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Statutory compliance calendar
Every recurring GST, income tax, labour and ROC due date for a business in Tamil Nadu, sorted by what falls next from today's date. Filter by category and see how many days are left.
Sowcarpet, Chennai
Corporate counsel for businesses that have to keep running.
DIA Law Associates advises companies, promoters and family-run businesses on the agreements, approvals, filings and disputes that decide how a business actually operates day to day.
On the desk this week Company incorporation
Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00
Practising at Chennai
Advocates & Legal Consultants
DIA LAW ASSOCIATES
- Chamber
- No. 6/8, Bommulier Street,
Sowcarpet, Chennai 600 001 - Telephone
- +91 82481 88150
- Hours
- Monday to Friday
09:00 – 17:00
Practice areas
Six areas of work, one point of contact
Pick an area to see what it covers and when it is worth coming in. Where a matter needs senior counsel or a chartered accountant, the firm briefs and coordinates them rather than handing you over.
Corporate
Company & corporate advisory
The recurring legal housekeeping of a company, and the decisions that change its shape. Most of this work is routine until it is missed — a lapsed filing surfaces years later during a due diligence or a bank sanction.
- Incorporation of private limited companies, LLPs and partnerships
- Board and shareholder meetings, notices, minutes and resolutions
- Statutory registers and annual and event-based ROC filings
- Share transfers, allotments and changes in capital structure
- Director appointments, resignations and DIN formalities
- Registered office change, object clause and name change
- Voluntary strike-off, dormant status and winding up
- Secretarial clean-up before a transaction or bank facility
When to come in: A company is being formed, a filing has been missed, ownership is changing, or a bank or investor has asked for the corporate records.
Commercial
Contracts & documentation
Agreements a business can actually rely on, written so the people signing them understand what they have agreed. Most commercial disputes trace back to two or three clauses that nobody read closely.
- Supply, distribution, dealership and franchise agreements
- Services, consultancy, job-work and outsourcing agreements
- Employment contracts, appointment letters and HR policies
- Non-disclosure, non-compete and settlement agreements
- Powers of attorney, indemnities, undertakings and affidavits
- Review of a counterparty's draft with a marked-up risk note
- Standard-form templates a business can reuse in-house
- Renewal, variation and termination correspondence
When to come in: Before signing anything a counterparty has drafted, before a new line of business starts, and whenever the same agreement is being signed repeatedly.
Transactions
Mergers, acquisitions & investment
Buying, selling or taking investment into a business, from the first term sheet to closing and the filings that follow it. The work is mostly diligence and drafting; the value is in what gets found early.
- Legal due diligence and written diligence reports
- Term sheets, letters of intent and exclusivity arrangements
- Share purchase, subscription and shareholders' agreements
- Business transfer agreements and slump sale documentation
- Family business separation and partner exit arrangements
- Valuation, escrow and deferred consideration mechanics
- Conditions precedent, closing checklists and completion
- Post-closing filings, stamping and record updates
When to come in: As soon as a price has been discussed — not after a term sheet has already been signed.
Regulatory
Licensing & compliance
Getting registered, staying registered, and answering the department when it writes. A compliance calendar costs very little and prevents most penalty exposure.
- Trade licences, shops and establishment registration, renewals
- GST, professional tax and other statutory registrations
- Labour law compliance for shops, offices and establishments
- FSSAI, weights and measures and sector-specific licensing
- Replies to show-cause notices and departmental correspondence
- Compliance calendars and periodic compliance review
- Import, export and trade documentation support
- Representation before authorities and appellate forums
When to come in: Before a notice becomes an order. Departmental correspondence has short reply windows and they are rarely extended.
Property
Property & conveyancing
Title, documentation and registration for commercial and residential property. In older parts of Chennai the title history matters more than the building, and a search is cheaper than a suit.
- Title scrutiny, encumbrance search and written title opinions
- Sale deeds, agreements to sell and settlement deeds
- Lease, rental and leave-and-licence agreements
- Joint development and construction agreements
- Registration, stamp duty assessment and mutation formalities
- Partition, gift, release and family arrangement deeds
- Patta, chitta and revenue record corrections
- Tenancy, eviction and rent control matters
When to come in: Before any advance is paid. A title defect found after part-payment is a negotiation; found before, it is a decision.
Disputes
Commercial disputes & recovery
Getting paid, defending a claim, and knowing the likely cost and timeline before anything is filed. A candid view of whether a case is worth running is part of the advice, not an add-on.
- Legal notices, demand notices and replies
- Cheque dishonour proceedings under Section 138
- Recovery suits, summary suits under Order XXXVII and execution
- Arbitration, conciliation and mediated settlement
- Civil, commercial and consumer court matters
- Contract, partnership and shareholder disputes
- Injunctions, attachment and interim relief
- Enforcement of awards, decrees and settlement terms
When to come in: The day a payment goes seriously overdue or a notice arrives. Limitation periods run whether or not anyone is watching them.
Where does my matter fit?
Three questions, then a straight answer
Most people arrive knowing the problem but not the label. Answer three questions and you will get the practice area it falls under and the papers worth bringing to the first meeting.
This is a signposting tool only. It is not legal advice and it does not create an advocate–client relationship.
What is the matter about?
Which is closest?
Which is closest?
How an engagement runs
You will know the scope, the cost and the next date
Four steps, in this order, for every matter — a routine agreement or a contested recovery.
Step 01
First meeting
You explain the matter and hand over the papers you have. You leave with a plain reading of where you stand and what the options are.
Step 02
Scope and fee, in writing
A short note setting out what will be done, what it costs, what is excluded and who is doing it. Nothing starts before you have it.
Step 03
The work
Drafting, filing or appearance. Every draft is explained before signature and every date is confirmed to you, not assumed.
Step 04
Closure
Executed documents, filings and receipts handed over as one indexed set, so the next advisor never starts from zero.
Resources
Two things worth using before you need an advocate
Interactive
Document checklists
Four tick-off lists — incorporating a company, sending a cheque dishonour notice, signing a commercial lease, buying property. Your progress is saved on your own device and can be copied out.
Notes
Written for people running a business, not for lawyers
Disputes
Three clocks start when a cheque bounces
Section 138 is unforgiving about timing. Miss any one of the three periods and a good claim becomes an ordinary civil recovery.
Read the note →Corporate
Six clauses that decide who really controls a company
Shareholding percentages are the headline. Control usually lives in clauses most founders skim on the first read.
Read the note →Property
What a title search actually covers before you buy
An encumbrance certificate is not a title report. Here is the difference, and why it matters most in the older parts of Chennai.
Read the note →Contact
Come to the office, or write first
No. 6/8, Bommulier Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai 600 001. Walk in during working hours, or send a short note describing the matter.