Project report and CMA

CMA Report and Project Report Documents: What to Keep Ready

CA DaxitPublished 02 Mar 2026 · Updated 12 Nov 2026 · 6 min read

✓ 6 official and published sources✓ Written for Indian sellers and small businesses

For a CMA report or a project report, keep six things ready: PAN card, Aadhaar card, bank statements, financial statements, GST returns and the quotation for the machine or project. A new business will not have the last three in full. That is fine. The report is then built on your plan and your quotations.

Key points

The preparer needs your papers to build the numbers. The bank needs a longer list to sanction the loan.
Past figures in the report must match your filed accounts, income tax returns and GST returns.
Banks differ on years: SBI asks for the last three years' balance sheets, Bank of Maharashtra for audited financials of the last two years.
A term loan needs supplier quotations or proforma invoices for what you are buying.
A new business replaces past accounts with a plan, quotations and the promoter's own papers.

In this guide

Why does the preparer need documents at all?
The checklist
What else helps the report
Existing business vs new business
What the bank will ask for on top
A worked example
The mistake people usually make
What to do next

Why does the preparer need documents at all?

Could the report not be made from the figures you tell over the phone? It could, but the bank will test every figure against paper. Sales are checked with GST returns and bank credits. Profit is checked with the income tax return. Machine cost is checked with the quotation. If the report is built from the same papers the banker will see, there is nothing to explain later.

The checklist

Document	Why it is needed	If you do not have it
PAN card (of the business or the proprietor)	Identifies the borrower. All tax and loan records are tied to it	Needed in every case. Apply for a PAN first
Aadhaar card	Identity and address of the proprietor, partner or director	Banks also accept voter ID, passport or driving licence as identity proof. Ask your branch
Bank statements	Show actual sales receipts, payments, existing EMIs and your own contribution	A new business gives the promoter's savings account statement
Financial statements (balance sheet and profit and loss account)	Fill the past-year columns of the CMA and set the base for projections	Give income tax returns with the computation, or a provisional statement. A new business has none
GST returns	Prove the sales for past years and for the months of the current year	If you are not registered, give sales bills and bank credits
Project or machinery quotation	Backs each line of the cost of project for a term loan	Not needed for a pure working capital limit. For a term loan, get quotations before the report is made

These six are what the AprilTax form asks for. Along with them you fill in the business name, PAN, the loan amount, the purpose of the loan and what the business makes or sells.

Get your project report or CMA dataCMA data at Rs 1,999. Detailed project report at Rs 4,999.

Request a report

What else helps the report

Sanction letters and statements of existing loans. Every EMI you already pay goes into the repayment test.
Stock, debtors and creditors on a recent date. These decide the working capital need.
Orders in hand or agreements with buyers. They support the projected sales.
Rent agreement and licences. They support the cost figures and show the unit can run.
Udyam registration certificate. Bank of Maharashtra's list marks it as mandatory for MSME loans. See documents for Udyam registration if you do not have one.

Existing business vs new business

Item	Existing business	New business
Past accounts	Last two or three years' balance sheets and profit and loss accounts	None. The promoter's income tax returns, if any
Sales proof	GST returns and bank statements	Market study, enquiries, letters of intent, orders in hand
Current year	Provisional figures up to the latest month	Not applicable
Cost figures	From actual expenses	From quotations, the rent agreement and local salary rates
Promoter's share	Capital already in the business	Savings shown in the promoter's bank statement
Usual document	CMA data, plus a project report for an expansion	Project report

Not sure which document your bank wants? Read CMA data vs project report.

What the bank will ask for on top

The report is one item in the loan file. Published bank checklists also ask for:

Proof of residence and of the business address.
The partnership deed, or the memorandum and articles of association for a company.
A statement of assets and liabilities of the promoters and guarantors, with their latest income tax returns.
Lease or title deeds of any property offered as security.
Licences and approvals for your activity.

An Indian Bank checklist says unaudited balance sheets are acceptable for fund-based limits below Rs 25 lakh, and audited ones are necessary at Rs 25 lakh and above. Checklists are indicative and each bank's rule can differ, so collect your branch's own list.

