ROC Search Report for Any Indian Company — Charges, Directors, Capital & Filing History
A ROC search report is a professional's certified summary of what the Registrar of Companies actually holds on a company — every charge created, modified or satisfied, every director who came and went, the capital history and the filing record. Banks ask for it before sanctioning a loan; buyers, investors and landlords ask for it before signing. TAXAJ prepares it from the MCA record itself, in 1–2 working days, signed by a practising professional.
- Company or LLP, anywhere in India
- Charge history since incorporation (CHG-1 / CHG-4)
- Bank-format report, CA/CS signed
- Delivered in 1–2 working days
- Copies of the underlying MCA documents on request
- Multi-company and portfolio searches
What Is a ROC Search Report?
Every company and LLP in India files its life story with the Registrar of Companies: incorporation papers, changes of directors, share allotments, annual accounts, and — most importantly for a lender — every charge it creates over its assets. Under Section 399 of the Companies Act, 2013, any person may inspect those documents on payment of the prescribed fee. A ROC search report (also called a company search report or MCA search report) is the structured, signed summary that a practising CA, CS or advocate prepares after doing exactly that inspection.
It answers the questions a lender, investor or counterparty cannot afford to guess at: Does this company exist and is it active? Who really controls it? What has it already pledged, and to whom? Is it filing its accounts? Are its directors disqualified? It is not the same as a bare "Company Master Data" printout — the master data page shows a snapshot; the search report reads the underlying documents and traces the history.
For lenders
Banks and NBFCs require a search report before sanctioning term loans, cash-credit limits and working-capital facilities, and again at renewal — to confirm that the security offered is not already charged to someone else.
For buyers and investors
A search report is the first document in any acquisition or investment due diligence. It confirms the capital structure, the true director history and any encumbrance before you value the business.
For counterparties
Landlords, large suppliers, franchisors and incoming directors use it to check that the company they are about to bind themselves to is active, compliant and honestly described.
What a TAXAJ ROC Search Report Covers
Our standard bank-format report runs to the following sections. Where a lender has its own format (most public-sector banks do), we prepare it in that format instead.
Corporate identity and structure
- Name, CIN / LLPIN, date and place of incorporation, ROC jurisdiction, company class and category
- Registered office address and every change of address since incorporation (INC-22 / LLP Form 15)
- Authorised and paid-up capital, and the capital history — each allotment (PAS-3), increase (SH-7) and any buy-back or reduction
- Present shareholding as per the latest annual return (MGT-7 / MGT-7A) and significant beneficial owners where declared (BEN-2)
- Status on MCA: active, dormant, under strike-off, under CIRP, amalgamated or struck off
Directors and management
- Every director and KMP since incorporation with dates of appointment and cessation (DIR-12), DIN and designation
- Whether any current director is disqualified under Section 164 or flagged on MCA's list
- Other directorships of the current board, where relevant to the lender's exposure
- Auditor appointments and resignations (ADT-1 / ADT-3), including any mid-term resignation
Charges — the heart of the report
- Full index of charges since incorporation: charge ID, date of creation, charge holder, amount secured, property charged, and whether it is a first, second, pari-passu or consortium charge
- Every modification (CHG-1 / CHG-9) with the date and nature of the change — enhanced limit, added security, new lender in a consortium
- Every satisfaction (CHG-4) with its date — so the report shows what is still open, not just what was ever created
- Charges created but filed late, and any charge registered under Section 78 by the charge-holder rather than the company
- Copies of the charge instruments as filed, on request
Filing compliance and red flags
- Whether annual accounts (AOC-4) and annual returns (MGT-7) are filed up to date, and the last financial year for which they were filed
- Any pending prosecutions, compounding applications or ROC notices visible on the record
- Deposits declared (DPT-3) and MSME dues (MSME-1) where the lender asks
- Our observations: gaps in the record, inconsistencies between filings, and anything that should be clarified before you rely on it
Why the Charge History Decides Whether a Bank Will Lend
A charge is the legal record that a company has offered specific assets — stock, receivables, plant, property, fixed deposits, or the whole undertaking — as security for a borrowing. Under Section 77 of the Companies Act, 2013, a company must register every charge with the ROC within 30 days of creating it. The consequence of not registering is severe and it is precisely what makes the search report valuable.
| Provision | What it says | Why a lender cares |
|---|---|---|
| Section 77(1) | Charge to be registered within 30 days of creation (Form CHG-1; CHG-9 for debentures). The Registrar may allow a further 30 days on additional fee, and up to a total of 120 days on ad valorem fee. Beyond 120 days the charge cannot be registered at all. | A lender whose charge is not on the ROC record has, as against other creditors, effectively no security. |
| Section 77(3) | An unregistered charge shall not be taken into account by the liquidator or any other creditor. | The search report tells a new lender exactly which prior charges will rank ahead of it in an insolvency. |
| Section 78 | If the company fails to register, the charge-holder may file the charge itself, and the ROC gives the company 14 days' notice before doing so. | Explains why some charges on the record are filed by the bank, not the borrower — a flag in itself. |
| Section 81 | The Registrar keeps a register of charges for every company, open to inspection by any person on payment of the fee. | This is the public index the search report is built on. |
| Section 82 | Satisfaction of a charge must be intimated within 30 days of payment (Form CHG-4), extendable to 300 days on additional fee. | A charge that was repaid but never satisfied on the record still shows as open — the report identifies these so they can be cleared before the new sanction. |
A ROC search is not a substitute for a CERSAI search — it is the other half of it.CERSAI records security interests over assets, including those of non-corporate borrowers; the ROC record is the company-law register with the full instrument history. Bank credit policies typically require both. If you need the CERSAI search as well, tell us and we will run it alongside.
