FILING Introduction:

In every business organization different types of letters, circulars and documents are received and sent regularly outside of the office. For future reference it becomes necessary to preserve them in a systematic manner. Filing is only the careful and systematic preservation of letters and documents for easy, accurate and speedy reference. It can be described as a core of record management. It is the most important function of the office. In a business organization, many written documents and letters are received daily. If these documents are not kept safely then it becomes a cause of big loss and sometime a business also become failure. Careless preservation also creates in delay in work. So, filing is only the system by which important documents are kept safely for future reference in an organization. Thus, we can say that it is a process of arranging and storing the document safely in such a way that they will be available when needed. So, the method under which an organization keeps its systematically goods and proper manner is known as filing. According to J.C. Denier, filing is the process of arranging and storing records, so that they can be located when required. According to Neuner & Keeling, filing is the systematic arrangement & keep of business correspondent so that they can be found and delivered when need for future reference. The definitions above show that filing is a system order which important document, papers letters are preserved and can be obtained when required.

In brief we can say that filing means, 1. Memory of the business 2. Systematic record keeping 3. Preserving the records 4. Protecting the records 5. Providing easily when required

Purpose of filing: 1. To safe guard the letters and documents 2. To make past records easily available 3. To help in future planning & policy making 4. To provide information to the government 5. To help in taking quick decision 6. To save time & increase the efficiency of the workers 7. To provide documentary evidence in any type of dispute 8. To increase the goodwill of the firm

Qualities of good filing system: 1. Simplicity 2. Elasticity 3. Compactness 4. Accessibility 5. Economy 6. Safety 7. Easy reference 8. Classification

1. Simplicity: The filing system should be simple. It should be easy to understand and simple to operate for operate for the workers. Simple arrangement of filing will also enhance smooth operation of the business. 2. Elasticity: The filing should be flexible. It may be changed to suit the changing need of business. Some times it has to be expanded and sometime it may be condescend. 3. Compactness: A good filing system must be compact in other words; it should occupy the minimum space because modern filing system is costly. 4. Accessibility: Under good filing system all necessary records should be arranged in such a place where the staff could reach quickly without loss of time. So, record must be placed at accessible place. 5. Economy: The filing system must not be costly. Only cheaper but effective filing system will be adopted. Unnecessary cost of installation must be avoided. Installation on filing should be as less as possible. 6. Safety: A good filing system must provide safety to records and documents. Various documents and records should be protected be protected against ran, dust, rats, fire, damage by white ants and misuse. 7. Easy reference: Records must be easily recorded when needed for reference. Records should be filed with different heading so that they are available at the time of need.

8. Classification: Under the effective filing system all files must not be settled in a single heading. They are classified into different headings. Such classification becomes helpful to find out the documents without any delay.

Importance of Filing System: In modern business system filing become the important function of the office a good filing system provide better chance for smoothly running and effective working of an organization. Past letters, documents are necessary for future reference and a filing system facilitates the organization to keep the records safely for future reference. A good filing system benefits the organization in many ways. Some of them are as follows. 1. Protection 2. Evidence 3. Reference 4. Controlling 5. Planning 6. Follow up

1. Protection: A good filing system provides the file and documents against the loss damage. An ideal and effective filing system can store different types of documents and records safely. 2. Evidence: All necessary documents and records are maintained carefully for future reference with the help of filing. Safely kept documents may also be present as evidence incase of dispute with others or will be helpful to file a legal suit.

3. Reference: Under the good filing system, documents may be provided for reference without the loss of time. It is also helpful to supply any information, if the records are maintained safely for future reference. 4. Controlling: It is also helpful to contract various business transactions. Many business dealings are based on different business transactions. The old documents which are kept safely help to control business transaction because the old documents may be incoming or outgoing, which show the position of concern. Under scientific filing system for the preservation of documents controlling technique is applied. 5. Planning: Planning for the business can be formulated through good filing system. A good filing system can provide past information and other necessary information for the formulation of planning. 6. Follow up: If an organization kept its safely then it will help to follow up for sale, for timely payment also. Past records are also helpful for up action.

