Director KYC (Know Your Customer) is a crucial annual compliance requirement mandated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in India. This guide provides an in-depth understanding of the Director KYC process, covering essential aspects such as the filing procedure, required documents, compliance for foreign directors, due dates, and more.

Director KYC is a mandatory process where every individual holding a Director Identification Number (DIN) as of March 31st of a financial year must submit their KYC details to the MCA. This ensures that the information related to company directors remains up-to-date and authentic. The Director KYC is a critical part of maintaining the validity of a director's DIN.

• Step 1 for creating a figure is to log in to the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs: 

 To access the MCA members’ only section, click on the ‘Sign In/Sign Up’ link on the homepage of the website. If an individual has not registered with the MCA website, they can by clicking on the ‘Register’ link where they put the details required and log in using User ID and password. 

•  Step 2: Add mobile number and email contact:

 When using the website, login and the tab ‘MCA Services’, then ‘Company e-Filing’, ‘DIN Related Filings’ and the options ‘Form DIR-3 KYC’ or ‘Form DIR-3 KYC Web’ is used. This has to be filled in the form by the director along with the DIN number, mobile number and email. Mobile number and email address will be used for OTP. The OTP is received and then typed in before hitting on the ‘Next’ button.

• Step 3: Filing the particulars in DIR-3 KYC Form:

On the next page, the director has to fill the below details:

• Name 

• Father's name 

• Nationality 

• Date of birth 

• Gender 

• PAN number 

• Mobile number 

• OTP received one of the most important numbers i. e. Registered mobile number

• Email ID 

• For password, delivery of OTP to the email ID. 

• Aadhaar number 

• Permanent residential address 

• Present residential address 

• In case the director is filing e-Form DIR-3 KYC (Web), then all the above particulars will be pre-filled.Those which are not filled automatically will be filled by the director as the case may be. 

 Note: PAN is made compulsory to provide and is integrated to track the flow of cash and credit also. On having fed the details of PAN, the director will be required to click on the ‘Verify income-tax PAN’ button. The system will cross check all these details using the PAN card number. In the event that the foreign nationals do not possess a PAN, the name which is being entered in the form is subjected to validation to correspond with the name in the DSC. 

•  Step 4: Certification of attachments to e-Form:

 Then, the director must upload the necessary documents needed for the implementation of the company’s measures, among them being; Following the annexation of the document, the director is required to make the declaration that the details furnished by him/her in the e-Form DIR-3 KYC is true and verified, and provided his/her DSC. The e-Form should also bear an e-signature of a practising CA, CS or Cost Accountant. As with all the other fields, the details of the practising professional should be required to be entered then followed by their signature. 

 Lastly, it appears as submit, click on that to submit the DIR-3 KYC form.

The KYC due date is typically around September 30th, and it's essential to comply to avoid penalties.

• Director KYC Due Date:

• Always file before the due date to prevent the deactivation of the DIN.

• Last Date to File Director KYC:

• Usually, September 30th; however, keep updated with MCA notifications for any extensions.

 Should a director fail to file an e-Form for the company on the MCA 21 site, then the department will freeze the DIN of such director by mentioning ‘Deactivated due to Non-filing of DIR-3 KYC’. 

However, for a director who intends to be active in the future, and therefore file the e-Form DIR-3 KYC which he or she has omitted, there is an option to do so upon the payment of a fine of 5000 rupees. This fee will be payable on, or after 30th September of the year for which the e-Form DIR-3 KYC (Web) is to be filed.

On the MCA21 portal, the directors can verify the KYC status once they have posted it. The KYC status will be clearly seen to inform whether the submission was made, or if there are corrections to be made.

• Checking Director KYC Status:

• Log in to the MCA21 portal.

• Go to the ‘DIN Services’.

• Select Get Din and check that the current state is.

Crucial Details to Verify for e-Form DIR-3 KYC Submission

The Director KYC can be done via MCA21 portal using the DIR-3 KYC form or through a web based verification process in those cases where there is no change in the KYC details and the person has already filed KYC earlier.

• How to Do Director KYC:

• Log in to the MCA21 portal.

• Down load and complete the DIR-3 KYC form or else opt for the online verification process available.

• The next steps are uploading the necessary documents.

• In the form complete the necessary details in case that there are some charge necessary then pay for it.

