Chartered Accountants Act, 1949- Chapter II- The Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of India

Chapter II

THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA

3. Incorporation of the Institute.

3. Incorporation of the Institute.—(1) All persons whose names are entered in the Register at the commencement of this Act and all persons who may hereafter have their names entered in the Register under the provisions of this Act, so long as they continue to have their names borne on the said Register, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and all such persons shall be known as members of the Institute.

(2) The Institute shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall have power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and shall by its name sue or be sued.

4. Entry of names in the Register.

4. Entry of names in the Register.—(1) Any of the following persons shall be entitled to have his name entered in the Register, namely,—

(i) any person who is a registered accountant or a holder of a restricted certificate at the commencement of this Act;

(ii) any person who has passed such examination and completed such training as may be prescribed for members of the Institute;

(iii) any person who has passed the examination for the Government Diploma in Accountancy or an examination recognised as equivalent thereto by the rules for the award of the Government Diploma in Accountancy before the commencement of this Act, and who, although not duly qualified to be registered as an accountant under the Auditors' Certificates Rules, 1932, fulfils such conditions as the Central Government may specify in this behalf;

(iv) any person who, at the commencement of this Act, is engaged in the practice of accountancy in any Part B State and who, although not possessing the requisite qualifications to be registered as an accountant under the Auditors' Certificates Rules, 1932, fulfils such conditions as the Central Government may specify in this behalf;

[i](v) any person who has passed such other examination and completed such other training without India as is recognised by the Central Government or the Council as being equivalent to the examination and training prescribed for members of the Institute:

Provided that in the case of any person who is not permanently residing in India, the Central Government or the Council, as the case may be, may impose such further conditions as it may deem fit;]

(vi) any person domiciled in India, who at the commencement of this Act studying for any foreign examination and is at the same time undergoing training, whether within or without India, or, who, having passed such foreign examination, is at the commencement of this Act undergoing training, whether within or without India :

Provided that any such examination or training was recognised before the commencement of this Act for the purpose of conferring the right to be registered as an accountant under the Auditors' Certificates Rules, 1932, and provided further that such person passes the examination or completes the training within five years after the commencement of this Act.

(2) Every person belonging to the class mentioned in clause (i) of sub-section (1) shall have his name entered in the Register without the payment of any entrance fee.

[ii][(3) Every person belonging to any of the classes mentioned in clauses (ii). (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) of sub-section (1) shall have his name entered in the Register on application being made and granted in the prescribed manner and on payment of such fees, as may be determined, by notification, by the Council, which shall not exceed Rupees Three thousand:

Provided that the Council may, with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the fee exceeding Rupees Three thousand, which shall not in any case exceed Rupees Six thousand.]

(4) The Central Government shall take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of having the names of all persons belonging to the class mentioned in clause (i) of sub-section (1) entered in the Register.

5. Fellows and Associates.

5. Fellows and Associates.—(1) The members of the Institute shall be divided into two classes designated respectively as associates and fellows.

(2) Any person shall, on his name being entered in the Register, be deemed to have become an associate member of the Institute and be entitled to use the letters A.C.A. after his name to indicate that he is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

[iii][(3) A member, being an associate who has been in continuous practice in India for at least five years, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, or whether partly before and partly after the commencement of this Act, and a member who has been an associate for a continuous period of not less than five years and who possesses such qualifications as the Council may prescribe with a view to ensuring that he has experience equivalent to the experience normally acquired as a result of continuous practice for a period of five years as a chartered accountant shall, on payment of such fees, as may be determined, by notification, by the Council, which shall not exceed Rupees Five thousand and on application made and granted in the prescribed manner, be entered in the Register as a fellow of the Institute and shall be entitled to use the letters F.C.A. after his name and to indicate that he is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants:

Provided that the Council may with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the fee exceeding Rupees Five thousand, which shall not in any case exceed Rupees Ten thousand.]

6. Certificate of practice.

6. Certificate of practice.—(1) No member of the Institute shall be entitled to practise[iv][whether in India or elsewhere] unless he has obtained from the Council a certificate of practice.

[v][(2) Every such member shall pay such annual fee for his certificate as may be determined, by notification, by the Council, which shall not exceed Rupees Three thousand, and such fee shall be payable on or before the 1st day of April in each year:

Provided that the Council may with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the fee exceeding Rupees Three thousand, which shall not in any case exceed Rupees Six thousand.]

[vi][(3) The certificate of practice obtained under sub-section (1) may be cancelled by the Council under such circumstances as may be prescribed.]

7. Members to be known as Chartered Accountants.

7. Members to be known as Chartered Accountants.—[vii][Every member of the Institute in practice shall, and any other member may, use the designation of a chartered accountant and no member using such designation shall use any other description, whether in addition thereto or in substitution therefor]:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any such person from adding any other description or letters to his name, if entitled thereto, to indicate membership of such other Institute of accountancy, whether in India or elsewhere, as may be recognised in this behalf by the Council, or any other qualification that he may possess, or to prohibit a firm, all the partners of which are members of the Institute and in practice, from being known by its firm name as Chartered Accountants.

8. Disabilities.

8. Disabilities.—Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 4, a person shall not be entitled to have his name entered in or borne on the Register if he—

(i) has not attained the age of twenty-one years at the time of his application for the entry of his name in the Register; or

[viii][(ii) is of unsound mind and stands so adjudged by a competent court; or]

(iii) is an undischarged insolvent; or

(iv) being a discharged insolvent, has not obtained from the Court a certificate stating that his insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part; or

(v) has been convicted by a competent Court whether within or without India, of an offence involving moral turpitude and punishable with transportation or imprisonment or of an offence, not of a technical nature, committed by him in his professional capacity unless in respect of the offence committed he has either been granted a pardon or, on an application made by him in this behalf, the Central Government has, by an order in writing, removed the disability; or

[ix][(vi) has been removed from membership of the institute on being found on inquiry to have been guilty of professional or other misconduct:

Provided that a person who has been removed from membership for a specified period, shall not be entitled to have his name entered in the Register until the expiry of such period.]

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