A worked example

You want a loan of Rs 12,00,000 for a printing unit and write that figure in the form. Your papers show this:

Quotation for the printing machine: Rs 7,80,000
Quotation for a cutting machine: Rs 1,40,000
Total of quotations: Rs 9,20,000

The loan you asked for is Rs 2,80,000 more than the quotations. A banker will ask what that money is for. If it is for electrical work, get an estimate. If it is for stock, it belongs under working capital, not under the machinery loan. And you will have to bring your own margin on the machines as well. Sorting this out before the report is made saves a rewrite.

Now check sales. Your GST returns show sales of Rs 38,00,000 last year, and your bank statement shows credits of Rs 41,00,000. The Rs 3,00,000 gap may be a family transfer or an old loan returned. Mark such entries and tell the preparer. Unexplained credits make the banker doubt the sales figure.

The mistake people usually make

The usual mistake is to send papers that do not agree with each other and hope nobody compares them. The balance sheet shows one sales figure, the GST returns another, and the bank statement a third. Banks do compare. Bank of Maharashtra's list says GST returns are verified from the GST portal.

Other common slips:

Bank statements of only one account, when the business uses two or three.
A quotation in a friend's name or an old one with outdated prices.
Existing loans not disclosed. They show up in the credit report anyway.
Scans with pages missing or cut off.

What does it cost? Each query adds days. RBI's FAQ says credit decisions on loans up to Rs 25 lakh to micro and small enterprises should not take more than 14 working days. An incomplete file is the usual reason a decision drags.

What to do next

Ask the branch for its checklist and its format.
Download statements of all business accounts.
Pull your filed GST returns and the last income tax returns.
Get fresh quotations in the name of the business.
List every existing loan with its EMI.

Sources

State Bank of India: FAQs on commercial loans (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Bank of Maharashtra: documents for an MSME loan (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Union Bank of India: checklist for credit proposals above Rs 2 crore (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Indian Bank: MSME checklist of data to be kept ready by the customer (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Dhanlaxmi Bank: MSME loan indicative checklist of documents (checked 12 Nov 2026)
RBI: frequently asked questions on lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (checked 12 Nov 2026)

How AprilTax can help

AprilTax has one online form for both reports. You fill in the business and loan details and add the documents you have. A Tax Expert then prepares the CMA data (Rs 1,999) or the detailed project report (Rs 4,999) for your bank. Start at Project report and CMA with AprilTax.

Frequently asked questions

What documents are required for a CMA report?

Keep ready the PAN card, Aadhaar card, bank statements, financial statements (balance sheet and profit and loss account), GST returns and, for a term loan, the project or machinery quotation. Details of existing loans, stock, debtors and creditors also help.

How many years of financial statements are needed?

It depends on the bank. SBI asks for the last three years' balance sheets. Bank of Maharashtra asks for audited financials of the last two years. Check your own branch's checklist.

Can a CMA or project report be made without audited accounts?

Often yes, for smaller loans. An Indian Bank checklist says unaudited balance sheets are acceptable for fund-based limits below Rs 25 lakh and audited ones are necessary at Rs 25 lakh and above. Each bank has its own rule, so confirm with the branch.

What does a new business give in place of past accounts?

A new business gives the promoter's PAN, Aadhaar, bank statements and income tax returns if any, along with quotations, the rent agreement and whatever supports the sales plan, such as enquiries or orders in hand. The report is built on the plan.

Are GST returns compulsory for a project report?

If the business is registered under GST, the bank will expect them, and Bank of Maharashtra's list says they are verified from the GST portal. If you are not registered, sales bills and bank credits are used to support the sales figure.

Why is a quotation needed?

For a term loan, each item in the cost of project must be backed by a supplier quotation or proforma invoice. The bank lends a part of that cost, and you bring the rest. A quotation is not needed for a pure working capital limit.

How many months of bank statements are needed?

Banks differ and many checklists do not state a fixed number of months. A full year of statements for every business account is a safe starting point, so that sales can be matched with the books. Ask your branch what it wants.

What other documents will the bank ask for with the report?

Bank checklists usually also ask for proof of residence and business address, the partnership deed or company documents, a statement of assets and liabilities of promoters and guarantors, property papers for any security, licences and the Udyam registration certificate.

Get your project report or CMA data

CMA data at Rs 1,999. Detailed project report at Rs 4,999.

Request a report

CA Daxit

A Chartered Accountant on the AprilTax team who works with online sellers and small businesses every filing season.

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