Getting your Certificate of Incorporation feels like the finish line. It is really the starting gun. From the day your LLP exists, the clock is running on a set of filings, registrations and yearly returns. Miss them, and the penalties pile up daily, and in some cases they fall on the designated partners personally.
This guide walks through everything an LLP must do after incorporation, in the order it usually comes up: first-month tasks, registrations based on your business, annual filings, and event-based filings. It uses the rules in force for FY 2026-27.
After incorporation, an LLP must file its LLP agreement in Form 3 within 30 days, keep proper books, and take the registrations its business needs (GST, professional tax, labour laws). If you are still choosing between an LLP and a company, read about private limited company registration first. Every year, it must file Form 11 by 30 May and Form 8 by 30 October, file ITR-5, and complete DIR-3 KYC for its designated partners. Changes to partners, the agreement or the registered office are reported within 30 days.
Quick Summary
After incorporation, an LLP must complete certain post-incorporation compliances to keep its MCA, tax, accounting and other applicable statutory records up to date.
- Execute and file the LLP Agreement with the MCA within the applicable prescribed timeline.
- Maintain proper books of accounts and financial records from the date of incorporation.
- Complete applicable LLP annual filings, including Form 8 and Form 11, within the prescribed due dates.
- Meet applicable income tax, GST and other statutory compliance requirements based on the LLP’s activities and circumstances.
- Keep partner, designated partner and registered office details updated with the MCA whenever changes occur.
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What Are Post-Incorporation Compliances for an LLP?
After LLP registration in India, an LLP must complete several post-incorporation compliance requirements to remain legally compliant. These generally include filing the LLP Agreement and Form 3, maintaining proper books of account, filing the Statement of Account and Solvency (Form 8), submitting the Annual Return (Form 11) and completing applicable income tax and other statutory filings. An LLP must also maintain its registered office, update MCA records when partner or agreement details change, and comply with applicable tax and regulatory requirements. Timely completion of these compliances helps avoid penalties and maintain the LLP’s active status.
Your First-Year LLP Compliance Timeline
| When | What to do | Form or portal |
| Within 30 days of incorporation | File the LLP agreement | Form 3 (MCA) |
| Right after incorporation | Open a current account and start your books | Bank, accounting records |
| Within 30 days of crossing the GST threshold | Register for GST | GST portal |
| When you hire staff | Professional tax, Shops and Establishment, EPF/ESI as applicable | State and central portals |
| By 30 September each year | Director/designated partner KYC | DIR-3 KYC |
| By 30 May each year | Annual return | Form 11 |
| By 31 July (31 October if tax audit applies) | Income tax return | ITR-5 |
| By 30 October each year | Statement of account and solvency | Form 8 |
| Within 30 days of any change | Report the change | Form 4, Form 3 or Form 15 |
1. Execute and File the LLP Agreement (Form 3)
The LLP agreement is the rulebook of your business. It sets out each partner’s capital contribution, profit-sharing ratio, powers, remuneration, admission and retirement of partners, and how decisions are made. If you have no agreement, the default rules in the First Schedule of the LLP Act apply, and they rarely suit a real business.
The agreement is signed on stamp paper (stamp duty depends on your state) and filed with the Registrar in Form 3 within 30 days of incorporation. Late filing attracts an additional fee for every day of delay. Our guide on the LLP agreement format and registration process covers the clauses to include, and the LLP Form 3 guide explains the filing step by step. Spotted an error after filing? See how to correct a mistake in the LLP agreement.
2. Check Your PAN, TAN, DSC and DIN Details
Older guides tell you to apply for PAN and TAN after incorporation. That changed with the LLP (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022. PAN and TAN are now allotted along with the Certificate of Incorporation. So the job now is to check the details on your certificate, keep every designated partner’s digital signature certificate (DSC) valid, and make sure each designated partner’s DIN is active. Filings stall on an expired DSC more often than on anything else.
3. Open a Current Bank Account
Open a current account in the LLP’s name. Banks usually ask for the Certificate of Incorporation, the registered LLP agreement, the LLP’s PAN, KYC of the designated partners, and a resolution of the partners authorising who operates the account. An LLP has no board, so the authority comes from a partners’ resolution, not a board resolution. Keep business money out of personal accounts. Mixed funds make accounting messy and weaken the separate-entity protection that LLPs offer.
4. Maintain Books of Account
Every LLP must keep proper books of account, on either a cash or an accrual basis, at its registered office. The records must be preserved for eight years. Even a dormant LLP needs books, because Form 8 is built from them. Closing the books by 30 April each year makes the May and October filings far easier.
5. GST Registration and Returns
GST registration is not automatic for LLPs. It is required when aggregate turnover crosses the threshold: ₹20 lakh for services and ₹40 lakh for goods, with lower limits in some special-category states. It is also required for inter-state supplies of goods, selling through e-commerce platforms, and other cases where registration is compulsory. Apply within 30 days of becoming liable.
Once registered, you must issue proper tax invoices, file GST returns on time and pay tax by the due dates. If you need to register, our GST registration team can handle it.
6. Professional Tax and Shops and Establishment Registration
These are state-level duties, so the rules differ across India. If your LLP has employees and your state levies professional tax, you must register as an employer, deduct the tax from salaries and deposit it. You can start with professional tax registration. Most states also require Shops and Establishment registration for LLPs operating from commercial premises. It covers working hours, leave and employee conditions. Check your state’s rules before you hire.
