India: over 6.64L firms skipped annual returns, compliance rate 62.35%
Business
India's corporate world is facing a trust issue: more than 664,000 companies didn't file their annual returns for fiscal 2024-25, and a similar number skipped financial statements too.
Compliance rates have dropped sharply, with only about 62.35% of eligible companies filing in 2024-25, compared to 77.39% and 77.14% just a few years ago.
Maharashtra leads annual defaults, enforcement limited
Small businesses struggle with tight budgets and ever-changing rules.
Maharashtra recorded the highest number of annual return defaults in 2024-25, followed by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Legal experts say this trend hurts transparency and makes it harder for regulators to keep things in check, but so far, only a tiny fraction of defaulters have actually faced any action from the government.