Types of system of filing: There are different systems of filing which can be adopted by different organization. Generally types of filing can be classified into two categories. 1. Traditional system: i. Wire filing ii. Pigeon-hole filing iii. Card-board filing

i.

Wire filing: It is the oldest and cheapest method of filing. Under this method spike or thick stick wire with one sharp end and a wooden or plastic or steel round at the other end is used for filing. It can be placed on the table or hang the wall. Bills, paper, voucher can be easily inserted in it. Merits: a. It is the easy and simple to operate. b. It costs minimum. c. It requires loss time and place. Demerits: a. It is not suitable for big organization. b. It is not attractive. c. Documents cannot be protected against dust and water. d. It doesnt provide secrecy of records.

ii.

Pigeon-hole filing: Under this method, a special almirah, which consist so many partitioned dockets, which look like pigeon hole. Each docket is labeled on or more alphabetical. This method is still used in post in our country. Merits: a. It is simple to operate. b. It is less expensive and less time consuming. c. Letters, files or records will be available quickly. Demerits: a. It is suitable only in small organization. b. Location of old record is very difficult. c. It is not flexible because the numbers of dockets are limited.

iii.

Card-board filing: Under this method a thick card board box is used for filing. Spring or lace clips fitted in the box to hold the papers. Will the documents and paper are kept inside the box and tied by the spring, lace or thick thread. These card boxes are also kept in almirah for safety. Merits: a. It is simple to operate and numbering training is required. b. It is less time consuming. It provides more safety because documents are safety kept in almirah. Demerits: a. It is not suitable for permanent use because spring become loose by regular use. b. It is expensive.

2. Modern system:

i. Flat filing: Under this method documents are placed in a horizontal or flat position. One on the top of another, in order of date and latest is on the top. The files are made of card board or thick paper. The files are stored in almirah or drawer and index of files is also prepared for the reference of files. Merits: a. It is simple method of filing. b. Documents are kept safely because documents are put in the files. c. Less space is required because files are placed flatly. Demerits: a. It is not quick to remove the documents. b. It is costly because clipped file and almirah is required.
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ii. Vertical filing: This method of filing can be said to be the most modern. It is so named because contents are kept in up-rights or standing position. For vertical filing, folders and vertical filing cabinet is required. In each drawer of the cabinet, folders are kept in standing position and if any folder removed from the drawer then a guide is placed for the reference. Merits: a. It is suitable for large office big organization. b. Documents can be removed and inserted quickly. c. Letter and documents remain safe. Demerits: a. It is costly because special cabinet is required.

iii. Suspension filing: This is an improvement over the vertical filing. It is a variation of the vertical filing method. While folders are stored vertically in a drawer, there is a possibility that they slip down and cause disorder in drawer. To overcome this difficulty principle of suspension filing was introduced. Under this method top edge of drawer are fitted with rectangular frame. The folders are suspended on the railing. A guide card is also posted on the railing for the reference.

iv. Lateral filing: In lateral filing, documents are fitted laterally along the self, the pockets having index strips on the visible ends of the files. Almirah, cabinet, shelves, cupboards, etc. are used for this purpose. It saves time and also flexible. It is most common in modern organization.

v. Open-shelf filing: It is a method of filing in which open-shelves are used for keeping documents. In this system files may be kept vertically or horizontally in such a way that the heading of files can be seen clearly over from a distance. It is generally used in library. It occupies less space and work can be done effectively and efficiently.

