First, check what actually happened
Before anything else, establish how the company came off the register, because it changes the case.
| What happened | Where it shows | What it means here |
|---|---|---|
| The Registrar struck the name off for non-filing or inactivity | MCA master data shows the company as struck off; a public notice and then the notice of striking off in the Official Gazette | The standard revival case |
| The company applied for its own strike-off in STK-2 | The same status, but the MCA record carries the company's own application | Revival is a harder ask. Expect the Tribunal to want to know why the company now wants back what it asked to give up |
| The company was never struck off, only in default | Status is active, with overdue filings | No revival needed. Catch the filings up instead. See annual ROC filing |
| An LLP was struck off | LLP master data | Section 252 is a Companies Act provision. An LLP's position is different and we check it separately. See closure of an LLP |
The two dates that matter are the date of the Registrar's order and the date of publication in the Official Gazette. We pull both from the record at the review stage, because the window you are in depends on them.
Who can apply, and by when
Section 252 gives two routes with two different clocks.
| Route | Who applies | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Section 252(1) | Any person aggrieved by the order of the Registrar notifying the company as dissolved under section 248 | Three years from the date of the order |
| Section 252(3) | The company, or any member, creditor or workman of it | Before the expiry of twenty years from the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice of striking off |
Both go to the National Company Law Tribunal. Under the first proviso to section 252(1), the Tribunal gives a reasonable opportunity to make representations and to be heard to the Registrar, the company and all persons concerned, so the Registrar is a party and its response matters.
The twenty year route is the reason a very old strike-off is still worth a conversation. If a company was dissolved in 2012 and its land is still recorded in the company's name, the twenty years have not run out, and a member or a creditor can move.
The Registrar's own power
Under the second proviso to section 252(1), the Registrar can itself file an application to the Tribunal within three years, where it is satisfied that the name was struck off either inadvertently or on the basis of incorrect information. That is worth knowing if the strike-off followed a clerical error or an application somebody filed without authority.
What the Tribunal looks for
Restoration is not a formality, and the test is not "we want it back".
On an appeal under section 252(1), the Tribunal may order restoration where it is satisfied that the removal was not justified on the grounds on which the Registrar acted. Under section 252(3), the Tribunal may order restoration if satisfied that the company was, at the time of its name being struck off, carrying on business or in operation, or that it is otherwise just that the name be restored. It can also give directions and make orders to place the company and all other persons in the same position as far as possible as they were before the name was struck off.
So there are two ways to win: show the strike-off itself was wrong, or show the company was alive, or that restoration is just for another reason such as an asset or a liability that has to be dealt with by a live company.
The evidence pack
The petition is only as good as what sits behind it. What actually persuades:
- Bank statements for the years in question, showing operating transactions rather than only bank charges
- GST returns and income-tax returns filed for those years, and any tax refund due
- Audited financial statements, even if they were never filed with the Registrar
- Invoices, purchase orders and contracts running through the period
- Employee records, salary payments, EPF and ESI remittances
- Title documents for immovable property held in the company's name
- Loan agreements, sanction letters and the charge position
- Pending litigation in the company's name, or against it
- An explanation of why the filings were missed, stated plainly
A company with no bank activity, no returns and no assets is a difficult case on the "carrying on business" limb, and we will say so at the review rather than after the filing fee.
What the order does
Under section 252(2), a copy of the order passed by the Tribunal is filed by the company with the Registrar within 30 days from the date of the order. On receiving it, the Registrar restores the name of the company to the register and issues a fresh certificate of incorporation. The order is filed in Form INC-28.
Miss the 30 days and you are back before the Tribunal for an extension, which is an avoidable expense. Diarise the date the order is pronounced, not the date you receive the certified copy.
What you file after restoration
A restored company is a company in default, with every year of filings still owing. The Tribunal usually directs the company to bring them up to date, and the additional fee is where the cost sits.
| Filing | Position after restoration |
|---|---|
| AOC-4, financial statements | For every pending financial year, with the additional fee of ₹100 a day per form, with no cap |
| MGT-7 or MGT-7A, annual return | For every pending financial year, on the same ₹100 a day basis |
| ADT-1, auditor appointment | Where the appointment was never filed |
| Event filings never made | Charges, director changes and allotments in the intervening years. For charges, see CHG-1 filing |
| DIR-3 KYC for each director | Once every three financial years by 30 June, with the next cycle 30 June 2028 for directors already compliant. See director KYC |
That ₹100 a day per form, with no upper limit, is why an old revival costs what it does. Three pending years is six forms. Work out the number before you decide, and see annual ROC filing, which Regikart files from ₹4,999 a year.
Note also that the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026, which allowed pending filings at a reduced additional fee, has closed. Anything filed now is at the normal fee with the full additional fee on delay.
The things that do not come back on their own
A fresh certificate of incorporation does not restart the company's operations. Each of these is a separate step, and missing them is what makes a revival feel unfinished:
- The bank account. The bank froze or closed it. Restoration gets you a conversation with the branch, with the order and the fresh certificate, not an automatic reopening.
- The GST registration. If it was cancelled, it has to be revoked or applied for again. See GST revocation and GST registration.
