A practical compliance calendar for small Indian businesses
Compliance fails quietly: a missed return, an expired trade licence, an FSSAI renewal that nobody owned. This calendar is a lightweight operating habit for small teams without a full-time company secretary.
Exact due dates depend on your GST scheme, state and sector. Use this as a reminder structure, then pin official due dates from government portals and your CA.
Weekly
- Save invoices and expense proofs to a single folder (cloud + backup).
- Reconcile marketplace settlements if you sell online.
Monthly
- GST return cycle as applicable (GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B or composition equivalents).
- PF / ESI challans if you have covered employees.
- Professional tax where your state requires monthly payment.
- Review licence expiry dashboard — trade licence, FSSAI, pollution consents.
Quarterly / half-yearly
- TDS returns if you deduct tax.
- Internal stock and fixed-asset check for manufacturers / traders.
- Revisit Udyam classification if investment / turnover band moved.
Annually
- Income tax filing and tax audit if applicable.
- Company / LLP annual filings with MCA if incorporated.
- Shop Act / trade licence / FSSAI renewals as per their validity.
- Insurance renewals for premises, stock and liability where relevant.
Owner ritual that works
Put one recurring 45-minute “compliance standup” on the first working Monday each month. Attendees: founder + accountant. Agenda: filings due, licences expiring in 90 days, documents missing, portal notices. That single habit prevents most emergency consultant calls.
Map individual licences on LicenseHub and keep official portal bookmarks beside this calendar.