DPT-3 Filing: Return of Deposits Under Companies Act 2013

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Key Takeaways

Form DPT-3 is an annual return every company must file with the Registrar of Companies, reporting deposits and money that is not treated as a deposit (exempted deposits) outstanding as on March 31.
It is not limited to companies that accept public deposits. A private company sitting on an unsecured loan from a director still has to file.
The due date is June 30 each year, for the financial year ending on the preceding March 31.
Only banking companies, NBFCs registered with the RBI, housing finance companies registered with the National Housing Bank, and Nidhi companies are outside the net.
Missing the filing invites additional government fees on a rising slab and a separate penalty under Rule 21 of the Deposit Rules.

Most directors of private companies believe DPT-3 is somebody else's problem. "We never took public deposits," they say, "so this does not apply to us." That reading is wrong, and it is the single most common reason companies default on this return.

Form DPT-3 captures far more than public deposits. It captures the unsecured loan a promoter parked in the company to fund working capital. It captures the money a shareholder advanced. It captures inter-corporate deposits and debentures. All of these are reportable, even though the Companies Act does not treat most of them as "deposits" at all. This guide explains what DPT-3 is, who has to file it, the difference between deposits and exempted deposits, and how to file it correctly on the MCA V3 portal for FY 2025-26.

What Is Form DPT-3?

DPT-3 is the "Return of Deposits" prescribed under Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, read with Section 73 of the Companies Act, 2013. Every company covered by the rules must file it once a year, furnishing particulars of deposits and of any amount received that is not classified as a deposit, as those balances stood on March 31.

The form exists because the Ministry of Corporate Affairs wants visibility into how companies are funded. After the 2019 amendment introduced the one-time return for money received between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2019, the annual DPT-3 became the standing mechanism for monitoring corporate borrowings that sit outside the banking system. The one-time return is history; what remains is the recurring annual obligation that catches most first-time founders off guard.

Who Must File DPT-3?

The rule is drawn deliberately wide. Every company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 or an earlier Act must file DPT-3, whether it is a private limited company, a public company, or a One Person Company. There is no exemption based on size, turnover, or the fact that the company never advertised for deposits.

The Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules exclude only four categories:

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Companies outside the DPT-3 net

Banking companies governed by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) registered with the Reserve Bank of India.
Housing finance companies registered with the National Housing Bank.
Nidhi companies notified under Section 406 of the Act.

Every other company files. A government company or a Section 8 company that holds any outstanding loan is still expected to report.

The practical test is simple. If your company had, as on March 31, any outstanding money that it received by way of loan, advance, or deposit, and the company is not one of the four excluded types, you file DPT-3. Even a company that took a single unsecured loan from its director five years ago and still carries the balance must report it every year until it is repaid.

Deposits vs Exempted Deposits: The Distinction That Matters

The heart of DPT-3 is the difference between a "deposit" and an amount that is "not considered a deposit". Rule 2(1)(c) of the Deposit Rules lists the receipts that are carved out of the deposit definition. These are commonly called exempted deposits, and for the overwhelming majority of private companies, this is the only column that gets filled.

Comparison

Deposits vs Exempted Deposits Under the Companies Act

How the two categories are treated in DPT-3

Parameter	Deposits (Part A of the form)	Exempted deposits (not a deposit)
Typical source	Public deposits accepted by an eligible public company after member and, where required, public approval	Loans from directors, money from shareholders in a private company, inter-corporate deposits
Who can accept	Only eligible public companies (net worth or turnover thresholds) or those covered by Section 73(2)	Any company, subject to conditions in Rule 2(1)(c)
Auditor certificate	Mandatory where deposits are reported	Not required for a return that reports only exempted amounts
Reported in DPT-3	Yes, in the deposits section	Yes, in the section for amounts not considered deposits
Applies to most private companies	Rarely	Almost always

Takeaway: Filing DPT-3 is not about whether you accepted deposits. It is about whether you hold any reportable borrowing at all. Exempted amounts are still reported.

Common transactions that fall in the exempted-deposit bucket and must be reported include:

Unsecured loans received from directors, provided the director furnishes a written declaration that the money is not itself borrowed.
Money received from members in a private company, subject to the limits and conditions in the rules.
Inter-corporate deposits received from other companies.
Amounts raised through the issue of debentures secured by a charge on assets, or non-convertible debentures not offered to the public.
Advances received against the supply of goods or provision of services, within the prescribed time limits.
Money brought in by promoters as a stipulation of a lending bank or financial institution.

