Technical disruptions on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ MCA21 portal continue unabated, severely impacting time-bound statutory filings across categories—far beyond annual compliance requirements. Despite repeated complaints from stakeholders, the portal remains largely dysfunctional, offering only a fleeting period of partial stability that has proven grossly inadequate.
According to compliance professionals, the MCA21 portal functioned somewhat decently for a brief window of just three days—from December 25 to December 28. However, this short-lived improvement has been widely described as “too little, too late,” given the volume of pending filings and the proximity of statutory deadlines. With very little effective time available, the temporary stability has failed to meaningfully ease the compliance burden.
Portal Still Not Working Reliably
As of now, the MCA21 portal continues to suffer from system crashes, login failures, form upload errors, payment gateway issues, and SRNs getting stuck mid-process. Professionals report that even during the brief operational window, filings were slow, error-prone, and unpredictable, making it impossible to clear backlogs accumulated due to prolonged outages earlier in the month.
The uncertainty surrounding successful submissions has left companies and professionals unsure whether filings attempted during intermittent uptime will withstand scrutiny or be reflected correctly in the MCA database.
Compliance Deadlines Loom, Stress Mounts
With statutory deadlines approaching rapidly, stakeholders warn that the situation has reached a critical point. Many filings under the Companies Act, 2013 and LLP Act, 2008—such as event-based filings, approvals, incorporations, and changes in directorship—are governed by rigid timelines, leaving little room for error or delay.
Professionals argue that compliance has become a matter of chance rather than diligence, as system instability—not taxpayer intent—has become the primary obstacle. The mounting pressure has also raised serious concerns about the mental and physical health of compliance professionals, with several stating that sustained stress and uncertainty are taking a visible toll.
“Extend Due Dates Immediately” — Stakeholders Demand Urgent Relief
There is now a growing and unified call for immediate administrative intervention. The hashtag #Extend_Due_Date_Immediately has gained traction among professionals, who describe due date extension as the “need of the hour” to prevent widespread non-compliance, penal exposure, and avoidable litigation.
Stakeholders emphasize that without immediate relief, companies and directors may face additional fees, penalties, adjudication proceedings, and even disqualification—consequences they argue would be fundamentally unjust when compliance failures stem from systemic technological issues.
Ease of Doing Business at Risk
The continued malfunctioning of the MCA21 portal has reignited concerns about the credibility of India’s digital compliance infrastructure. While digitisation aims to simplify governance and enhance transparency, experts stress that unreliable systems erode trust and undermine the very objective of ease of doing business.
Calls have also been made for the Ministry to formally acknowledge the technical disruptions, waive additional fees for delayed filings attributable to system failures, and ensure that no coercive action is taken against compliant entities affected by portal instability.
Portal Instability Prevents Even Ticket Generation
In a sharply worded appeal directed at @MCA21India, professionals highlighted the paradoxical situation where the very mechanism meant to log technical complaints has become inaccessible:
The statement reflects widespread frustration among company secretaries, chartered accountants, and legal professionals who argue that the absence of logged tickets is being misconstrued as system stability, when in reality, the portal’s malfunction prevents grievance reporting altogether.
Way Forward
As compliance deadlines draw closer, stakeholders urge the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and @MCA21India to act decisively. Immediate due date extensions, system stabilisation, and clear communication are being viewed not as concessions, but as essential safeguards to maintain fairness, confidence, and regulatory integrity.
Until meaningful corrective measures are implemented, companies and professionals remain trapped between statutory obligations and a malfunctioning digital system—underscoring the urgent need for swift administrative and technical resolution.
Read More: Supreme Court Stays Delhi HC Order Granting Bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Unnao Rape Case
