Act, 2013.
A dormant company, a section 8 company, a one person company and a small company are all inside the Rules.
What Counts as an Outstanding Receipt That Is Not a Deposit?
Rule 2(1)(c) defines a deposit broadly, as money received by way of deposit or loan or in any other form, and then excludes a long list of receipts. The Explanation requires those excluded receipts to be reported while they remain outstanding.
That is the part that catches ordinary companies. The money is not a deposit, no deposit rules apply to it, and it is still reportable if it stands in the books on 31 March.
When Is a Director's Loan Not a Deposit?
Only when two conditions are met. Rule 2(1)(c)(viii) covers an amount received from a person who was a director at the time of receipt, or from a relative of a director of a private company, and takes it outside the definition of deposit only where both of the following hold:
- the giver furnishes a written declaration, at the time of giving the money, that the amount is not out of funds he borrowed or accepted as loans or deposits from others; and
- the company discloses the details of that money in the Board's report.
Miss either condition and the amount becomes a deposit accepted in contravention of section 73, which is materially worse than a late return. Relatives of directors of private companies entered this clause through G.S.R. 695(E) of 15 September 2015, and the Rules have been amended eleven times since G.S.R. 256(E) notified them on 31 March 2014. LexComply keeps that trail in its legal library of Acts.
Is the One-Time Return Under Rule 16A Still Open?
No. Rule 16A(3) required a one-time return of outstanding receipts not treated as deposits, covering 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2019, within ninety days from 31 March 2019. That window closed in 2019 and survives only as a purpose on the form.
What Is the Penalty for Filing DPT-3 Late?
The immediate consequence is an additional fee, set as a multiple of the normal filing fee and rising with the delay. The normal fee follows nominal share capital.
| Nominal share capital | Normal filing fee |
|---|---|
| Less than ₹1,00,000 | ₹200 |
| ₹1,00,000 to ₹4,99,999 | ₹300 |
| ₹5,00,000 to ₹24,99,999 | ₹400 |
| ₹25,00,000 to ₹99,99,999 | ₹500 |
| ₹1,00,00,000 or more | ₹600 |
| Company not having share capital | ₹200 |
| Period of delay | Additional fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 days | 2 times the normal fee |
| More than 30 days and up to 60 days | 4 times the normal fee |
| More than 60 days and up to 90 days | 6 times the normal fee |
| More than 90 days and up to 180 days | 10 times the normal fee |
| More than 180 days | 12 times the normal fee |
Both tables sit in the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, and the form is filed on the MCA portal.
Which Provision Applies to a Late Return, and Which Does Not?
Beyond the fee, Rule 21 is often cited, for contravention of these Rules where the Act provides no punishment: a fine of up to ₹5,000, plus up to ₹500 for each day a contravention continues. Whether it applies to a late return rather than section 450 is arguable, because each provision applies only where the other does not.
Section 76A of the Companies Act, 2013 is heavier and is widely misapplied to this form. It attaches where a company accepts or invites a deposit in contravention of section 73 or section 76, or fails to repay in time. A late return is neither. Where it applies, the floors matter more than the ceilings:
- the company's fine is not less than the lower of ₹1 crore and twice the deposit accepted, extending to ₹10 crore;
- an officer in default faces imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of not less than ₹25 lakh, extending to ₹2 crore. The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 tightened that limb from "or" to "and" with effect from 9 February 2018, and deleted the "or with both" alternative.
How Is a Recurring MCA Return Tracked Across Entities?
A compliance management platform holds it as one obligation per entity per financial year, with a named owner, both dates and the evidence of filing. The same register carries the annual return on Form MGT-7 or MGT-7A, which runs on the AGM clock rather than a fixed calendar date.
It does not file anything. MCA and the Registrar do that, and the judgement on whether a receipt is a deposit sits with the board, supported where needed by specialist advisory services. The same discipline keeps a secretarial and company-law calendar honest across a group, and it is how revisions to statutory due dates are recorded against the original date. To see how your DPT-3 obligation would sit there, get in touch.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating DPT-3 as a return only for companies holding deposits. The Explanation to Rule 16 requires outstanding receipts that are not deposits to be reported too, so a company with no deposits usually files.
- Reading a fee relaxation as a new due date. General Circular 02/2026 of 19 June 2026 relaxed the additional fee for the year ended 31 March 2026 up to 31 July 2026. It did not amend Rule 16, and that year's due date stayed 30 June 2026.
- Citing section 76A for a late return. Section 76A attaches to accepting deposits in contravention of section 73 or section 76, or to failure to repay. A late return attracts the additional fee.
- Reading section 76A's amounts as ceilings. The company's fine is not less than the lower of ₹1 crore and twice the deposit accepted, and the officer's fine not less than ₹25 lakh. Both are floors.
- Treating a director's loan as automatically outside the deposit definition. Rule 2(1)(c)(viii) excludes it only where the declaration is given when the money is given and the details appear in the Board's report.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is general information on Indian company law, current as at the date shown above. It is not legal advice and does not take account of any particular company's facts. Obtain professional advice before acting on any position described here.
