The short answer: The APR due date is December 31 every year, and the report covers your US subsidiary’s latest completed financial year. A subsidiary with a calendar 2025 year files its APR by December 31, 2026. Where the Indian parent controls the US company, the APR must be based on audited financial statements. Because the audit and the bank both need time, the audit should start no later than mid-October.
If your Indian company owns a US subsidiary, the APR due date is the one deadline that ties your US books to your Indian compliance. The APR, or Annual Performance Report, is a yearly report on each overseas company you control. You file it through your authorized dealer bank (your AD bank, the Indian bank that handles your foreign remittances).
The problem is rarely the date itself. It is everything that has to happen first: the US books close, the tax return, the audit and the rupee conversion. In our APR audit work for US subsidiaries of Indian companies, most late filings trace back to an audit that started in November.
This guide lays out the full year, month by month, so you know what to start and when.
Key Takeaways
- The APR due date is December 31 every year, for each overseas company the Indian investor controls.
- The APR covers the US subsidiary’s latest completed financial year, so calendar 2025 accounts are filed by December 31, 2026.
- A controlled subsidiary needs audited financial statements, even though US law does not require a private company audit.
- A calendar-year US corporation’s Form 1120 is due April 15, or October 15 with a Form 7004 extension.
- A late APR costs a Rs 7,500 late submission fee per report, available for up to three years from the due date.
- Until a late APR is regularized, the Indian investor cannot make further investment in that US company.
What Is the APR Due Date for a US Subsidiary?
The APR due date is December 31 of each year, under Regulation 10(4) of India’s Overseas Investment Regulations, 2022. One APR is filed for each foreign company, so two US subsidiaries mean two reports. The filing goes through your AD bank against the unique identification number (UIN) the bank gave your investment.
The date does not move with your US company’s year-end. A Delaware C corporation with a calendar year and an LLC with a March year-end both face the same December 31 deadline.
Which financial year does the APR cover?
The APR reports the US subsidiary’s most recently completed financial year. Most US subsidiaries use the calendar year, which makes the cycle simple: the year ends on December 31 and gets reported twelve months later.
| US subsidiary's year ends | Year reported | APR due |
|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | Calendar 2025 | December 31, 2026 |
| March 31, 2026 | April 2025 to March 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
| Any other year-end | Latest completed year | Confirm with your AD bank |
Why your bank's deadline comes before December 31
December 31 is the date the report must be filed, not the date your bank starts reading it. AD banks review each APR before they accept it, and they often raise queries on share evidence, loans or dividends. Each query takes days to answer.
Banks also receive most APRs in December, so review queues are longest right when you need speed. Treat the first half of December as your real deadline, and plan for at least three weeks of bank time.
Why Does the APR Need Audited Numbers?
The APR is based on the US subsidiary’s audited financial statements when the Indian investor has control. Control generally means the right to appoint a majority of the board or to steer management and policy decisions, including through holding 10% or more of the voting rights.
Unaudited statements are allowed only when two conditions both hold: the investor has no control, and the host country does not require an audit. In that case the Indian entity’s statutory auditor certifies them. A wholly owned or majority-owned US subsidiary fails the first condition, so it needs an audit every year, even if it had little activity.
This is why the audit, not the APR form, sets your timetable. A review or compilation report does not meet the audited statements rule, so there is no faster shortcut. The APR filing process with your AD bank can only begin once the audit report is signed.
Not sure your US audit can be signed before your bank's cutoff?
We audit US subsidiaries of Indian companies under AICPA standards and deliver a signed report your AD bank and Indian auditor can rely on. Once your records are complete, each audit year takes 8 to 10 working days. You get a fixed fee before we start.
The Month-by-Month APR Timeline
The APR timeline starts the day your US subsidiary’s year closes, not in December. The plan below assumes a calendar-year US corporation reporting calendar 2025 in its December 31, 2026 APR. Each stage feeds the next, so a slip in March shows up as a crisis in December.
January to March: Close the US books
Close the US subsidiary’s books for the year by the end of February. Reconcile every bank account, record year-end accruals, and agree intercompany balances with the Indian parent. Every dollar the parent sent, lent or received must match on both sides.