Method of filing: There are different methods, which are used in record preservation. Some most common methods of filing are as follows 1. Alphabetically method 2. Numerical method 3. Geographically method 4. Subject wise method 5. Chronological method

1. Alphabetically method: Under alphabetically method, all files, letters and documents are filed in the alphabetically or by the name of person or a firm or a subject. It is based on the occurrence of the letter in the alphabet as it is done in the dictionary. In this filing process is done with A, B, C If any name occurs in the same name, then arrangement can be done under the subsequent alphabet such as AA, AB, AC Directory and telephone directory are the examples of alphabetical classification. This method of filing is simple to understand and operate. It is self indexing but it takes more time in big organisation. Papers may be misfiled due to spacing errors.

2. Numerical method: Under this system of filing, all documents are strictly arranged in numerical order. In this system each file defines a serial number and kept in the self or cabinet according to the serial number. This method is used to file the documents which have numbers like purchase, order, sales, invoice, cheque, insurance policy, bank A/C number, etc. This method provides greater accuracy and it is flexible because scope of expansion is unlimited but this method is expensive and time consuming and also occupies more space.

3. Geographically method: Geographically classification refers to arrange the documents according to geographical order. Under this method, document are classified according to town wise, district wise, zone wise , region wise, country wise, etc. Under this method cabinet or shelves are used for different region or town. For instance Katmandu, Biratnagar, Mahendranagar, Dhangadi are arranged town wise same as files related to Nepal, India, Germany are arranged country wise. This method is also simple and speedy location and can be used alphabetically but separate index is required and time consuming.

4. Subject wise method: Arrangement of documents according to the subject is known as subject wise filing i.e. purchase, sale, stock, tender, appointment, etc. Under this method papers firstly arranged subject wise and then, arranged in alphabetically order. One particular subject papers or document are kept in a one or single file. Under this method unlimited expansion of file is possible. Files are easily located but it is consuming and costly too.

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5. Chronological method: Under this method papers and documents are kept according to date. This method is useful to arrange the document, invoice, vouchers, sales, reports, newspaper, account report, etc. this method is easy and simple to understand and operate. Nut it is not suitable if the exact dates are not known.

Record retention: The data which is made for future use is known as record. Records are the information, which are useful to carry out information. The most important objective of record management is to keep the important document and to present the records when needed so we can say that record retention means to safeguard the important records and present the preserved record at the time of need. In a firm, if all records are retained in the office then the office filled with records. It may create great problem to handle other work of the office. So, it become necessary to remain only important document in the office or the firm and unnecessary documents should be destroyed after to the requirement in the office is known as record retention.

Importance of record retention: 1. Useful for future reference. 2. Evidence in court. 3. Help in decision making and planning. 4. Evaluations 5. Economy in cost and space. 6. Effective utilization of filing equipments.

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Annual Filing

Overview

As a part of Annual eFiling, Companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 are required to efile the following documents with the Registrar of Companies (RoC):

Sr. No. 1 2

Document Balance-Sheet Profit & Loss Account

e-Form Form 23AC to be filed by all Companies* Form 23ACA to be filed by all Companies

Annual Return

Form 20B to be filed by Companies having share capital

Annual Return

Form 21A to be filed by companies without share capital

Compliance Certificate

Form 66 to be filed by Companies having paid up capital of Rs.10 lakh to Rs. 5 crore

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Step by Step Process for Additional Attachments to form 23AC :