- The DINs. A director whose DIN was deactivated for KYC has to reactivate it, with the prescribed ₹5,000 fee. See DIN activation.
- Licences and registrations. Trade licence, shop and establishment, FSSAI, IEC and Udyam each sit with their own authority and need checking.
- Director disqualification. Where a director's position under section 164(2) is in question because of the years of non-filing, that is a separate issue from the company's restoration and we look at it on the facts.
- Liability for the past. Under section 248(7), the liability of every director, officer and member of a dissolved company continues and may be enforced as if the company had not been dissolved. Restoration does not create liability, and dissolution never removed it.
Revival or a new company: how to decide
Ask one question: what does the struck off company hold that a new company cannot be given?
Revival is usually right when there is
- immovable property or a lease in the company's name
- money in a bank account, or a tax refund due
- a licence, registration or approval that cannot be transferred
- pending litigation, in either direction
- a loan, a charge or a guarantee that has to be dealt with
- a contract or a tender record with real value
A new company is usually better when
- the struck off company holds nothing but its name
- the years of pending filings would cost more than starting again, at ₹100 a day per form
- there is no evidence that the company was carrying on business
- the founders want a clean compliance history
Incorporating fresh starts from ₹1,499 plus government fees: see private limited company registration. A revival is a tribunal matter with a petition, a hearing, counsel and then the filings. Making that choice properly is the most valuable half hour in this process.
For a company that is still on the register and simply inactive, dormant company status under section 455 is the option that avoids a strike-off.
Who appears for you
Section 432 of the Companies Act, 2013 lets a party to a proceeding or appeal before the Tribunal appear in person, or authorise one or more chartered accountants, company secretaries, cost accountants or legal practitioners to present its case.
In practice we prepare the petition, the affidavits and the evidence pack, appear or brief counsel depending on the bench and the complexity, and handle everything on the Registrar's side before and after the order. Where a matter needs an advocate on record, we say so at the start rather than halfway through.
Fees and what the process costs
We separate the three things that make up the cost, because the middle one is the surprise.
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| NCLT petition fee | As prescribed in the Schedule of Fees to the NCLT Rules, 2016. We confirm the amount at filing rather than publish it |
| Professional fee for the petition and the hearings | Fee on quote after a free review |
| Counsel's fee, where an advocate is engaged | At actuals, agreed with you in advance |
| Pending AOC-4 and MGT-7 or MGT-7A | Normal fee by authorised capital, plus ₹100 a day per form with no cap |
| INC-28 filing of the order | Normal fee by authorised capital |
| Publication or service costs | At actuals |
Every capital-linked MCA fee keys off authorised capital, not paid-up capital.
Our fee for a section 252 revival
Fee on quote after a free review. The review is where we tell you whether the case is winnable, which window applies, and what the pending filings will add.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Professional fee: section 252 petition, hearings and the order | Fee on quote after a free review |
| Professional fee: pending annual filings after restoration | From ₹4,999 a year. See annual ROC filing |
| For comparison: incorporating a fresh private limited company | From ₹1,499. See private limited company registration |
| For comparison: a strike-off, if you decide to let it go | ₹6,999 plus the ₹10,000 government fee. See closure of a private limited company |
| Government and tribunal fees | At actuals, as in the table above |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 27 September 2026.
How we run a revival
- Record check. MCA master data, the strike-off route, the Registrar's order date and the Gazette publication date, so the window is established in writing.
- The case. We assemble the evidence pack and tell you whether the "carrying on business" limb is available, or whether the case rests on it being just to restore.
- The decision. Revival against a fresh incorporation, with the pending filing cost quantified, before any petition is drafted.
- Petition. Drafting, affidavits, the evidence pack and service on the Registrar and the other respondents.
- Hearings. We appear or brief counsel, and respond to the Registrar's report.
- Order and INC-28. The certified copy, then the filing with the Registrar within 30 days, then the fresh certificate of incorporation.
- Clean-up. Pending AOC-4 and MGT-7, ADT-1, event filings, DIN reactivation, and the bank, GST and licence steps, on a dated checklist.
What we need from you
- CIN and the company's name as registered
- How you discovered the strike-off, and any notice or communication you received
- Last available audited financial statements and the last filed returns
- Bank statements for the years in question
- GST and income-tax returns for those years, with any refund position
- Details of assets, especially immovable property and vehicles in the company's name
- Details of loans, charges and guarantees
- Any litigation, notice or demand involving the company
- KYC and current DIN status of the directors
- A plain account of why the filings stopped
Five mistakes we see
- Assuming it is too late. The twenty year route under section 252(3) is open to the company, a member, a creditor or a workman, measured from the Gazette publication.
- Filing a petition before pricing the clean-up. ₹100 a day per form with no cap, for every pending year, often decides the revival against a fresh company.
- Missing the 30 days for INC-28. The order has to reach the Registrar within 30 days of the date of the order.
- Bringing no evidence. Restoration turns on the company having been carrying on business or in operation, or on it being just to restore. A bare request is not a case.
- Thinking dissolution wiped the liabilities. Section 248(7) keeps the liability of directors, officers and members alive.