How the Search Is Done on MCA V3
The Registrar's records are inspected through the MCA portal's View Public Documents service. Under Rule 14 of the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, the inspection fee is ₹100 per company. After payment, the company's documents are available in the user's workspace for 7 days, and once a download is started a 3-hour window opens for that company, with a cap on the number of documents per transaction — which is why an unhurried, methodical search by someone who knows what to pull matters. Certified copies from the Registrar cost ₹100 for a certificate of incorporation and ₹25 per page for other documents; we obtain them only when the lender specifically asks for certified extracts.
Documents filed on the older MCA V2 system and those filed on V3 are both accessible, but they are organised differently, and older companies can have filings that are indexed under category names that no longer exist. Physical inspection at the ROC office under Section 399 is still available where a record is missing online — it is rare, but we have done it.
Tell us the company and the purpose
Company name or CIN, and who the report is for — a specific bank, an investor, a landlord, your own diligence. The purpose decides the format and how far back the charge history needs to go.
We pull the record
Master data, index of charges, and the filed documents across every category — incorporation, charges, directors, capital, annual filings — via View Public Documents on MCA V3, with the ₹100 inspection fee paid per company.
We read the documents, not just the index
The charge index says "₹5 crore, State Bank of India". The CHG-1 attachment says whether that is a first charge on the factory or a second charge on receivables ranking behind two other lenders. The report is built from the attachments.
We reconcile and flag
Charges created but never satisfied though the loan was repaid; directors shown on the annual return but never appointed on DIR-12; capital that changed without a matching allotment filing. Each gap is called out with the form and date that should exist.
Signed report, delivered
In the lender's format or ours, signed by a practising CA or CS with UDIN where the format requires certification, delivered as PDF to you or directly to the bank's credit team, with document copies attached if requested. Typically 1–2 working days.
When You Need a ROC Search Report
Bank loan, CC limit or renewal
Almost every sanction letter for a company borrower lists "search report from a CA/CS" as a pre-disbursement condition, and most banks want it fresh at annual renewal too.
Acquisition or investment
Before a share purchase, a merger, or a funding round — the search report is the company-law layer of the due diligence, alongside the financial and tax review.
Property and lease transactions
Buying property from a company, or leasing premises to one: the search confirms the asset is not already mortgaged and the signatory is actually a director.
Joining a board
An incoming director inherits the company's compliance position. A search before accepting the DIR-12 shows the unfiled returns, the open charges and any prosecution on record.
Litigation and recovery
Before filing a recovery suit, an insolvency petition or a winding-up application, the search establishes the company's assets, secured creditors and registered office for service.
Cross-border counterparties
Foreign buyers, JV partners and parent companies routinely ask for a search report on an Indian subsidiary or vendor. We prepare it in a format their counsel can read and cite.
What We Need from You
To start the search
- Company or LLP name, or better, the CIN / LLPIN (find it free on our Company Master Data Search)
- Purpose of the report and, if for a lender, the bank's name and its prescribed format if it has one
- The period to be covered — since incorporation (standard for banks) or a specific window
- Whether you need copies of the filed documents or certified extracts attached
What you do not need
- The company's consent or cooperation — ROC records are public under Section 399, so the search can be done on any company, including one you are negotiating against
- Any document from the company itself
- An MCA login of your own — the inspection is done under our professional access
ROC Search Report Format — What the Bank Expects to See
Formats vary between lenders, but every acceptable search report carries the same skeleton. If you have been handed a bank's annexure, send it to us; if not, this is the structure we use.
| Part | Contents | Source documents inspected |
|---|---|---|
| A. Particulars of the company | Name, CIN, date of incorporation, ROC, class, status, registered office and changes, authorised and paid-up capital | Master data, INC-22, SH-7, PAS-3, MGT-7 |
| B. Directors and KMP | Present board with DIN and date of appointment; past directors with cessation dates; disqualification check | DIR-12, MGT-7, MCA director data |
| C. Shareholding | Shareholders and percentage holding as per latest annual return; promoter group; SBO declarations | MGT-7 / MGT-7A, BEN-2, PAS-3 |
| D. Charges | Table of every charge: ID, creation date, holder, amount, property, rank, modifications, satisfaction date or "open" | Index of charges, CHG-1, CHG-9, CHG-4 and attachments |
| E. Filing status | Last AOC-4 and MGT-7 filed, financial year covered, any overdue filings; auditor on record | AOC-4, MGT-7, ADT-1 |
| F. Observations and certificate | Professional's remarks, date and scope of search, limitations, signature, membership number and UDIN where applicable | — |
Why Lenders and Law Firms Use TAXAJ for Search Reports
We read the attachments
Most cheap "search reports" are a reformatted master-data page. Ours are built from the filed CHG-1s, DIR-12s and PAS-3s — which is the only way to know the rank of a charge or the date a director really left.
