Core4 Engineers Private Limited disclosed 498-day GST delays

Core4 Engineers Private Limited disclosed that its GSTR-9C annual Goods and Services Tax reconciliation statement for financial year 2022-23 was filed 498 days late. Core4 Engineers also listed repeated delays in GST, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, tax deducted at source and Registrar of Companies filings, attributing them to earlier gaps in its compliance systems.

How extensive were Core4 Engineers’ GST filing delays?

Core4 Engineers’ longest GST delays involved annual filings. GSTR-9, the annual GST return, for financial year 2022-23 was due on December 31, 2023 and filed on May 10, 2025, 496 days late. GSTR-9C, the annual reconciliation statement, was due on the same date and filed on May 12, 2025, 498 days late.

The annual-filing backlog continued in the next period but at lower intervals. Core4 Engineers filed GSTR-9 for financial year 2023-24 on January 8, 2026, 130 days after the December 31, 2024 due date. Its GSTR-9C filing was 132 days late for 2023-24 and eight days late for 2024-25, showing a reduction from the 2022-23 delays without eliminating late annual filings.

Core4 Engineers also listed late periodic returns at its Mysore unit. Its longest listed GSTR-3B delay was 59 days for June 2026, filed on September 17, 2026 rather than July 20, 2026. The longest GSTR-1 delay was 27 days for December 2023, filed on February 7, 2024, making the disclosed annual-return delays considerably longer than its periodic-return delays.

Why did Core4 Engineers say the GST filings were late?

Core4 Engineers said the GST delays primarily resulted from its earlier small scale of operations and the absence of a fully established internal compliance system. The disclosure gives that explanation for GSTR-3B, GSTR-1, GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C delays spanning financial year 2022-23 through financial year 2026-27 at the Mysore unit.

Core4 Engineers said it has streamlined operational and backend processes to oversee financial and statutory compliance and prevent recurrence. The filing record nevertheless includes the 59-day GSTR-3B delay for June 2026 and a 22-day GSTR-1 delay for April 2026. Continued timely filing therefore depends on the stated processes operating consistently through each statutory due date.

Delayed GST payments can attract interest under Section 50 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and penalties under Section 122, according to Core4 Engineers’ risk disclosure. The company also said a scrutiny, audit or inspection could lead to additional tax, penalties and interest if authorities identify discrepancies or non-compliance.

Did Core4 Engineers report EPFO and TDS filing delays?

Core4 Engineers reported 17 late Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, or EPFO, filings from February 2024 through June 2025. The longest was a 162-day delay for the September 2024 return, due on October 15, 2024 and filed on March 26, 2025. Other lengthy delays included 131 days for October 2024 and 121 days for April 2024.

Core4 Engineers attributed the EPFO delays to administrative and operational factors, including timing gaps in registering newly joined employees under statutory frameworks. The company said employee details were consequently unavailable in the system within prescribed timelines. It also disclosed that delayed Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ State Insurance filings or payments may result in damages, penalties and legal action by enforcement authorities.

Core4 Engineers disclosed five late quarterly tax deducted at source, or TDS, returns in Form 26Q. The first-quarter return for financial year 2024-25 was filed 92 days late on October 31, 2024, while the second-quarter return was 54 days late. The latest listed TDS return, for the first quarter of financial year 2026-27, was three days late, compared with 39-day delays in the first quarter of 2023-24 and fourth quarter of 2025-26.

TDS defaults can include non-deduction, short deduction and delayed payment, and Core4 Engineers said these can lead to expense disallowance, interest under Section 201 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and penalties. Separately, its income-tax return was 48 days late for financial year 2022-23 and 44 days late for 2023-24. The financial year 2024-25 return was filed on December 9, 2025, one day before its December 10, 2025 due date.

What did Core4 Engineers’ RoC filing record show?

Core4 Engineers disclosed longer delays in several filings with the Registrar of Companies, or RoC, under the Companies Act, 2013. The largest was 1,244 days for an MSME-1 half-yearly return covering April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022, filed on March 28, 2026. MSME-1 is a return relating to payments to micro and small enterprises.

The later MSME-1 record shows reduced but continuing delays. Core4 Engineers filed returns 1,063 days late for October 2022 to March 2023, 879 days late for April to September 2023, 697 days late for October 2023 to March 2024, and 513 days late for April to September 2024. The two latest MSME-1 entries were 68 days late for April to September 2025 and 43 days late for October 2025 to March 2026.

Annual corporate filings were late in both financial years shown. AOC-4, the form for financial statements, was filed 150 days late for financial year 2023-24 and 148 days late for 2024-25. MGT-7, the annual return, was 119 days late for 2023-24 and 118 days late for 2024-25; MGT-14 filings concerning resolutions included delays of 117 days and 86 days.

The RoC record also included 61-day delays in 2026 for an MGT-14 filing relating to a corporate guarantee for Core4 Engineers – Niranjan Enterprises JV and a CHG-1 charge-creation filing for that guarantee. Earlier CHG-1 filings for charges created in January and June 2023 were 14 days and 19 days late. These entries show delays across periodic, annual, governance and charge-registration forms rather than a single filing category.

What corrective action and exposure has Core4 Engineers disclosed?

Core4 Engineers described the delayed RoC forms as procedural non-compliance caused by inadvertent delays and administrative oversight. It said it had paid the requisite additional fees for the delayed forms and, as of the prospectus date, had received no show-cause notice concerning them. The company also said future regulatory action could require compliance with orders or payment of penalties.

Core4 Engineers said it has strengthened internal controls, implemented compliance-monitoring systems and enhanced oversight mechanisms. Those measures address the earlier-system explanation given for GST, TDS and RoC delays, but their effectiveness remains dependent on future returns being filed by statutory deadlines. The company said inadvertent lapses or interpretational differences may still arise despite internal processes and third-party consultants.

The company stated that discrepancies or non-compliance found through departmental scrutiny, audit or inspection could result in additional taxes, penalties and interest. It also identified possible effects on profitability, cash flows and credibility with customers, lenders, investors and regulatory bodies. The disclosure does not quantify a current demand arising from the filing delays.

Conclusion

Core4 Engineers’ disclosures describe a multi-category compliance record rather than an isolated late GST return. Annual GST filings were delayed by up to 498 days, RoC MSME-1 returns by up to 1,244 days, EPFO returns by up to 162 days and TDS returns by up to 92 days. Several later entries show shorter delays, although late filings continued through 2026.

The next point to watch is Core4 Engineers’ stated plan to use compliance monitoring, strengthened controls and enhanced oversight. The unresolved matter is whether future statutory filings are made on time and whether any scrutiny, audit or regulatory action identifies past discrepancies that lead to taxes, interest, penalties or other obligations.