Shutting a company down the wrong way, just letting it go inactive and ignoring it, doesn’t actually end anything. Directors stay on the hook, late fees keep piling up, and eventually the ROC strikes the company off anyway, just on its own terms instead of yours. Closing it properly through Section 248 voluntary strike-off is faster, cheaper, and it’s the version where you control the timeline.
A company’s name can come off the Register of Companies in two ways. Either the company applies for it, or the Registrar does it without being asked. Under Section 248(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, a company can voluntarily apply to strike off its own name by filing Form STK-2, once it has extinguished all liabilities and secured the required member approval. Under Section 248(1), the Registrar can also start the process on its own, without the company’s consent, when it has reasonable cause to believe the company never started business or has been inactive and non-filing for two straight years.
Both routes end the same way for the company: dissolved. They don’t end the same way for the directors. Voluntary strike-off doesn’t disqualify anyone. Compulsory strike-off through Form STK-7, especially when it follows three consecutive years of non-filing, comes bundled with a five-year director disqualification under Section 164(2). Filing STK-2 yourself before the Registrar gets there first is almost always the better outcome.
NOTE: If you would like to revive your business, you may get in touch with Avs & Associates. It took approximately 3 months for a company to be officially dissolved, but if the process is complex the length of time can vary considerably. In no less than 3 months from the winding-up notice being advertised in the Gazette, a company will cease to exist, however. However, some companies may apply to strike off their name under fast track exit mode.
Section 248(2) allows a voluntary application if either of these applies:
Beyond that, every liability has to be settled and all bank accounts closed before filing, and the members need to sign off, either through a special resolution passed with 75% approval, or through individual consent where it’s a two-member company and both are also directors.
Not every company gets to use this route. Rule 3 of the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Rules, 2016 blocks the application if any of the following are true:
Most strike-off applications that get rejected fail for the same handful of reasons: a statement of accounts filed a few days too late, an old charge nobody remembered to satisfy, a bank account that technically still shows as active. We check all of it upfront rather than finding out at the ROC’s end, and we handle any pending GST cancellation and annual filings as part of the same engagement, so the company exits clean instead of leaving loose ends attached to your name as a director.
NOTE: All strike-off applications are now processed through C-PACE (the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit), which has cut typical timelines down from the 6 to 12 months it used to take to roughly 3 to 6 months. After the ROC publishes the strike-off notice in the Gazette, there’s a 30-day window for objections before the company is formally dissolved. If you’d like to revive a company that’s already been struck off, restoration through the NCLT is possible within 20 years of the dissolution date, get in touch and we can walk you through it. One more thing worth knowing if you’re reading this before 15 July 2026: the MCA’s Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026 is currently offering a 75% discount on the STK-2 filing fee and a 90% reduction on backlog late fees, but that window closes on 15 July 2026.
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Strike off (Fast Track Exit via STK-2) is for inactive companies with no significant assets/liabilities. Winding up involves a liquidator and suits companies with ongoing operations or creditors.
Minimum 3 months from the Gazette notice date. Complex cases with pending liabilities or objections take longer.
Board resolution, indemnity bond (signed by all directors), CA-certified statement of assets & liabilities, and STK-2 form. All pending annual returns must be cleared first.
Yes. Directors or members can apply to the NCLT for restoration within the prescribed period. Camantra assists with revival applications.
Yes. The company must surrender its GST registration and file all pending returns before applying. Camantra handles GST cancellation as part of end-to-end closure compliance.