The point to internalise is that reporting an amount in DPT-3 does not make it a deposit. It simply gives the Registrar visibility. A director's loan reported here remains an exempted deposit and does not attract the deposit-acceptance machinery of Section 73.

The Due Date and What Period It Covers

Deadline Timeline

DPT-3 Filing Timeline for FY 2025-26

One annual filing, tied to the financial year close

March 31, 2026
Reporting date
DPT-3 reports outstanding deposits and exempted amounts as they stand on this date.
April - May 2026
Prepare data
Compile the loan schedule, obtain the auditor certificate if deposits are reported, and reconcile balances.
June 30, 2026
Filing due date
File DPT-3 on the MCA V3 portal on or before this date. This is the statutory deadline.
From July 1, 2026
Additional fee accrues
Late filing attracts a rising multiple of the normal government fee.

DPT-3 for FY 2025-26 covers balances as on March 31, 2026, and must be filed on or before June 30, 2026. The date does not move with the AGM or the financial statement adoption. It is fixed. Companies that wait for the audit to be finalised often miss it, because the audited numbers are not a precondition for the return that reports only exempted amounts.

How to File DPT-3 on the MCA V3 Portal

DPT-3 is now a web-based form on the MCA21 V3 portal. The days of downloading an offline utility are gone. The filing sits with the company's registered login and is signed with the digital signature of an authorised director or company secretary.

Step-by-Step Guide

Filing DPT-3 Step by Step

On the MCA21 V3 portal for FY 2025-26

Assemble the loan schedule

List every outstanding borrowing as on March 31, split between deposits and exempted deposits, with lender name, amount, interest rate, and security if any.

Preparation

Classify each amount

Map every line to the correct head: public deposit, or one of the Rule 2(1)(c) exempted categories. Misclassification is the most common filing error.

Classification

Obtain the auditor certificate

If the return reports deposits, attach the statutory auditor's certificate on the net worth and deposit particulars.

Certification

Access the DPT-3 web form under the company's registered login and select the purpose of filing: annual return of deposits.

Portal

Enter and validate figures

Fill the outstanding balances, particulars of charge if applicable, and total amounts. Validate the form before proceeding.

Data entry

Sign and submit

Affix the DSC of the authorised signatory, pay the government fee based on nominal share capital, and submit. Save the SRN acknowledgement.

Submission

Government Fees

The normal fee is charged on the company's nominal (authorised) share capital, following the standard ROC fee slabs under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014:

Tax Rate Chart

DPT-3 Normal Government Fee by Share Capital

Fee before any late-filing multiple

Capital below Rs 1 lakh

Also the flat fee for a company without share capital

200

Rs 1 lakh to under Rs 5 lakh

300

Rs 5 lakh to under Rs 25 lakh

400

Rs 25 lakh to under Rs 1 crore

500

Rs 1 crore and above

600

Source: Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014

The numbers above are rupee amounts, not percentages. Read the bars as a relative comparison of the flat fee across capital slabs.

Late Filing: Additional Fees and Penalties

Filing after June 30 does not attract a simple daily fine. It attracts an additional fee calculated as a multiple of the normal fee, and the multiple climbs steeply the longer you wait.

Tax Rate Chart

Additional Fee Multiple for Late DPT-3 Filing

Applied on top of the normal government fee

Delay up to 30 days

2 times the normal fee

More than 30 and up to 60 days

More than 60 and up to 90 days

More than 90 and up to 180 days

More than 180 days

12 times the normal fee

Source: Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014

Beyond the additional fee, non-compliance with the Deposit Rules carries a separate penalty. Under Rule 21, if a company or any officer contravenes the rules for which no specific penalty is provided, the company and every officer in default are punishable with a fine up to Rs 5,000, and where the contravention is continuing, a further fine up to Rs 500 for each day the default continues.

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Do not confuse the DPT-3 penalty with the deposit-acceptance penalty

Failing to file DPT-3 is a Rule 21 default. Actually accepting deposits in contravention of Section 73 is a far heavier matter, punishable under Section 76A, where the company faces a fine of at least Rs 1 crore or twice the deposit accepted, whichever is lower, extending up to Rs 10 crore, and every officer in default can face imprisonment up to seven years along with a fine. DPT-3 is a reporting return. Section 76A applies to illegal deposit-taking, which is a different and much more serious failure.

