Form ADT-1

A company needs to inform the Registrar Of Companies (ROC) about the appointment of its auditor after the conclusion of AGM (Annual General Meeting) in a defined manner. Form ADT-1 is to be used here.

What is Form ADT-1?

Form ADT- 1 is used by a company to intimate the registrar of companies about the appointment of an auditor after the completion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM). 

Sec 139 (1) of the new Companies Act 2013 mandates this and this form has to be filed every year after the AGM in which the auditor was appointed.

Details of Auditor to be submitted

Details like the category of auditor (firm or an individual practitioner), PAN number of the auditor, Chartered Accountancy membership number, Address, Email-id, the period for which appointment is made, date of appointment along with the date of AGM, membership number of vacated auditor, date and reason of casual vacancy if any etc.

When should you file Form ADT-1?

Form ADT-1 must be filed with the registrar of companies within 15 days from the date of appointment of the Auditor. 

For example, if the company’s AGM was held on 30 September 2018, then Form ADT 1 has to be filed by 15 October 2018.

What are the documents to be filed along with Form ADT-1?

The list of documents to be attached along with Form ADT-1 are:

• Company’s Board resolution copy
• Written consent from the Auditor
• A certificate from the Auditor that he/she not disqualified to be appointed as an Auditor

What is the Fee for filing Form ADT-1?

The fees for filing Form ADT 1 with the registrar of companies are:

What is the penalty for non-filing of Form ADT-1 on time?

Late filing of Form ADT 1 will attract these penalty fees specified below:

Points to remember

• Filing of Form ADT 1 is mandatory for all companies either listed/unlisted/public/private/others.
• There is a general thought that Form ADT 1 is not required to be filed for the appointment of the first auditor. This is because rule  4 (2) of company rules, 2014 mentions only about Sec 139 (1 )- appointment of auditors and not about Sec 139 (6) – appointment of the first auditor. However, it is a good practice to file Form ADT 1 for the appointment of the first auditor too.
• The responsibility to file Form ADT 1 is that of the company and not of the auditor
• Form ADT 1 has to be filed even in case of appointment of the auditor for a casual vacancy.

E-filing of Form ADT-1

• Form ADT 1 can be e-filed. The form can be downloaded from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website
• E-form is auto-approved
• Once the E-form is registered by the concerned authority, an acknowledgement email is sent to the registered email ID

Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2018

In February 2018, MCA amended Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 in which they substituted Form ADT 1 and Form ADT-2 with new forms. Thereby, the new Form ADT 1 is available in the MCA website for the current year. You can view these forms here.