MCA portal glitches disrupt corporate operations, trigger repeated filing

Persistent glitches on the MCA-21 V3 portal are delaying statutory filings, company incorporation, board appointments and access to funds, prompting repeated deadline extensions.

From delaying company incorporation and board appointments to holding up access to freshly raised capital, persistent glitches on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ (MCA) portal are disrupting corporate operations, company secretaries said.  

Repeated deadline extensions for statutory filings have offered companies temporary relief but failed to address the underlying technology problems. 

On October 24, the MCA extended the deadlines for companies to file financial statements to December 31 and annual returns to January 31 for the financial year 2025-26, following stakeholder representations seeking more time. 

In a representation dated October 9, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) cited frequent downtime, slow responses, automatic logouts, pre-fill and retrieval errors, Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) association problems and validation failures. 

Another ICSI representation on October 28, seeking an extension for other statutory forms, flagged “persistent technical glitches and operational challenges” on the MCA-21 Version 3 (V3) portal. It noted that the problems affected not just annual filings but other statutory e-forms under the Companies Act, 2013, and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. 

Developed and maintained by LTIMindtree, the V3 portal serves more than two million registered companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). 

Queries sent to the MCA and LTIMindtree remained unanswered till the time of going to press. 

Asked about the representation, ICSI president Pawan G Chandak told Business Standard that technical issues could prevent otherwise compliant entities from meeting filing timelines.  

“Corporate filings are often reviewed by financial institutions, investors, auditors, credit rating agencies, business partners and other stakeholders during due diligence exercises,” he said. 

Although the final phase of V3 was scheduled for launch in FY22, the migration was completed only in July 2025. Since 2022, the ICSI has publicly flagged glitches at least 16 times, while the ministry has extended deadlines in both V3 annual filing cycles. 

“V3 has mainly web-based forms that need to be filled and signed digitally. A working portal is, therefore, critical. Even when the portal does not have high traffic, technical glitches persist,” said Gaurav Pingle, a practising company secretary. 

The problems can affect companies from the incorporation stage. If the registrar flags defects in an application or e-form, applicants are generally given 15 days to rectify them. However, portal glitches can prevent them from editing, downloading or uploading forms. The portal may also reject Digital Signature Certificates used in the original filing, forcing companies to make fresh submissions and pay the application fee again. 

Glitches can also restrict access to funds. A company raising money through a private placement cannot use the proceeds until it allots shares to investors and files a return of allotment (Form PAS-3) with the MCA. 

Anupriya Saxena, another practising company secretary, said validation errors and upload failures had prevented companies from submitting PAS-3 despite repeated attempts, leaving funds unavailable for use. 

“A technical failure in a mandatory filing system can translate directly into a cash-flow restriction, transaction delay and business disruption for a startup. The company may have completed the substantive transaction correctly, but a portal failure prevents completion of a mandatory statutory step,” Saxena said. 

Other corporate approvals have also been affected. Hannu Goyal, a practising company secretary, said applications by some companies to increase their authorised share capital through Form SH-7 remained pending because payments made through Bharatkosh were not getting linked to the MCA portal, even after stamp duty had been paid. 

One-time password (OTP) failures during director verification have also delayed board appointments, including investor-nominated directors. Saxena said some appointments had been held up for weeks or months because OTPs were not received and profile registration remained incomplete. 

Several of these problems were flagged by the ICSI to the MCA in a February 2023 representation. Most also figure in its latest representation dated October 28, 2026. 

The MCA said that as of January 31, 2026, it had received 316,877 help desk tickets during FY26, of which around 98 per cent had been resolved. These included suggestions and feedback, apart from complaints related to technical glitches. 

Jigar Shah, a practising company secretary, said the extension reflected the difficulties with the portal. “When the annual general meetings are conducted by September, we (company secretaries) should be able to file forms within 30 to 60 days. This extension is proof that the website is not functioning properly,” he said. 

Saxena called for reliable portal infrastructure and a tr­a­nsparent mechanism to rep­ort technical failures, preserve evidence of attempted filings and obtain regulatory assistance when statutory filings cannot be completed for reasons beyond a firm’s control. 

Persistent issues 

• The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) cited frequent downtime, slow responses, automatic logouts, pre-fill, and retrieval errors in a representation dated October 9 
• Another ICSI representation on October 28 flagged ‘persistent technical glitches and operational challenges’ on the MCA-21 Version 3 (V3) portal
• Since 2022, the ICSI has publicly flagged glitches at least 16 times, while the ministry has extended deadlines in both V3 annual filing cycles
• The problems can affect companies from the incorporation stage
• Glitches can also restrict access to funds