When is the MSME-1 due date for each half year?

Who has to file Form MSME-1?

A company that owes a micro or small enterprise supplier money unpaid beyond 45 days from the date of acceptance has to file Form MSME-1 for those dues. MSME-1 exists so that delayed payments to small suppliers become visible rather than staying buried in a ledger. The trigger is not the purchase itself, it is the payment that has stayed outstanding past the section 15 limit.

The return applies to a company that receives goods or services from micro or small enterprises and still has amounts unpaid beyond 45 days from the date of acceptance. If nothing is overdue past that point in a given half, there is usually nothing to report for that period. The obligation follows the outstanding dues, not the existence of MSME suppliers alone.

What are the two MSME-1 due dates?

The two MSME-1 due dates are 31 October for the April-to-September half and 30 April for the October-to-March half. MSME-1 splits the financial year into those two halves, each with its own return.

Treat these as the ordinary dates. The form and its instructions have been revised over time, so match your filing to the version of the form and the order that apply for the period you are reporting.

How does the 45-day test work?

The 45-day test runs from the date of acceptance or deemed acceptance of the goods or services, and 45 days is the outer limit section 15 of the MSMED Act 2006 allows a written agreed credit period to reach. An amount still inside that period is not a reportable due, even if it is unpaid on the reporting date.

The practical point: an unpaid invoice is not automatically a MSME-1 item. It becomes reportable only once it crosses the allowed timeline for that supplier and remains outstanding.

What if there is no written credit agreement?

The limit is 15 days, not 45. Section 15 of the MSMED Act 2006 permits 45 days only where the parties agreed a credit period in writing; without that agreement the buyer must pay within 15 days of the day of acceptance, and an amount unpaid past 15 days is reportable.

Does interest run on a delayed MSME payment?

Yes. Section 16 of the MSMED Act 2006 charges compound interest at three times the RBI notified bank rate on any amount unpaid beyond the section 15 period, monthly, and that liability runs whether or not MSME-1 was filed.

What data does MSME-1 need?

MSME-1 needs four inputs: the list of registered micro and small suppliers, the amount outstanding to each at the half-year end, the acceptance date and agreed terms per invoice, and the reason for delay.

• A list of suppliers that are registered micro or small enterprises, with their registration details.
• Outstanding amounts for each such supplier as at the end of the half.
• The date of acceptance and agreed terms so the 45-day test can be applied per invoice.
• The reason for delay, which the form asks for, kept short and factual.

Building this from the supplier master and ageing report during the year is far easier than reconstructing it in the last week before 31 October or 30 April.

How do I confirm the MSME-1 form version?

Confirm the MSME-1 form version on the MCA portal for the half year you are reporting, because the fields have changed across revisions. Five steps close the loop.

1. Fix the two ordinary dates: 31 October for the first half, 30 April for the second.
2. Check the MCA circulars and notifications for any change to the form or timeline for the period you are filing.
3. Read the current MSME-1 form and instructions on the MCA portal, since the fields have changed across versions.
4. Confirm each supplier's micro or small status and apply the 45-day test per invoice.
5. Save the filing acknowledgement and the supporting ageing report.

Why are MSME-1 amounts reported wrongly?

MSME-1 amounts go wrong mostly because the whole MSME payables balance is reported rather than only the dues past the section 15 period. These are the recurring failures.

• Reporting every unpaid invoice instead of only dues outstanding beyond the allowed period.
• Including medium enterprises, which are outside this return.
• Assuming a supplier is a micro or small enterprise without confirming its registration.
• Filing a nil return by habit when reportable dues actually exist for the half.
• Using an old version of the form after MCA has revised it.

Where are MSME-1 form changes notified?

MSME-1 form fields and timelines change through MCA orders and notifications, while the underlying payment limit sits in section 15 of the MSMED Act, 2006. Complied AI keeps MCA updates in one feed so you can open the order behind a change instead of trusting an old checklist. MSME-1 also sits in the wider MCA annual filing due dates pack.