• How to Update KYC of Director on MCA:

• However in case there is any alteration to the above details then the amendment is made through the MCA portal through filling another DIR-3 KYC form with new details.

• Who Needs to File?

• It is mandatory to conduct KYC every year and where the DIN is operative in such companies, the individual has to complete KYC. This includes Indian nationals and foreign directors holding a DIN.

• Documents Required for Director KYC:

• For Indian Directors:

• PAN Card

• Aadhar Card

• Personal mobile number and email ID

• Residential address proof (e.g., utility bill, passport, voter ID)

• For Foreign Directors:

• Passport (mandatory)

• Address proof (notarized and apostilled)

• Contact information (email ID and mobile number)

Recent MCA update

MCA has introduced a major easing of KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations for company directors, as outlined in the revised Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules. Effective from August 1, 2024, these changes are aimed at offering greater flexibility and reducing administrative tasks for directors. Now, directors can update their personal information multiple times within the same financial year.

This is based on the recent changes to Rule 12A which requires that personal information updates be done, “on or before September 30 of the financial year or such other time as may be allowed for further updates.” Each update will involve DIR-3 KYC e-form filing and a fee of INR 500/=.

According to MCA’s recent circular any director of a company who has been allotted DIN by or on 31-03-2018 and whose DIN is in approved status shall furnish his KYC details to MCA. More to the point, this procedure is compulsory for the disqualified directors as well. 

Any director who was allotted a DIN on or before the end of the financial year and whether the DIN is in approved status or not, will file the form, it is mandatory to link the PAN with the Demat account by filing DIR-3 KYC before the 30th September of the immediately next financial year.

• For instance: For the Financial Year 2022-23, all those directors who have DIN and DPIN and directors who have been allotted DIN/DPIN till 31st March 2023 shall submit the e-Form DIR-3 KYC on or before 30th September 2023. 

• DIR-3 KYC: This form must be filled by any director who is filing the e-Form DIR-3 KYC for the first time after the allotment of DIN or the details of which some are mandatory to be updated or changed.

• One-time KYC: A director who has already filed e-Form DIR-3 KYC/DIR-3 KYC (Web) during the previous year is allowed to file this form if there is no change in the KYC particulars. It is important to note that in this e-Form, even the primary information of the director will be auto-populated from the MCA data and therefore is non-modifiable.

Foreign directors have to submit a clear scanned copy of their passport along with its notarized/apostilled address proof and the remaining parts include email ID and mobile number. The same conditions also work for non-resident directors with an additional document confirming their foreign address.

DIR-3 KYC for Non-Resident Directors

Non-resident directors are quite similar to resident directors but require the proving of a foreign address.

• DIR-3 KYC Foreign Directors:

  • Make sure that all documents submitted by the company are duly notarized and apostilled in manner as provided by the MCA.

When completing your DIR-3 -KYC form, you are required to provide the following documents

• Voter’s ID, driving licence or PAN card as proof of permanent address. 

• Utility bills less than two months old, rental agreement must be produced at the time of application. 

• Aadhaar card. 

• Passport. 

• Other optional documents. 

• Where the form is signed by a director, DSC of that director who filled the form (applicant). 

• Certificate of practise number from any practising professional like chartered accountant, company secretary or cost accountant.

The steps followed to complete the Form DIR 3 KYC Web Filing are explained below.

• For online filing of Form DIR 3 KYC, the Applicant has to use his/her user ID and password to log into the MCA portal. If an employee has logged in, they must choose the MCA service option then select the DIN service. In the services option, choose the DIR-3 KYC Web option.

• As the new page loads the DIN details, mobile number, and the email ID which are already preloaded will appear on the new page.

• By choosing the option of Send OTP the user will be receiving a one time password on the applicant's mobile number as well as on the e-mail ID. 

• Furnish the OTP for further verification.

• Some general information about the DIN Holder will be pre-populated on the screen, verify all the details, and then click the ‘Submit’ button.

• In case, the form is filed on or before 30th September then a zero rupee challan and SRN will be produced.

In case the Form DIR-3 KYC for Directors is filed within the due date of the particular financial year then the fee is not payable. However, if filed after the due date i.e., 30th September, the DIN status would reflect as ‘Deactivated due to non-filing of DIR-3 KYC’. In such a scenario, a fee of Rs. 5000/- becomes payable.

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