State deadlines also fall here. A Delaware corporation files its annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1. If your subsidiary is an LLC taxed as a partnership, its Form 1065 is due March 15.
April 15: File Form 1120 and Form 5472, or extend
A calendar-year C corporation files Form 1120 by April 15, with Form 5472 attached to report transactions with its Indian parent. Form 5472 is the IRS information return for a US company that is 25% or more foreign-owned. The penalty for missing it starts at $25,000 per form, which our guide to Form 5472 deadlines and penalties covers in detail.
Most subsidiaries file Form 7004 instead, which extends the return to October 15. Our walkthrough on how to file Form 7004 for a business tax extension explains the mechanics. The extension gives you time to file, not time to pay, so estimate any tax due by April 15.
May to August: The ideal audit window
Start the audit as soon as the books are closed, ideally in May or June. Auditors are less busy, your team still remembers the year, and any errors can be fixed before the tax return is final. Filing the tax return and the APR from the same audited numbers also keeps the two from contradicting each other.
Our US business tax return preparation team can prepare Form 1120 alongside the audit. That way the return, Form 5472 and the audited statements all show the same intercompany figures.
July 15: The Indian parent's FLA return
The Indian parent files its annual return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (the FLA return) with the RBI by July 15. Any Indian company with overseas direct investment must file it, including your US subsidiary investment. If the accounts are not yet audited, the parent files on unaudited figures and revises the return by the end of September.
The FLA return and the APR report the same investment. When the US audit is finished by summer, the FLA revision and the APR use one consistent set of numbers.
October 15: Extended tax deadline and last safe audit start
October 15 is the extended due date for a calendar-year Form 1120. It is also the latest date we would recommend starting the APR audit. From October 15 to December 31 you have 77 days, about eleven weeks, to finish the audit, prepare the APR and clear bank review.
November: Build the APR data pack
With the signed audit report in hand, prepare the APR data. This means converting US dollar figures into rupees, and listing capital, loans, dividends and any step-down subsidiaries (companies your US subsidiary owns). The APR form is then signed by the authorized signatory and certified by your Indian statutory auditor or chartered accountant (CA).
December: Bank submission and acknowledgement
Submit the APR to your AD bank in the first half of December. Answer bank queries quickly, and collect the bank’s acknowledgement as proof of filing. File that acknowledgement with the audit report, because next year’s APR and any future remittance will refer back to it.
How Late Can You Start the APR Audit?
You can start the APR audit as late as mid-October and still meet the December 31 due date, provided your records are ready. Any later and the plan depends on everything going right. The worked example below counts back from December 31 to show why.
A worked example: counting back from December 31
Take a Pune-based auto-parts manufacturer with a Delaware C corporation that uses a calendar year. Its calendar 2025 APR is due December 31, 2026. Working backward from the due date, each stage needs this much time:
| Stage | Time needed | Must start by |
|---|---|---|
| Collecting records for the audit | 3 weeks | October 22 |
| Audit fieldwork and signed report | 2 weeks | November 12 |
| APR data pack and CA certification | 2 weeks | November 26 |
| Bank review and acknowledgement | 3 weeks | December 10 |
| Total | 10 weeks | Done by December 31 |
Add the stages: 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 10 weeks, or 70 days. Counting back 70 days from December 31 lands on October 22. Starting on October 15 leaves just one week of slack across the whole plan.
The two-week audit stage assumes complete records. If intercompany balances do not agree, or the US company’s bank statements are missing, collecting records can take twice as long. That is why a December start almost always ends in a late APR.
Starting in May vs October vs December
| Factor | Start May 1 | Start October 15 | Start December 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days to December 31 | 244 | 77 | 30 |
| Time to fix mismatches | Plenty | Some | Almost none |
| Tax return and audit agree | Easy to align | Return already filed | Return already filed |
| Risk of a late APR | Low | Moderate | High |
What Happens If You Miss the APR Due Date?
If you miss the APR due date, you can still file the report late by paying a late submission fee (LSF) of Rs 7,500 per APR, under Regulation 11 of the Overseas Investment Regulations. This route stays open for up to three years from the original due date. The fee applies to each late report, not each company.