1. If the size of Form 23AC exceeds 2.5 MB, remove some attachments or split and attach only a small part of the attachment to limit the Form size to 2.5 MB. You can upload the remaining/ other parts of attachments separately using Additional Attachment Sheet as below. 2. Download the Additional Attachment Sheet from Annual Filing Corner link on the homepage of MCA portal. 3. Enter the CIN and click Pre-fill button to automatically fill the name and address of the Company in the eForm. 4. Fill the date of relevant Balance Sheet. 5. Select the type of document from the dropdown list and click Attach button to browse and select the file to be attached. You have the option to attach maximum 5 documents. 6. Fill the signatory details i.e. Designation and DIN/ Membership No. 7. Affix the Digital Signature Certificate of the signatory 8. Click Verify button. In case of any error, rectify the same and repeat this step. 9. Close the Form and save it again on prompting by the system. Please ensure that size of Additional Attachment Sheet does not exceed 2.5 MB. 10. If you wish to attach more attachments, please download a fresh Form and repeat the above steps. You have the option to upload maximum two Additional Attachment Sheet against one Form 23AC. 11. After uploading of Form 23AC on MCA portal, system will prompt for following options: 1. File Form 23ACA 2. File additional attachments to Form 23AC
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12. Select the second option and upload saved Additional Attachment Sheet. 13. After uploading of one Additional Attachment Sheet, system will again prompt for making a selection. If you have the second Additional Attachment Sheet for uploading, select the second option again and upload the same. Otherwise select the first option and upload Form 23ACA to complete the filing and proceed to payment option screen. 14. If you have uploaded two Additional Attachment Sheets system will prompt you to file Form 23ACA to complete the filing and proceed to payment option screen.

Important Points to Remember

Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Accounts are to be filed as two separate documents with different e-Forms;

Each e-Form along with the relevant attachment(s) should be less than 2.5 MB. The Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account and Annual Return are filed as attachments to the respective e-Forms. A scanned copy considerably increases the size of the document besides being more expensive. You are therefore, advised to convert the Text file/ Excel sheets by using the PDF converter software (PDF conversion facility is also available on the MCA portal for business users) and upload these attachments as PDF documents.

The MCA database in respect of Authorised Capital and Paid-up Capital needs to be verified by the respective Companies, as it may not be correct. The Companies are requested to apply for correction of Master Data, should they find any discrepancies. In the meantime, the Companies can declare the correct amount of Authorised Capital and Paid-up Capital in the respective annual filing Forms.

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How to do the Filing Companies can do e-Filing in three different ways:

The Company representative can upload the e-Forms on the MCA portal through the Annual Filing Corner link (after registering oneself as a user of the portal) at his convenience from his office/ home. This is the most convenient way of e-Filing.

The Company representative can prepare the e-Forms as per guidelines, get them digitally signed by the authorized signatory, copy them in a CD or a pen drive and visit the nearest Registrars Front Office (RFO). RFO staff will assist in uploading of eForms on MCA portal. For addresses/ phone numbers of RFOs, please refer to the Facilitation Centre link on the homepage of MCA portal.

The Company representative can also contact any of the Certified Filing Centers (CFCs) for the Annual Filing of e-Forms by paying the service charges to the CFCs. The details about the CFCs are available under the Certified Filing Centre tab on the homepage of MCA Portal.

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Guidelines for Annual eFiling A. GUIDELINE FOR PREPARING THE eFORMS FOR ANNUAL FILING 1. Go to the Annual Filing Corner following the link provided on the home page of the MCA Portal and down load the applicable eForms following the link Download eForms

23AC 23ACA 20B 66 21A

Please note that only the latest version of eForm available on the MCA portal should be used for efiling. 2. Enter the CIN and click the Pre Fill Button. Your computer should be connected to the Internet. Some of the fields viz. Company Name, Registered Address will be automatically filled by the system (in case of Form 20B, the address is required to be filled manually). In case there is any discrepancy in the data please contact the RoC, for doing the necessary correction. 3. Fill up the rest of the fields in the eForm and attach the applicable attachments. Make sure that the total size of the eForm including all the attachments does not exceed 2.5 MB. If the file size of Form 23AC exceeds 2.5MB, please use Additional Attachment Sheet. Please follow the step-by-step process, for uplading the Additional Attachment Sheet.

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4.

Click on the Check Form button. If you have not filled all the required data, the system will alert you about the same. Please do the necessary corrections in case of any errors.

5.

Click the signature box in the e-form and affix the digital signature certificate by using the 'Sign and Save As' option. Please use the Digital Certificate(s) of the Authorised Signatories i.e. which has been registered on the MCA Portal, for role check purpose.

