If you’ve filed DIR-3 KYC every September like clockwork for years, that habit is now out of date. MCA quietly rewrote the rule at the end of 2025, and most directors won’t need to file again for another two to three years.
DIR-3 KYC moved from an annual requirement to once every three financial years, effective 31 March 2026, under the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025 (Notification G.S.R. 943(E), dated 31 December 2025). The new filing window is 30 June, not September — and which year applies depends entirely on your filing history.
Not sure when your next DIR-3 KYC is actually due under the new rule? WhatsApp us and we’ll work out your specific cycle.
Quick Summary — What Actually Changed
| Item | Old Rule | New Rule (from 31 March 2026) |
| Filing frequency | Every year | Once every 3 financial years |
| Filing window | By 30 September | By 30 June |
| Form | DIR-3 KYC (e-Form) or DIR-3-KYC-Web | Single unified Form DIR-3 KYC Web only |
| Directors who already filed for FY 2025-26 | — | Next filing due April–June 2028 |
| Directors with DIN allotted during FY 2025-26 | — | First filing due April–June 2029 |
| Change in mobile/email/address | Update within 30 days | Still required within 30 days, same form |
Who Actually Has a 2026 Deadline (It’s Not Most Directors)
This is the part that gets misreported most often. The June 2026 window is not a general deadline for all directors — most people who’ve already filed KYC have nothing due until 2028 or 2029. The group that genuinely needs to act around the 31 March 2026 cutoff is narrower:
Directors who never filed DIR-3 KYC at all, or whose DIN was already deactivated for non-filing, could continue using the old reactivation process only until 31 March 2026. After that date, reactivation follows the new framework. If you’re in this category — a lapsed or never-filed DIN — that transition cutoff was the date that mattered, not a September 2026 deadline.
For everyone else, the practical question is simply: which three-year bucket are you in?
- Already filed KYC for FY 2025-26 or earlier, with no changes since → next filing due April–June 2028
- DIN allotted during FY 2025-26 (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026) → first filing due April–June 2029
- Changed your mobile number, email, or address at any point → that update itself must still be filed within 30 days through the same DIR-3 KYC Web form, regardless of where you are in the three-year cycle — and importantly, a details-only update does not reset your three-year clock
The Form Itself Also Changed
There’s no longer a separate e-Form and web-service version. Form DIR-3 KYC Web is now the only form, used for routine triennial filing, for the 30-day detail-change updates, and for reactivating a deactivated DIN. If older guidance you’ve seen mentions filing an “e-Form” for one purpose and the “Web” version for another, that distinction no longer exists.
Why This Doesn’t Touch Your AGM Timeline
Separately from KYC, the AGM for most private companies must still be held by 30 September, with AOC-4 and MGT-7 due within 30 and 60 days of the AGM respectively. This part of the calendar is untouched by the DIR-3 KYC reform — the two were always independent obligations (one tied to the individual director’s DIN, the other to the company), and that separation hasn’t changed.
Why the Order Still Matters for AGM-Linked Filings
AOC-4 and MGT-7 are sequenced from the AGM date, not from a fixed calendar date. If your AGM happens later than 30 September for a valid reason — an extension granted by the Registrar, for instance — your AOC-4 and MGT-7 due dates shift along with it. This is where companies sometimes get the sequence backwards: filing AOC-4 based on what they assume the deadline “should be,” rather than calculating it from when the AGM actually happened.
What Still Triggers a DIN Deactivation
Missing your applicable DIR-3 KYC Web filing window — whichever three-year cycle you fall into — still gets the DIN marked “Deactivated due to non-filing” on the MCA portal. Reactivation requires filing the form along with the prescribed fee, and until it’s reactivated, that director can’t be validly listed as a signing director on any MCA filing across any company they’re associated with — not just the one where the lapse happened.
A Common AGM Mistake: Confusing “Held” With “Filed”
The AGM due date is about when the meeting itself takes place, not when the related forms are filed. A company can hold its AGM on time and still miss AOC-4 or MGT-7 if nobody tracks the 30-day and 60-day windows that follow. Treat the AGM date as the start of a new countdown, not the finish line.
References
- Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025 — Notification No. G.S.R. 943(E), dated 31 December 2025
- Companies Act, 2013 — Section 164 (director disqualification for continuous default)
- Companies Act, 2013 — Section 248 (company strike-off for persistent non-filing)
- PIB press release on the DIR-3 KYC amendment, pib.gov.in
⚠️ This is a genuinely new rule as of this writing — confirm your specific filing cycle directly at mca.gov.in before assuming either the old or new framework applies to your situation, since transition-period guidance can still vary by individual case (DIN allotment date, filing history, pending reactivations).
Last Updated: 22 June 2026
Reviewed By: TaxKitab Direct Tax Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Has DIR-3 KYC been abolished?
No. It hasn’t been removed — the frequency changed from annual to once every three years, and the form was consolidated into a single version.
If I already filed DIR-3 KYC for FY 2025-26, do I need to do anything in 2026?
No, unless your mobile number, email, or residential address changes — in which case that specific update is still due within 30 days. Otherwise, your next full filing isn’t due until April–June 2028.
Does updating my mobile number reset my three-year cycle?
No. Filing a details-only update through DIR-3 KYC Web doesn’t change your underlying three-year compliance cycle — the cycle still runs from when it was originally set, not from the date of any interim update.
What happens if a director’s DIN is already deactivated when they finally try to file?
The KYC filing can still be done to reactivate it, along with the applicable fee — deactivation isn’t permanent, but it does need to be actively resolved through the new unified Form DIR-3 KYC Web rather than waiting for it to resolve itself.
Can a private company get an extension for its AGM?
Extensions can be requested from the Registrar of Companies for genuine reasons, but this needs to be applied for before the original due date, not after it’s already passed.
Is MGT-7A different from MGT-7?
MGT-7A is the simplified annual return form for small companies and OPCs (One Person Companies); MGT-7 is the standard form for other companies. Using the wrong one is a common filing error.
This kind of regulatory reform — a rule everyone assumed was fixed turning out to have quietly changed — is exactly why we cross-check live sources before publishing rather than relying on what was true even a few months ago. The same caution applies to the MAHAGST portal and Shop Act/MAITRI migration we’ve covered separately — government compliance frameworks keep moving, and what was accurate last year isn’t a safe assumption for this year.
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