How to Restore a Struck-Off Company (NCLT) in India (2026)

How-To Guide · Company Law

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

When the Registrar of Companies (RoC) strikes a company off the register, the company is dissolved and cannot operate, its bank accounts are frozen, and its directors can face disqualification. The fix is to ask the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to restore the company under Section 252 of the Companies Act, 2013. There are two routes with different time limits, and you must show the company deserves to come back. This guide explains which route to use, the limitation, the grounds, the documents, the procedure, and how to follow the case. Last verified October 2026.

01Why a company gets struck off

The Registrar of Companies can strike a company off the register under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013, mainly when the company has not carried on business, or has failed to file its annual returns and financial statements for a long period. A company can also apply to be struck off voluntarily when it is no longer in use.

Once struck off, the company is dissolved. It cannot sue or be sued in the normal way, its bank accounts are frozen, and its directors can be disqualified for being in default. Restoration brings the company back to life as if it had never been struck off.

02Two routes under Section 252

Section 252 gives two ways to the NCLT, and you should pick the one that fits your facts.

Use the Section 252(1) appeal when you are challenging the RoC's order itself and are within three years. Use the Section 252(3) application, which has a much longer window, when the company, a member or a creditor wants the name restored, for example to recover an asset or pursue a claim.

03Time limits

The time limit depends on the route:

• Section 252(1): an appeal against the Registrar's strike-off order must be filed within three years from the date of that order.
• Section 252(3): an application to restore can be filed within twenty years from the date the strike-off notice was published in the Official Gazette under Section 248(5).

04Grounds for restoration

The NCLT does not restore a company for the asking. Under Section 252(3) the tribunal must be satisfied of at least one of these:

• the company was carrying on business at the time it was struck off;
• the company was in operation when its name was removed; or
• it is otherwise just that the name be restored.

You prove these with records: bank statements showing transactions, income tax returns, GST filings, invoices, audited accounts, employee or rent records, and any ongoing contracts or litigation. The stronger your proof of real activity or a genuine need to restore, the better your chance. The tribunal has discretion and will weigh whether restoration is just.

05The NCLT procedure

The steps before the tribunal are:

• Petition: prepare the appeal or application with an affidavit, the strike-off order, the Gazette notice, and the documents that prove your grounds.
• Jurisdiction: file before the NCLT bench that covers the state of the company's registered office.
• Parties: make the Registrar of Companies a respondent; the tribunal usually calls for the RoC's report.
• Hearing: the tribunal hears both sides and, if satisfied, passes a restoration order on terms, often including filing all pending documents and paying costs.

To find and follow NCLT matters, see how to search NCLT cases online and how to check NCLT case status. If the tribunal rejects your petition, see how to appeal against an NCLT order before the NCLAT.

06After the restoration order

A restoration order is only the beginning of the cleanup. Once the NCLT restores the company, you usually have to:

• file the restoration order with the Registrar within the time the order sets;
• file all the pending annual returns and financial statements, with the additional fees and any penalty;
• pay the costs the tribunal imposed; and
• get the company's status on the MCA portal changed back to active.

Only after these steps is the company fully functional again, with its bank accounts usable and its directors no longer in default on this count.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Restoration petitions are decided on how tribunals have read carrying on business, in operation, and the justice of restoring a name. Claw lets you search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to find NCLT and appellate rulings close to your facts, with results in under 5 seconds. Once your petition is filed, Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can follow the matter by company name and get the next date without scanning cause lists. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to find restoration rulings and track your NCLT petition, using case search across Indian courts. You can also follow NCLT benches through case search for the NCLT.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (Companies Act, 2013, Sections 248 and 252): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs: mca.gov.in
• NCLT: nclt.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law and the exact dates in your case, and take advice from a company law professional before you file.

09Frequently asked questions