Statutory Audit Services in Kochi, Kerala

Yes. Every company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 must appoint an auditor and have its financial statements audited each year, even with nil turnover or no business activity.

A statutory audit is required by the Companies Act and gives an opinion on the financial statements. A tax audit is required by the Income-tax Act once turnover crosses the limit, and reports tax-specific particulars. An internal audit is a management review of controls and processes; it is compulsory only for certain classes of company under section 138.

Only a chartered accountant in practice, or a firm or LLP in which most partners practising in India are chartered accountants. Officers or employees of the company, relatives of directors, people indebted to the company above the prescribed limit and those with business relationships with it are disqualified under section 141.

The board must appoint the first auditor within 30 days of incorporation. If it does not, the members must appoint one at an extraordinary general meeting within 90 days. The first auditor holds office until the end of the first AGM.

ADT-1 is the form a company files with the Registrar of Companies to report the appointment of its auditor. It must be filed within 15 days of the meeting at which the auditor is appointed, which for a regular appointment is the AGM.

After the first auditor, the auditor is appointed at the AGM for a term of five years, from the end of that AGM to the end of the sixth AGM. Listed companies and larger unlisted companies must rotate auditors after one term for an individual or two terms for a firm.

No. CARO 2020 does not apply to small companies, one person companies, banking, insurance and section 8 companies, or to private companies that are not a holding or subsidiary of a public company and stay within ₹1 crore capital and reserves, ₹1 crore borrowings and ₹10 crore revenue.

From 1 December 2025, a small company is a private company with paid-up capital of up to ₹10 crore and turnover of up to ₹100 crore. Holding and subsidiary companies, section 8 companies and companies under a special Act cannot be small companies.

An LLP must have its accounts audited if its turnover exceeds ₹40 lakh or its partners' contribution exceeds ₹25 lakh in the financial year. The audited Statement of Account and Solvency is filed in Form 8 by 30 October.

Under section 63, a business needs a tax audit if its turnover exceeds ₹1 crore, or ₹10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments are each no more than 5% of the total. For professionals, the limit is gross receipts above ₹50 lakh.

AOC-4 (financial statements) is due within 30 days of the AGM and MGT-7 or MGT-7A (annual return) within 60 days of the AGM. With the AGM on 30 September, that means about 30 October and 29 November.

The additional fee is ₹100 per day of delay for each form, with no maximum. Penalties under sections 137 and 92 can apply on top of the fee for continued non-filing.

Yes, but it needs a process. The auditor can resign and file ADT-3, after which the board fills the casual vacancy within 30 days. Removing an auditor before the term ends requires a special resolution and prior approval of the Central Government.

For a small company with up-to-date books, fieldwork usually takes a few days, and the whole audit two to three weeks including review. Companies with inventory, branches or CARO and internal financial control reporting need longer, so we recommend starting by June or July.

UDIN is the Unique Document Identification Number that ICAI requires on every audit report and certificate signed by a chartered accountant. Banks, the ROC and tax authorities use it to verify that the report is genuine.