Reminder: Housing Society Statutory Audit Reports Due Today, August 31

August 31 is the statutory cut-off for Maharashtra cooperative housing societies to complete their annual accounts audit and upload the signed audit report through the state's Online Audit Management System on the Mahasahakar portal. The requirement flows from Section 81 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, which obliges every registered society to get its books audited each financial year by an auditor empanelled with the Registrar.

What the law requires

Societies appoint their statutory auditor from the government's approved panel at the Annual General Meeting. The auditor examines the year's income and expenditure, bank reconciliations, fund balances, and compliance with bye-laws, then issues an Audit Report along with an Audit Memo listing any irregularities found. Under the Rules, the completed report has to be filed with the Registrar's office and uploaded online — most societies work to the August 31 date, since financial year 2025-26 accounts (closed March 31, 2026) fall due within the prescribed window measured from the close of the year.

What this means for housing societies

• Managing committees that have not yet uploaded the FY 2025-26 audit report to the Mahasahakar portal should do so today to avoid being marked in default.
• If the auditor's memo flags financial irregularities, the committee must file a rectification report (Form 'O') within three months explaining the corrective action taken.
• Societies that skip the audit or file late can face show-cause notices from the Deputy Registrar, and repeated defaults can affect the society's standing when members apply for loans, conveyance, or redevelopment approvals that require clean audited accounts.
• The audited report is also the base document members need before the AGM, so a delayed audit pushes back the September 30 AGM deadline as well.

Societies still finalising their accounts should confirm with their appointed auditor whether the report has been digitally uploaded, not just physically signed, since only the online submission is treated as compliant filing with the Registrar.