Not legal or accounting advice. This is general information as of October 2026. The Companies Act, the rules under it and the accounting standards are amended from time to time, and how they apply depends on your facts. Check your position with your auditor or company secretary.
The requirement: Section 129(3)
Section 129(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 says that a company with one or more subsidiaries or associate companies must, in addition to its own financial statements, prepare a consolidated financial statement of the company and all its subsidiaries, in the same form and manner as its own. Both are laid before the annual general meeting. For this purpose, "subsidiary" includes associate companies and joint ventures.
Alongside, the company attaches a statement of the salient features of the financial statements of its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures, in Form AOC-1. AOC-1 summarises each subsidiary's key figures, such as its capital, reserves, turnover and profit, and the shareholding held; associates and joint ventures are reported in a separate part of the form.
Section 129(4) applies the rules on preparing, adopting and auditing the company's own statements to the consolidated ones too. So the consolidated statements are approved by the board and audited, just like the standalone set.
Who must prepare them
- Any company with at least one subsidiary, associate or joint venture, whether private or public, listed or unlisted. Being private or small doesn't on its own take you out. A company whose only investees are associates or joint ventures is caught too, because of how Section 129(3) defines "subsidiary".
- Some intermediate holding companies are exempt. The Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 exempt, broadly, an unlisted company that is a wholly owned subsidiary (or a partly owned one whose other shareholders don't object) when its own holding company files consolidated statements that comply with the accounting standards. The conditions are specific; check them before relying on them.
Listed companies also publish audited consolidated results under SEBI's listing regulations, on their own timetable. This guide sticks to the Companies Act.
Ind AS 110 or AS 21
Which consolidation standard you follow depends on which set of accounting standards the company follows. Ind AS applies to listed companies, unlisted companies with net worth of ₹250 crore or more, and their holding, subsidiary, joint venture and associate companies. Other companies generally follow the Accounting Standards (AS) under the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules.
| Ind AS 110 | AS 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Control means | Power over the investee, exposure to variable returns, and the ability to use that power to affect them | Owning more than half the voting power, or controlling the composition of the board |
| Outside shareholders | Non-controlling interests, within equity | Minority interests, shown separately from liabilities and the parent's equity |
| Associates | Equity method (Ind AS 28) | Equity method (AS 23) |
| Joint ventures | Equity method (Ind AS 111 with Ind AS 28) | Proportionate consolidation (AS 27) |
| Acquisitions | Ind AS 103: net assets at fair value | Goodwill or capital reserve from the subsidiary's book values |
Both require intragroup balances and transactions to be eliminated in full. The mechanics are in our intercompany eliminations guide.
Schedule III: Division I or II
"The same form and manner" means Schedule III to the Companies Act, which sets the format of the balance sheet and the statement of profit and loss:
- Division I is for companies following the Accounting Standards. Equity appears as share capital and reserves and surplus; there is no other comprehensive income.
- Division II is for companies following Ind AS (other than NBFCs). Equity is equity share capital and other equity, the statement of profit and loss includes other comprehensive income, and there is a statement of changes in equity.
- Division III is for NBFCs following Ind AS.
Schedule III also asks consolidated statements for additional information, such as each group entity's share of consolidated net assets and of profit or loss. As of October 2026, TallyPrime 7.1 (May 2026) produces Schedule III Division I statements for single companies.
The timeline
For a company with a 31 March year end that isn't holding its first AGM:
| When | What | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March | Financial year ends | |
| April to August | Close every group company's books, consolidate, audit | |
| Before the AGM notice | Board approves standalone and consolidated statements; auditor reports on both | 134, 129(4) |
| By 30 September | AGM, within six months of year end; both sets laid before it | 96, 129(3) |
| Within 30 days of the AGM | File the consolidated statements with the Registrar in Form AOC-4 CFS | 137 |
The AGM notice normally goes out at least 21 clear days before the meeting, so board approval comes earlier still. Companies required to file in XBRL use the XBRL form instead of AOC-4 CFS.
Consolidation is the long pole. Subsidiaries' books have to close and be agreed with each other before the group can be put together, so start intercompany confirmations in April, not August.
Practical steps from Tally or Zoho
Most Indian groups keep the parent on TallyPrime or Zoho Books, sometimes with a foreign subsidiary on QuickBooks or Xero. Neither Tally nor Zoho produces a consolidation: TallyPrime's Group Company adds companies together without eliminations, Zoho Books can't consolidate across organisations, and Zoho Analytics combines organisations only with the same base currency and without eliminations. So the work is yours.
- List the group. For each entity: relationship (subsidiary, associate or joint venture), ownership percentage, date acquired, AS or Ind AS, currency and accounting software.
- Align year ends and policies. Same reporting date and the same accounting policies, or adjustments for the differences.
- Get closing trial balances. From Tally's Trial Balance or Zoho Books' trial balance report, exported to Excel; from the foreign subsidiary's ledger in its own currency.
- Map ledgers to Schedule III lines. One mapping for the group, so "Sundry Debtors" in one company and "Accounts Receivable" in another both land on trade receivables.
- Reconcile and eliminate intercompany. Balances, sales, fees, interest and dividends. GST and TDS on intercompany items are balances with the government and stay.
- Translate foreign subsidiaries into rupees, with the difference in a foreign currency translation reserve (Ind AS 21) or as AS 11 requires.
- Work out the group adjustments. Non-controlling or minority interests, goodwill or capital reserve, the equity method for associates and joint ventures, and unrealised profit in stock.
- Complete the set. Consolidated cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity under Ind AS, notes, the Schedule III additional information and Form AOC-1.
- Audit, approve, lay and file. Board approval, AGM, then AOC-4 CFS within 30 days.
Start the intercompany early
Unagreed intercompany balances are the most common cause of a late consolidation. A difference of a few thousand rupees between two group companies holds up the whole group until someone finds the missing entry.
Where Halfkit helps
Halfkit covers steps 3 to 6 and part of 7, and produces the Schedule III face statements for Ind AS groups.
- Figures from every ledger. TallyPrime through a Windows sync agent (balances and open bills only, no vouchers), Zoho Books over OAuth in any data centre, plus QuickBooks Online and Xero subsidiaries. Read-only: nothing is posted to your books.
- Mapping and eliminations. Suggested shared lines for similar ledger names, and suggested intercompany pairs, including ledgers named after the other company.
- Currency and ownership. Report in INR, translate subsidiaries in USD, GBP, SGD, EUR or CAD with a translation adjustment line, and split profit and equity for partly owned subsidiaries.
- Schedule III, Division II (Ind AS) only for now. Balance sheet and statement of profit and loss for one company or the consolidated group, a line suggested per account that you confirm, previous-period comparatives, lakhs or crores, and an Excel export.
- For the auditor. The consolidation worksheet exports to Excel with live formulas, and closed months are locked.
What stays with you and your auditor
Halfkit doesn't produce Division I statements yet, so companies on the Accounting Standards can't use its Schedule III output. It also doesn't calculate goodwill, equity accounting for associates and joint ventures, or unrealised profit, and doesn't prepare notes, Form AOC-1 or the filing. Its cash flow statement is for one company at a time (QuickBooks' own, or worked out from balance sheet movements for Zoho Books, Xero and Tally); there's no consolidated cash flow statement, though the Overview and board packs show the group's operating, investing and financing totals. More on Halfkit for Indian groups, consolidation and integrations; or see how it compares.
If your group is on Tally, the Tally consolidation guide covers how to set up the ledgers so the eliminations line up.