Revival of a Struck-Off Company through the NCLT

When can a struck-off company be revived?

If the ROC has struck off your company – usually for not filing annual returns – a company, member, creditor or workman who is aggrieved can appeal to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to restore it. The appeal is generally filed within three years of the strike-off order; members and creditors may apply later in some cases.

The NCLT restores a company if it was carrying on business or in operation when struck off, or if it is otherwise just to do so.

The process

1. Collect evidence that the company was operating, and prepare the pending financial statements and returns.
2. Draft and file the petition before the NCLT, serving copies on the ROC.
3. Represent the company at the hearings.
4. After the order, file Form INC-28 with the ROC within 30 days and complete pending filings with the additional fees.

Who can apply, and within what time

The NCLT restores the company if it was carrying on business or in operation when it was struck off, or if it is otherwise just to restore it.

What strike-off means for the business

• The company's bank account is frozen and it cannot receive payments or pay vendors.
• It cannot enforce its contracts or continue legal cases in its own name.
• Its directors may be disqualified if the strike-off followed years of missed filings.
• Customers, banks and government departments see it as a dissolved company.

That is why acting quickly matters – the longer a company stays struck off, the harder it is to explain the gap to the Tribunal and to business partners.

After the NCLT order

1. File the order with the Registrar in Form INC-28 within 30 days.
2. File all pending returns – financial statements and annual returns for every missed year, with additional fees.
3. Pay any costs the Tribunal has ordered.
4. Get the bank account unfrozen using the restoration order and the updated MCA status.
5. Reactivate directors' DINs where they were deactivated, through DIR-3 KYC.
6. Stay compliant – set up annual ROC compliance so it does not happen again.

If the business is no longer needed, consider whether closing the company properly is better than reviving it.

Our service

Our lawyers and company secretaries prepare the petition and evidence, appear before the NCLT and complete the post-order filings. To avoid strike-off in future, keep up with annual ROC compliance.