CA and CS in-house
The report is signed by a practising professional with a UDIN where certification is required, in the format the bank's credit team already knows.
1–2 working days
Sanctions have deadlines. Standard reports go out within two working days of the order; same-day is available for a single company with a clean record.
Portfolio searches
NBFCs, law firms and family offices running several searches a month get a single engagement, a fixed per-company rate and a shared tracker in the myTAXAJ portal.
We fix what the search finds
Open charges that should have been satisfied, a missed CHG-1, an overdue annual return — the same team handles the charge filing or annual filing so the sanction is not held up.
Four offices, any ROC
Delhi, Bengaluru, Darbhanga and Goa — with physical ROC inspection available where a document is missing from the online record.
ROC Search Report — Frequently Asked Questions
What is a ROC search report and who prepares it?
It is a signed report summarising the documents a company has filed with the Registrar of Companies — identity, capital, directors, shareholding, charges and filing status — prepared by a practising Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or advocate after inspecting the records under Section 399 of the Companies Act, 2013. Banks, investors and counterparties rely on it because it is prepared from the public record, independently of the company.
Why does the bank need a ROC search report for a loan?
To confirm that the assets being offered as security are not already charged to another lender, that the company is active and filing its accounts, and that its directors are not disqualified. Under Section 77(3), a charge that is not registered with the ROC cannot be taken into account by a liquidator or other creditors, so the ROC register is the lender's evidence of its own priority. Most sanction letters make the search report a pre-disbursement condition.
How much does a ROC search report cost?
Two components: the MCA inspection fee of ₹100 per company, which is a statutory fee under Rule 14 of the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, and the professional fee for inspecting the documents and preparing the signed report. TAXAJ quotes a fixed professional fee per company before starting, with reduced rates for multiple companies or recurring searches.
How long does it take?
Typically 1–2 working days from receiving the company name and purpose. A single company with a short filing history can be turned around the same day. Older companies with dozens of charges, or reports that require certified copies from the Registrar, take longer, and we tell you at the outset.
Can I get a search report on a company without its consent?
Yes. Documents filed with the Registrar are public records open to inspection by any person under Section 399. You do not need the company's permission, cooperation or documents — only its name or CIN.
What is the difference between company master data and a ROC search report?
Master data is the free summary page on the MCA portal — name, CIN, status, capital, current directors and the index of charges. A search report goes into the filed documents behind that page: the charge instruments and their rank, the full history of directors with dates, allotments, and whether filings are up to date, with a professional's observations and signature. Banks accept the search report, not a master-data printout.
Does the search report show whether a charge is still open?
Yes. The charge table lists every charge since incorporation with its creation date, holder, amount and property, every modification, and the satisfaction date filed in Form CHG-4 — or "open" where no satisfaction has been filed. Charges that were repaid but never formally satisfied show as open on the record; the report flags these so the company can file CHG-4 before the new sanction.
What does a charge search cover — CERSAI or ROC?
They are different registers. The ROC register of charges under the Companies Act records charges created by companies and LLPs, with the filed instruments. CERSAI records security interests for the purposes of SARFAESI and covers non-corporate borrowers too. A ROC search report covers the ROC register; most bank policies require a CERSAI search as well, which we can run alongside.
How far back does the search go?
By default, since incorporation — that is what bank formats ask for, because a charge created twenty years ago and never satisfied is still a charge. For a specific purpose we can limit it to a defined period. Documents filed under the earlier MCA V2 system are still retrievable and are included.
Can a ROC search report be prepared for an LLP?
Yes. LLP filings — Form 3 for the agreement, Form 4 for partners, Form 8 for accounts, Form 11 for the annual return, and charges — are inspected through the same MCA service. The report structure is adapted for partners and contribution instead of directors and share capital.
Is the search report signed with a UDIN?
Where the bank's format requires the report to be certified by a Chartered Accountant, it is signed by a practising CA and a UDIN is generated on the ICAI portal so the bank can verify it. Reports in a non-certified format are signed by the preparing professional with their membership details.
What if the search finds a problem — an unregistered charge or overdue filing?
The report states it plainly, because that is what the reader is paying for. If it is your own company, the same TAXAJ team can file the missing CHG-1 (within the 120-day window under Section 77), file CHG-4 for a satisfied charge, or bring the annual filings up to date, so the lender's condition is met without a second vendor.
Get a Bank-Ready ROC Search Report in 1–2 Working Days
Send us the company name or CIN and tell us who the report is for. A practising CA or CS inspects the MCA record, reads the filed documents and delivers a signed report in the lender's format.
Call +91 88028 12345 · Mon–Sat, business hours · Offices in Delhi, Bengaluru, Darbhanga and Goa