DPT-3 vs DPT-1: Two Different Forms

Founders sometimes conflate DPT-3 with DPT-1. They serve entirely different purposes. DPT-1 is the circular or advertisement inviting deposits, issued by an eligible company before it accepts public deposits from members or the public. It is a solicitation document. DPT-3, by contrast, is a backward-looking annual return that reports what is already on the books. If your company is not raising public deposits, you will never touch DPT-1, but you will still file DPT-3 every year as long as you carry any reportable borrowing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming it does not apply. The belief that DPT-3 is only for deposit-taking companies is the leading cause of default. Any outstanding loan triggers the filing.
Skipping director loans. An unsecured loan from a director is an exempted deposit, not a non-event. It must be reported and the director's non-borrowed declaration kept on record.
Waiting for the audit. The June 30 deadline is independent of financial statement adoption. The exempted-deposit return does not need audited numbers as a precondition.
Misclassifying advances. Advances against goods or services are exempt only within the prescribed time limits. An advance held beyond the limit can lose its exempt status and become a deposit.
Filing without reconciling. The figures in DPT-3 should tie to the loan schedule in your books and to the balance sheet disclosures. A mismatch invites questions.

Compliance Checklist for FY 2025-26

Before you file, confirm that you have:

Identified whether your company falls in any of the four excluded categories. If not, you are filing.
Prepared a complete schedule of outstanding borrowings as on March 31, 2026.
Classified each amount as a deposit or an exempted deposit under Rule 2(1)(c).
Collected written declarations from directors whose loans are reported as exempted.
Obtained the auditor's certificate if any deposits are being reported.
Confirmed the authorised signatory's DSC is registered and valid on the MCA V3 portal.
Diarised June 30, 2026 as a hard deadline, not a target.

DPT-3 is a low-effort filing that becomes an expensive one the moment it is missed. The combination of escalating additional fees and a standing Rule 21 penalty means a return that costs a few hundred rupees to file on time can cost several thousand if it slips. Treat it as a fixed annual event and it never becomes a problem.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does a private limited company with no public deposits still have to file DPT-3?

Yes. DPT-3 is not limited to companies that accept public deposits. If a private company holds any outstanding loan or advance that is not classified as a deposit, such as an unsecured loan from a director or shareholder, it must report that amount in DPT-3 every year until it is repaid.

What is the due date for DPT-3 for FY 2025-26?

The due date is June 30, 2026. DPT-3 reports the balances of deposits and exempted deposits as they stood on March 31, 2026. The deadline is fixed and does not shift with the AGM or the adoption of financial statements.

Which companies are exempt from filing DPT-3?

Only four categories are outside the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules: banking companies, NBFCs registered with the RBI, housing finance companies registered with the National Housing Bank, and Nidhi companies. Every other company, including One Person Companies and Section 8 companies, files DPT-3 if it holds reportable borrowings.

Is a loan from a director a deposit or an exempted deposit?

A loan from a director is an exempted deposit, provided the director gives a written declaration that the money is his own funds and not borrowed. It is not treated as a deposit under the Companies Act, but it must still be reported in DPT-3.

What is the penalty for not filing DPT-3 on time?

Late filing attracts an additional government fee that ranges from two times the normal fee for a delay up to 30 days, rising to twelve times for a delay beyond 180 days. Separately, Rule 21 of the Deposit Rules allows a penalty up to Rs 5,000 on the company and every officer in default, plus up to Rs 500 for each day a continuing default persists.

What is the difference between DPT-3 and DPT-1?

DPT-1 is the circular or advertisement an eligible company issues to invite deposits before accepting them. DPT-3 is the annual return that reports deposits and exempted amounts already outstanding on March 31. A company that does not raise public deposits never files DPT-1 but still files DPT-3.

This guide is based on Section 73 of the Companies Act, 2013, Rule 16 and Rule 2(1)(c) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, and the fee structure under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, as applicable for FY 2025-26. Company law, forms, and fee schedules are updated from time to time. Always verify the current provisions on the MCA portal before filing. For company-specific advice, consult a practising company secretary or chartered accountant.

DPT-3 Filing: Return of Deposits Under Companies Act 2013