6.

Click on the Pre-scrutiny button. Make sure that your computer is connected to the Internet. System shall alert you if there are any errors, Please do the necessary corrections after clicking the Modify button and repeat Step (4) to (6). Once Prescrutiny is successful, the system will lock the Form. In case the size of the eForm including the attachment is more than 2.5 MB, the pre-scrutiny will not be successful.

B. GUIDELINE FOR SUBMITTING THE eFORMS on MCA Portal 1. 2. 3. Go to the Annual Filing Corner on the MCA Portal. Click on the Upload eForm button. Once eForm is uploaded on MCA portal, system will show the details of fee to be paid. On clicking on the payment link, the MCA 21 System will provide the payment option screen by which the user can :

Pay by using the Credit Card or Pay by Challan or Pay by Net Banking

In case Credit Card option is selected the user is redirected to the Payment Gateway

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interface where he will have to enter the Credit Card Details like Card Number, Expiry Date, Card Member Name and CVV Number. If the details are correct the payment will be processed/ debited, Acknowledgement is displayed containing Service Request Number (SRN) and Payment Receipt is generated for the user.

In case the user opts for the Challan option, the MCA System generates the Challan containing Challan number. The user should take printout of the Challan in 3 copies. Make the payment at any Authorised Bank using the Challan before the expiry date printed on the Challan. In case Net Banking option is selected the user is redirected to the respective banks website where user can make the payment using the login and transaction password provided by the bank. After making the payment, an acknowledgement is displayed containing Service Request Number (SRN) and Payment Receipt is generated for the user.

C. HELPDESK 1 In case of any difficulty please contact any of the nearest Registrars Front Office (RFO) or call at our helpline numbers provided on the homepage of MCA portal under CALL US link

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All About eFiling

Please follow the steps given below to proceed to do eFiling: 1. Select a category to download an eForm from the LLP portal (with or without the instruction kit) 2. At any time, you can read the related instruction kit to familiarize yourself with the procedures (you can download the instruction kit with eform or view it under Help menu). 3. You have to fill the downloaded eForm. 4. You have to attach the necessary documents as attachments. 5. You can use the Prefill button in eForm to populate the grayed out portion by connecting to the Internet. 6. The applicant or a representative of the applicant needs to sign the document using a digital signature. 7. You need to click the Check Form button available in the eForm. System will check the mandatory fields, mandatory attachment(s) and digital signature(s). 8. You need to upload the eForm for pre-scrutiny. The pre-scrutiny service is available under the Services tab or under the eForms tab by clicking the Upload eForm button. The system will verify (pre-scrutinize) the documents. In case of any inadequacies, the user will be asked to rectify the mistakes before getting the document ready for execution (signature). 9. The system will calculate the fee, including late payment fees based on the due date of filing, if applicable. 10. Payments will have to be made through appropriate mechanisms - electronic (credit card, Internet banking, NEFT, Pay Later) or traditional means (at the bank counter through challan). (a) Electronic payments can be made at the Virtual Front Office (VFO) or at PFO (b) If the user selects the traditional payment option, the system will generate 3 copies of prefilled challan in the prescribed format. Traditional payments through cash, cheques can be done at the designated network of banks using the system generated challan. There will be five banks with estimated 200 branches authorized for accepting challan payments. 11. The payment will be exclusively confirmed for all online (Internet) payment transactions using payment gateways.
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12. Acceptance or rejection of any transaction will be explicitly communicated to the applicant (including facility to print a receipt for successful transactions). 13. LLP will provide a unique transaction number, the Service Request Number (SRN) which can be used by the applicant for enquiring the status pertaining to that transaction. 14. Filing will be complete only when the necessary payments are made. 15. In case of a rejection, helpful remedial tips will be provided to the applicant. 16. The applicants will be provided an acknowledgement through e-mail or alternatively they can check the LLP portal. How to file paper attachments with the E-form? You have to first get the paper attachments scanned and saved as a soft copy in PDF format. Then attach the same in the attachment section of the eForm by clicking the appropriate 'Attach' button.

