Quick answer: The registrar of companies (ROC) is the statutory officer who registers companies and LLPs in a state or region, holds their public file and receives their yearly returns. Each ROC works under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Companies Act, 2013. Since June 2025, every ROC form goes through the MCA21 V3 portal.
- The Central Government sets up registration offices and fixes their jurisdiction under section 396 of the Companies Act, 2013.
- Maharashtra has two ROC offices, in Mumbai and Pune, both within MCA’s Western Region.
- MCA21 V2 filing was permanently disabled on 18 June 2025, and the last 38 company forms went live on V3 on 14 July 2025.
- Late annual returns such as AOC-4 and MGT-7 attract an additional fee of ₹100 a day per form.
What does the ROC actually do?
It acts as your company’s public registry and its first-line regulator. Think of it as the desk that knows your company exists. Miss a form and it notices.
Every event after incorporation reaches the ROC as a form: a new director, a share allotment, a change of registered office, a charge on assets. Then come the annual returns. Your audited accounts go in on AOC-4 and your annual return on MGT-7, within 30 and 60 days of the AGM.
The ROC also watches for silence. A company that misses returns for years looks defunct, and the ROC can move to remove it.
Is the ROC the only MCA office you deal with?
No. Three MCA desks touch a typical foreign-owned company, and only one of them is your state ROC.
| MCA office | What it handles |
|---|---|
| Central Registration Centre (CRC) | Name approval and incorporation, aiming to finish within the day of payment or the next day |
| Your state or regional ROC | Event forms, annual returns, notices and inspections |
| C-PACE | Voluntary strike-off applications on STK-2, processed centrally |
The CRC was set up in January 2016 under section 396, according to MCA’s ease of doing business page. So your first contact is often a central team, not the Pune office. Different desks, one portal.
Your foreign investment reports never go to the ROC at all. An FC-GPR goes to the RBI through your bank. Many first-time founders mix these up.
Can an EOR keep you away from the ROC entirely?
Yes, for as long as you hold no Indian company. An employer of record employs your team through its own entity, so the board minutes, the auditor and every roc filing belong to the EOR.
You file nothing with any registrar. That’s the trade.
An entity starts to earn its keep once you invoice Indian customers, hold assets in India or run a large captive team for years. Then the ROC calendar, and your annual compliance budget, become part of the cost of being in India. Our guide on how to set up a subsidiary in India walks through that route.
How does Remunance keep ROC work off your desk?
Remunance employs your India team through its own company, Remunance Services Pvt Ltd in Kothrud, Pune. Our board, our auditor and our ROC returns carry the corporate load. Nothing lands on your desk. You pay a flat fee from USD 99 per employee per month. If you want to see whether an EOR or your own entity costs less over three years, get a side-by-side cost view.
What else do people ask about the registrar of companies?
What is ROC filing?
It means submitting the forms your company owes under the Companies Act to its registrar on MCA21 V3. The yearly core is AOC-4 for accounts and MGT-7 for the annual return.
Which ROC covers Pune?
Maharashtra’s two ROC offices sit in Mumbai and Pune, under MCA’s Western Region. Your registered office address decides which one holds your file, and your CIN records the state.
What happens if a company stops filing with the ROC?
The ROC can treat it as defunct. Under section 248(1), it may strike off a company that has carried on no business for two immediately preceding financial years, after giving the company and its directors 30 days’ notice.