The fee multiplies quickly. An Indian company with two US subsidiaries that missed two years owes four late APRs: 2 x 2 = 4, and 4 x Rs 7,500 = Rs 30,000 in fees.
The bigger cost: a block on new investment
The fee is small next to the real consequence. Under Regulation 12, an investor with a pending reporting delay cannot make any further financial commitment to that foreign company until the delay is regularized. That blocks fresh capital, new loans and guarantees to your US subsidiary, often exactly when the business needs funding.
After three years: compounding
Once the three-year window closes, the delay can no longer be fixed with a fee. It moves to compounding under FEMA, a formal process where the RBI decides the amount payable. Compounding is slower, more expensive and far more paperwork than a late fee.
Already past an APR due date for an earlier year?
We audit each missed year of your US subsidiary, oldest year first, so every late APR can be filed with the fee while the three-year window is still open. You get one fixed fee covering all the years, and we coordinate with your CA and AD bank.
How Can You Stay Ahead of the APR Due Date Every Year?
The simplest way to stay ahead of the APR due date is to book next year’s audit dates as soon as this year’s APR is filed. A fixed calendar turns a December scramble into a routine. These five steps cover it:
- Close the US books by February 28. Reconcile bank accounts and intercompany balances first.
- Confirm intercompany figures with the Indian parent by March 31. Capital, loans, interest and dividends must match both sets of books.
- Book the US audit for May or June. Fix the fieldwork dates and the report date in the engagement letter.
- Prepare Form 1120 and Form 5472 from the audited numbers. File by October 15 at the latest.
- Hand the APR pack to your CA by November 15. Submit to the AD bank in the first half of December.
APR Due Date FAQs
1. What is the due date for APR filing?
2. Is the APR due date the same if my US subsidiary has a March year-end?
Yes. The APR is due on December 31 whatever the subsidiary’s year-end. A March 31, 2026 year-end is reported in the APR due December 31, 2026.
3. Can the APR be filed with unaudited financial statements?
Only when the Indian investor has no control and the host country does not require an audit. A wholly owned or majority-owned US subsidiary needs audited statements for its APR.
4. How long does a US subsidiary audit for the APR take?
Fieldwork usually takes 8 to 10 working days per year once records are complete. Gathering records, answering queries and signing the report add time, so allow about five weeks overall.
5. Can the APR be filed before the US tax return?
Yes. The APR depends on the audit, not on Form 1120. Still, aligning the tax return and the audited statements avoids figures that contradict each other later.
6. What is the penalty for filing the APR late?
A late submission fee of Rs 7,500 per APR applies for up to three years from the due date. Until the delay is regularized, no further investment can be made in that foreign company.
7. Is an APR needed if the US company had no activity?
Yes. A dormant subsidiary still needs an APR every year, and still needs audited statements if you control it. Only companies under liquidation and small passive individual stakes are exempt.
8. Who files the APR with the bank?
The Indian investor files it through its AD bank. The authorized signatory signs it, and the Indian statutory auditor or a practicing CA certifies it.
Conclusion: Meeting the APR Due Date Without the December Rush
The APR due date is December 31, but the date you really need to plan around is your audit start. For a controlled US subsidiary, the APR rests on audited statements. Bank review takes weeks, and the audit needs complete records. Start by mid-October at the latest, and the deadline is comfortable. Start in May, and it becomes routine. Start in December, and you are most likely paying the late fee and pausing new investment.
- Treat early December as your real bank deadline, not December 31.
- Book the US audit for May or June, right after the books close.
- Agree intercompany balances before the audit starts, not during it.
- File any missed APR within three years to keep the late fee route open.
Fix next year’s dates now, and December becomes just another month.
Want next year's APR dates fixed before this year's filing is even done?
Book a 30-minute call with a US CPA. We will map your subsidiary’s year-end, tax return, audit and APR dates into one calendar, and flag anything that could hold up this year’s filing.
Parth Shah, Managing Director
(CPA-US, FCA, RV-S&FA, DISA)
Parth Shah who is head of Accounts and Book keeping has experience of more than 10 years. A Certified Public Accountant – US, fellow Chartered Accountant, Registered Valuer and Diploma in Information System Audit.