How to upload/ submit the scanned documents? You can upload / submit the scanned documents by attaching the same with the e-form and submitting on the LLP Portal.

How to ensure that the size of scanned PDF documents is not excessive? To ensure that the size of scanned PDF document is within the permissible size limits, it is recommended that scanning should be done in black & white mode at 200 dpi resolution and should not exceed 2.5 MB.

How to sign an e-form? An e-form can be signed by the authorized signatory/ representative using the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). Click the red colour signature box in the e-form to affix the digital signature. To avoid increase in size of the e-form beyond permissible limit of 2.5 MB, always affix the DSC using the 'Sign and Save As' option.

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How to make payment electronically? Payments can be made electronically through credit card/Debit Cards or Internet Banking. During the e-filing process, the system will prompt you to make payment. You can choose the mode of payment and make the payment accordingly.

How to make offline payment? If you are not having a credit card or Internet banking facility, you can make payment at the counter of an authorized bank through the pre-filled challan generated by the system after efiling. Payments of value above Rs. 50,000, stakeholders would have the option either to make the payment in electronic mode, or paper challan. For the purpose of collection of payments numerous branches in all major cities and towns of the following five Banks have been authorized:

State Bank of India Punjab National Bank Indian Bank ICICI Bank HDFC Bank

Details of the branches of the above banks offering this facility are given on 'List of Authorized Banks' link on the LLP portal.

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Common ERRORS committed while availing services on LLP portal. 1. Payment of challan not done before the expiry date: If payment of challan is not made before the expiry date, the transaction gets cancelled and applicant needs to file the eForm again on LLP portal to generate a fresh challan for payment.

2. Payment of fees (via challan) through other option: Once a challan is generated, its payment has to be made in an auhorised bank branch. Payment against eFiling should not be made using any mode of payment on LLP portal e.g. Miscellaneous Fee option, as in such a case the payment made does not get linked with the original Filing Transaction / SRN.

3. Duplicate Payment : Always check the payment status of original / previous SRN before trying to make payment again for the same transaction. If the payment status is Paid do not pay again.

4. Verification of status of eFiling: The SRN No. is the key for verification of status of eFiling. Please note down the SRN generated by the system before making the payment / for the purpose of checking the payment / transaction status.

5. Inspection of public documents: On confirmation of payment, a link is made available under My documents tab to view the documents online. This link will be valid for seven days you can view these documents anytime within 7 days of appearing those under My Documents. However, online viewing is provided for continuous three hours maximum, once you begin this activity.

6. eForm version used is not latest: Always download a fresh eForm for eFiling from the LLP portal.
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7. Modify or Sign the eForm numerous times which increases the size of the eform:While signing the eform click on Sign and save as option to affix the DSC to keep the size of the eForm minimum.

8. Uploading eForm in case of Required Resubmission : If the transaction status is Required Resubmission, the eForm needs to be filled again correctly and filed against the original SRN. Do not use Addendum option as transaction through addendum will not be processed against Resubmission. Addendum facility is used for providing additional information, if any, to RoC. 9. Mistaking the status Required Resubmission as rejection of the eform and take no action. If the status of SRN is Required Resubmission then file the eForm again by giving SRN of original filing and uploading eForm by clicking Resubmit button, under eForm upload link. After re-submission the status of SRN will change and eForm will be available for processing at RoC office.

10. Wrong particulars in eForms ensure accuracy while filling following values in the corresponding eForm: Form 1

Amount of contribution ( eg.10 Lacs instead of 1 Lac) State under the jurisdiction of same RoC (eg. Jharkhand instead of Bihar)

Form 8 Appendix to Statement of Account & Solvency

Date of charge creation / modification Original / Final amount while creation / modification of charge

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