7. Labour Law Compliance Under the New Labour Codes
Many guides still list the Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Maternity Benefit Act and Gratuity Act. Those laws were folded into four Labour Codes that came into force on 21 November 2025:
- Code on Wages, 2019 covers minimum wages, payment of wages and bonus.
- Code on Social Security, 2020 covers EPF, ESI, gratuity and maternity benefit.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 covers workplace safety.
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020 covers disputes, retrenchment and fixed-term employment.
As a rule of thumb, EPF applies at 20 or more employees and ESI at 10 or more. Wage ceilings and state rules can change, so confirm the current position before registering.
8. TDS Compliance
If your LLP pays salaries, rent, professional fees or contractor bills above the prescribed limits, it must deduct TDS, deposit it and file quarterly TDS statements. Since 1 April 2025, TDS also applies to payments made to the LLP’s own partners. Section 194T requires 10% TDS on salary, remuneration, commission, bonus and interest to a partner once the total crosses ₹20,000 in a year. We explain the limits in our guide on partner’s remuneration in an LLP, and our TDS return filing service can take over the filings.
9. Annual Compliances Every LLP Must File
These apply to every LLP, whether it earned crores or nothing.
- Form 11 (annual return) is due by 30 May. It reports partners, contributions and changes during the year. If total contribution exceeds ₹50 lakh or turnover exceeds ₹5 crore, a practising Company Secretary must certify it.
- Form 8 (statement of account and solvency) is due by 30 October. It carries the LLP’s financial position, a solvency declaration and MSME payable details. The MCA portal expects Form 11 to be on record first, so do not leave both for October.
- ITR-5 is the LLP’s income tax return. It is due by 31 July for LLPs that do not need a tax audit, and by 31 October where a tax audit applies, subject to any extension announced for the year. File it even if the LLP made a loss. If the LLP’s tax liability is above ₹10,000, pay advance tax in instalments through the year.
- DIR-3 KYC is due by 30 September for every designated partner holding a DIN. Miss it, and the DIN can be deactivated, which blocks the partner from signing MCA forms. Our DIR-3 KYC filing service can help.
For a full year-by-year schedule, see our LLP compliance calendar and the guide to Form 8 applicability, due date and penalty. If a filing stalls on the portal, MCA V3 errors while filing LLP forms explains the common fixes. We also offer LLP annual filing and income tax return filing as services.
10. When Is an Audit Required?
Two separate audit tests apply, and an LLP can meet one without the other.
- Audit under the LLP Act: needed if turnover exceeds ₹40 lakh or partner contribution exceeds ₹25 lakh. Below both limits, the designated partners can certify Form 8 themselves.
- Tax audit under the Income-tax law: needed if business turnover exceeds ₹1 crore (₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments are each 5% or less of the total). For professionals, the limit is ₹50 lakh. The tax audit report is due by 30 September.
11. Event-Based Filings
Some filings are triggered only when something changes. Most must be made within 30 days.
- Change of partners or designated partners: Form 4. Read the procedure for appointing a designated partner and the full steps for the removal or resignation of a partner from an LLP.
- Amendment to the LLP agreement: Form 3 with the updated agreement.
- Change of registered office: Form 15.
- Change in business activity or contribution: update the agreement and file the related forms.
What Happens If You Miss a Filing?
Late filing adds an additional fee on top of the normal fee, and the multiple grows with the delay: 1x for up to 15 days, rising to 15x for small LLPs or 30x for other LLPs after 180 days. For Form 8 and Form 11, a daily charge of ₹10 or ₹20 starts once the delay passes 360 days. A small LLP, with contribution up to ₹25 lakh and turnover up to ₹40 lakh, pays about half. Beyond the fees, designated partners can face separate penalties, a DIN can be deactivated, and a persistently non-compliant LLP can be struck off.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming a dormant LLP can skip Form 11 and Form 8. Both are due every year.
- Forgetting the Form 3 deadline after incorporation.
- Treating the LLP Act audit limit and the tax audit limit as the same test.
- Using an expired DSC on the last filing day.
- Following labour-law checklists that still cite the repealed Acts.
- Changing partners or the agreement and not filing the form within 30 days.
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FAQs
1. What are the first compliances after LLP registration?
File the LLP agreement in Form 3 within 30 days, open a current account, start your books of account, and take any GST, professional tax or labour registrations your business needs.
2. What is the due date for Form 11 and Form 8?
Form 11 is due by 30 May and Form 8 by 30 October every year.
3. Do I need to file Form 11 and Form 8 if my LLP has no business?
Yes. Every LLP must file both, even with zero turnover.
4. Is an LLP audit mandatory?
Only if turnover is above ₹40 lakh or contribution is above ₹25 lakh. A separate tax audit applies above the Income-tax thresholds.
5. Do I need to apply for PAN and TAN after LLP incorporation?
Not usually. They are allotted along with the Certificate of Incorporation.
6. Is DIR-3 KYC required for LLP designated partners?
Yes. Every DIN holder must complete it each year by 30 September.
Conclusion
An LLP carries far fewer compliances than a company, but the ones it does have are strict and carry daily penalties. If you finish the Form 3 filing in the first month, keep clean books, and mark 30 May, 30 September and 30 October on your calendar, you will cover most of what matters. Add the registrations your business needs, and keep an eye on any changes to your partners or agreement.
If you would rather hand it over, our team handles registrations, filings and notices end to end.
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