Since 2009, an LLP has become the preferred choice of entrepreneurs who earlier used to incorporate Partnership Firms. As an LLP has Limited Liability and comparatively less complianceS than a Private Limited, many businessmen prefer it. In this article, we will tell you all about Mandatory complianceS for a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
LLP is different from Partnership Firm. It has little more compliances compared to a Partnership Firm but less as compared to Private Limited Companies
These are the MANDATORY annual compliances that have to be filed irrespective of whether or not the LLP has done any Business or has a Bank account or has even commenced business.
Note: You can contact us here if you want to File any of the below forms/compliances.
1. Filing of annual return (Form 11)
2. Filing Statement of account and solvency (Form 8)
3. Filing of Income-tax return.
4. Filing of KYC of Partners/Designated Partners (Form DIR-3 KYC)
1. Filing of annual return (Form 11)
An LLP has to file an Annual Return in Form 11 annually. This form contains details of the Designated partners (DP)/partners, the total number of DPs/partners, total contribution received by all DP/partners, and change of DPs/partners in the current financial year, etc.
All LLPs should file this form within 60 days from the end of the financial year. Hence, the due date for filing LLP Form 11 is the 30th of May each year.
Penalty
It is very important to note that if the LLP does not file this form on time, a penalty of Rs.100/day will be applicable till the Form is not filed. Also, there is no upper limit to this penalty. Thus, the penalty may even run into lacs if you do not file these forms on time.
2. Filing Statement of account and solvency (Form 8)
An LLP has to file a Statement of Account and Solvency in Form 8 annually. Form 8 contains the details of the items in the Profit & Loss Account and the Balance Sheet of the LLP. This is required to be filed within 30 days from the end of six months of the close of the financial year that is by 30th October of each financial year.
Form 8 must be certified by a chartered accountant.
Penalty
A penalty of ₹ 100/day will be applicable if you have not filed this form within the time limit. The penalty applies to this Form is the same applies to Form 11 (NO maximum limit!)
3. Filing of Income-tax return
Every LLP has to file Income Tax Returns every year. It must be filed by LLP on or before 31st July (if not covered under Tax audit) or 31st October (if covered under Tax audit)
Note: If Tax Audit is applicable then the LLP must file the Tax Audit form on or before 30th September and file the Income Tax return on or before 31st October (Yes, these are different forms!)
Penalty
a. In case of failure to get an audit done or failure to file tax audit report within the due date, Penalty under section 271B of Income Tax Act, 1961 is levied, which is lower of
- 0.5% of turnover/Gross Receipts; or
- ₹ 1,50,000
b. In case of failure to file Income tax return on time
Due dates-
| Late Filing Fee Details as per section 234F | ||
| Filing Date | If Total income is Below ₹ 5,00,000 | If Total income is Above ₹ 5,00,000 |
| Within Due date (31st July or 31st October) | Nil | Nil |
| After Due date to 31st December 20 (After 31st July or 1st October) | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 5,000 |
| Between 1st January 21 to 31st March 21 | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 10,000 |
4. KYC of Designated Partners/Partners (DIR-3 KYC)
Form DIR-3 KYC is a form every Designated Partner/Partner of an LLP holding a Designated Partner Identification Number (DPIN) shall file. Form DIR-3 KYC needs to be filed every year on or before April 30th after the end of the financial year. All the designated partners AND partners in an LLP having a DPIN/DIN are required to file FORM DIR-3 KYC within the above due date.
Penalty
There is a penalty of ₹ 5000 for every year a person fails to files these forms.
Other Compliances
We have covered only Annual Compliances which are mandatory even if there is NO transaction in the year. We are still, for ease of use, covering the other Compliance which may apply to an LLP based on its transactions.
1. TDS Payments and Returns
TDS refers to tax deducted at source. A person making specified payments mentioned under the Income Tax Act are required to deduct TDS at the time of making such a specified payment.
To read more about applicability, penalties etc TDS, please refer to our article here.
TDS Return filing due dates
| Quarter | Quarter Period | TDS Return Due Date |
| 1st Quarter | 1st April to 30th June | 31st uly |
| 2nd Quarter | 1st July to 30th September | 31st October |
| 3rd Quarter | 1st October to 31st December | 31st January |
| 4th Quarter | 1st January to 31st March | 31st May |
TDS Payment due date
| TDS DEDUCTED IN MONTH | DUE DATE FOR PAYMENT |
| April to February | On or before the 7th working day of next month |
| March | April 30th |
2. Audit
There are two separate audits applicable to an LLP every year. Audit under LLP Act and audit under the Income Tax Act. For Audit under LLP Act, the LLP’s turnover should be more than 40lacs and/or contribution should exceed 25lacs. For audit under the Income Tax Act, its Turnover should be more than 1cr. If you want to read more about the Audit under the Income Tax Act, you can read our article here.
3. GST Returns and Audit.
If an LLP has a GST Number it needs to file Monthly returns in GSTR 3B, Quarterly or Monthly returns in GSTR 1, and Annual Returns in GSTR 9. GST Audit will apply to an LLP if its turnover exceeds ₹ 2cr. Please refer to the below table for Due dates of these forms.
| Return | Due date |
| GSTR 1 | 11th of Next month |
| GSTR 1 ( Quarterly) | 31st of the month following the quarter Example- For the 1st quarter due date will be 31st of July |
| GSTR 3B (Turnover more than ₹ 5 Crore) | 20th of Next month |
| GSTR 3B (Turnover up to ₹ 5 Crore) | 22nd of Next month (Having a principal place of business in states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Union territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep) 24th of Next month (Having a principal place of business in states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, and Delhi) |
| GSTR 9 & 9C | 31st December after the end of the financial year ( Example for FY 2020-21 due date is 31 December 2022). |
These are a few indicative Compliances which may apply to an LLP based on certain transactions. There may be however other compliances applicable to an LLP depending on its nature of business, types of transactions etc.
One needs to be very particular with compliances as not filing them on time can lead to serious penalties which may even wipe out profits earned or in certain circumstances may endanger the LLPs’ very existence.