Post-closure checklist: what to do after your company is struck off in India

Last updated 14 July 2026

"We got the strike off order — are we done?"

This question comes up almost every time a company closure reaches its final stage. Founders assume that once the Official Gazette publishes the strike-off notification, every trace of the company's compliance obligations disappears with it. In reality, a handful of registrations and filings sit outside the MCA/ROC process entirely — GST, IEC, state labour registrations — and these don't automatically get cancelled just because the company itself is struck off. Left open, they can trigger notices, penalties, or compliance flags years later, addressed to a company that legally no longer exists but whose registrations are still technically active in another department's database.

GST: cancel the registration and file GSTR-10

If the company held a GST registration, it should ideally be cancelled before STK-2 is filed (a live GST registration is one of the most common reasons STK-2 applications get queried). If it wasn't cleaned up beforehand, cancel it as soon as possible after strike off. Once the GST department processes the cancellation, the taxpayer must file a final return — Form GSTR-10 — within three months of the cancellation date or the date of the cancellation order, whichever is later. GSTR-10 declares the closing stock and any tax payable on it. Missing this return attracts a late fee and can prevent the GST portal from marking the registration as fully closed.

Income tax: PAN doesn't get cancelled automatically

A common misconception is that the company's PAN is cancelled the moment the ROC strikes it off. It isn't — PAN is issued and administered by the Income Tax Department, an entirely separate system from the MCA. In practice, the PAN typically becomes dormant over time once no further returns are filed against it, but there is no automatic linkage that deactivates PAN the day the strike-off order is published. Directors should still file the income tax return for the final financial year of the company's operation (covering the period up to closure), and retain the acknowledgement. If any income tax notice arrives after strike off — which does happen, particularly scrutiny notices for earlier years — it should be responded to promptly; the ROC has the power to restore a struck-off company specifically to deal with outstanding tax matters.

Bank accounts: should already be closed before filing

STK-2 requires the company's bank account to be closed with a nil balance before filing, so by the time strike off is approved, this should already be done. If, for any reason, a dormant account or an old account the directors forgot about surfaces later, it should be closed by submitting the closure request along with the strike-off order and board resolution to the bank. Do not leave any account open under the struck-off company's name — under Section 250, any assets including bank balances vest in the central government once the company is dissolved, so an overlooked account risks becoming inaccessible.

Import Export Code (IEC): surrender via DGFT

If the company held an Import Export Code for cross-border trade, it should be surrendered through the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) portal. An unsurrendered IEC linked to a struck-off company can create mismatches in customs and trade data, and in rare cases can be misused if the credentials aren't secured. Surrendering it is a simple online application once the company's closure is finalised.

State-level registrations: Shops & Establishment, Professional Tax, PF/ESI

Depending on the state and the number of employees the company had, it may hold a Shops and Establishment registration, a Professional Tax registration, and Provident Fund (PF) or Employee State Insurance (ESI) registrations. Each of these is administered by a different state or central authority and each requires its own closure application — none of them close automatically when the ROC strikes off the company. If the company had even one employee at any point, check whether PF/ESI registrations were triggered, since these carry their own compliance and penalty regime independent of the Companies Act.

DIN and DSC: usually nothing to do

A Director Identification Number (DIN) belongs to the individual, not the company, and does not need to be surrendered when a company closes — it remains valid for other or future directorships, subject to the annual DIR-3 KYC filing. A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) used for filing on the company's behalf can simply be allowed to expire; there's no requirement to actively revoke it, though directors should ensure it isn't left in circulation for future misuse once it's no longer needed.

Trademark, domain names, and other intangible assets

If the company owned a registered trademark, a domain name, or other intellectual property, these should be addressed before the company ceases to exist — either transferred to a director or another entity, formally abandoned, or (for domains) simply allowed to lapse at renewal. A trademark registered in the name of a struck-off company can become difficult to assign or defend later, since the registered proprietor no longer legally exists.

Record retention: keep documents for at least eight years

Even after the company ceases to exist, retain copies of the strike-off order, board resolutions, indemnity bonds, financial statements, filed returns, and tax records for at least eight years. The Income Tax Department can issue notices for past assessment years within this window, and having the original records readily available makes responding to any belated query far simpler than trying to reconstruct history from memory.

This article is for general information only. For your specific situation, consult a practicing CA.