Most rejected loan files are not rejected on merit. They are rejected because something was missing, the file sat, the sanction window closed, and everyone started again.
Here is what a lender actually asks for, and why.
Identity and constitution
The lender must establish who is borrowing before assessing whether they should.
- PAN of the business and of each promoter or director
- Aadhaar of each promoter, for KYC
- Certificate of Incorporation with the CIN, for a company; the partnership deed for a firm; the registration certificate for an LLP
- Memorandum and Articles of Association, for a company
- GST registration certificate
- Udyam registration, if you have it — it can qualify you for priority sector treatment and a better rate
A note that costs people weeks: the lender reads your objects clause. If your memorandum does not permit the activity you are borrowing to fund, the file stalls at legal review. Worth checking before you apply, not after.
Financials
- Income tax returns for the last two to three years, with computation of income
- Audited financial statements for the same years — balance sheet, profit and loss, schedules
- GST returns for the last 12 months, usually GSTR-3B
- Bank statements for the last 6 to 12 months, for every operating account
The bank statement is the document they read most carefully. They are looking at average balance, the pattern of credits, whether cheques have bounced, and whether existing EMIs are paid on time. A clean twelve months of statements does more for your file than a good year of profit.
Security, when the facility is secured
- Title deeds of the property being offered
- Latest tax receipt and approved building plan
- Encumbrance certificate
- Valuation report from a panel valuer, arranged by the lender
The four things that send files back
1. Mismatched figures. Turnover in the ITR that does not agree with GST returns. This is the most common single reason a file is questioned. Reconcile before you apply, and be ready to explain any legitimate difference.
2. An unexplained credit. A large deposit in the bank statement with no invoice behind it reads as a problem. It usually is not, but you must be able to show what it was.
3. Existing obligations not disclosed. The credit bureau report shows every facility you hold. Not listing one does not hide it; it costs you credibility on everything else you declared.
4. Signature and stamp mismatches. A director's signature that does not match the one on the board resolution. Trivial, and it still loses a week.
Before you apply, not after
Two things are worth doing a month ahead.
Pull your own credit report. Errors are common — a closed loan still showing open, a settlement recorded against the wrong person. Getting an error corrected takes about 30 days, which you do not have once a file is live. Our loan desk handles this as a matter of course.
Get the paperwork into one folder. Not a drawer — a scanned, named, complete set. The difference between a file that disburses in 25 days and one that takes 90 is almost never the borrower's strength. It is whether the papers were ready.
What we do here
We prepare the file, present it to lenders whose criteria actually fit your profile, and stay on it until the money moves — typically 25 to 45 days for a complete file.
We are not a lender. Sanction, rate and terms are the bank's or NBFC's decision entirely. What we control is that your file arrives complete, consistent and answerable — which is the part that most often decides the outcome.
Talk to us about a loan file →
General information, not financial advice. Lender criteria vary and change.