Chapter III
COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE
9. Constitution of the Council of the Institute.
9. Constitution of the Council of the Institute.—(1) There shall be a Council of the Institute for the management of the affairs of the Institute and for discharging the functions assigned to it by or under this Act.
[i][(2) The Council shall be composed of the following persons, namely:—
(a) not more than fifteen persons elected by the members of the Institute, from amongst the fellows of the Institute chosen in such manner and from such regional constituencies as may be specified:
Provided that a fellow of the Institute, who has been found guilty of any professional or other misconduct, and whose name is removed from the Register or has been awarded penalty of fine, shall not be eligible to contest the election,—
(i) in case of misconduct falling under the First Schedule of this Act, for a period of three years;
(ii) in case of misconduct falling under the Second Schedule of this Act, for a period of six years,
from the completion of the period of removal of name from the Register or payment of fine, as the case may be;
(b) not more than five persons nominated in the specified manner, by the Central Government.]
[ii][(3) No person holding a post under the Central Government or a State Government shall be eligible for election to the Council under clause (a) of sub-section (2).
(4) No person who has been auditor of the Institute shall be eligible for election to the Council under clause (a) of sub-section (2) for a period of three years after he ceases to be an auditor.]
10. Re-election or re-nomination to Council.
[iii][10. Re-election or re-nomination to Council.—A member of the Council, elected or nominated under sub-section (2) of Section 9, shall be eligible for re-election or as the case may be, re-nomination:
Provided that no member shall hold the office for more than two consecutive terms:
Provided further that a member of the Council, who is or has been elected as President under sub-section (1) of Section 12, shall not be eligible for election or nomination as a member of the Council.]
10-A. Settlement of disputes regarding election.
[iv][10-A. Settlement of disputes regarding election.—In case of any dispute regarding any election under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of Section 9, the aggrieved person may make an application within thirty days from the date of declaration of the result of election to the Secretary of the Institute, who shall forward the same to the Central Government.]
10-B. Establishment of Tribunal.
[v][10-B. Establishment of Tribunal.—(1) On receipt of any application under Section 10-A, the Central Government shall, by notification, establish a Tribunal consisting of a Presiding Officer and two other Members to decide such dispute and the decision of such Tribunal shall be final.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment,—
(a) as a Presiding Officer of the Tribunal unless he has been a member of the Indian Legal Service and has held a post in Grade I of the service for at least three years;
(b) as a Member unless he has been a member of the Council for at least one full term, and who is not a sitting member of the Council or who has not been a candidate in the election under dispute; or
(c) as a Member unless he holds the post of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India or any other post under the Central Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India.
(3) The terms and conditions of service of the Presiding Officer and Members of the Tribunal, their place of meetings and allowances shall be such as may be specified.
(4) The expenses of the Tribunal shall be borne by the Council.]
11. Nomination in default of election.
11. Nomination in default of election.—If the members of the Institute fail to elect any member under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of Section 9 from any of the regional constituencies that may be specified under that clause, the Central Government may nominate any duly qualified person from such constituency to fill the vacancy, and any person so nominated shall be deemed to be a duly elected member of the Council.
12. President and Vice-President.
12. President and Vice-President.—(1) The Council at its first meeting shall elect two of its members to be respectively the President and the Vice-President thereof, and so often as the office of the President or the Vice-President becomes vacant, the Council shall choose a person to be the President or the Vice-President, as the case may be:
Provided that on the first constitution of the Council a member of the Council nominated in this behalf by the Central Government shall discharge the functions of the President, until such time as a President is elected under the provisions of this sub-section.
(2) The President shall be the [vi][Head] of the Council.
(3) The President or the Vice-President shall hold office for a period of one year from the date on which he is chosen but so as not to extend beyond his term of office as a member of the Council, and, subject to his being a member of the Council at the relevant time, he shall be eligible for re-election [vii][under sub-section (1)]:
Provided that [viii][the President and the Vice-President] of the Council at the time of the expiration of its duration shall continue to hold office until a new Council is constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
13. Resignation of membership and casual vacancies.
13. Resignation of membership and casual vacancies.—(1) Any member of the Council may at any time resign his membership by writing under his hand addressed to the President, and the seat of such member shall become vacant when such resignation is notified in the Official Gazette.
(2) A member of the Council shall be deemed to have vacated his seat if he is declared by the Council to have been absent without sufficient excuse from three consecutive meetings of the Council [ix][or he has been found guilty of any professional or other misconduct and awarded penalty of fine,] or if his name is, for any cause, removed from the Register under the provisions of Section 20.
(3) A casual vacancy in the Council shall be filled by fresh election from the constituency concerned or by nomination by the Central Government, as the case may be, and the person elected or nominated to fill the vacancy shall hold office until the dissolution of the Council:
Provided that no election shall be held to fill a casual vacancy occurring within [x][one year] prior to the date of the expiration of the duration of the Council, but such a vacancy may be filled by nomination by the Central Government after consultation with the President of the Council.
(4) No act done by the Council shall be called in question on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Council.
14. Duration and dissolution of Council.
14. Duration and dissolution of Council.—(1) The duration of any Council constituted under this Act shall be [xi][four years] from the date of its first meeting.
(2) Notwithstanding the expiration of the duration of a Council (hereinafter referred to as the former Council), the former Council shall continue to exercise its functions under this Act until a new Council is constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and on such constitution, the former Council shall stand dissolved.
15. Functions of Council.
[xii][15. Functions of Council.—(1) The Institute shall function under the overall control, guidance and supervision of the Council and the duty of carrying out the provisions of this Act shall be vested in the Council.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, the duties of the Council shall include—
(a) to approve academic courses and their contents;
(b) the prescribing of fees for the examination of candidates for enrolment;
(c) the prescribing of qualifications for entry in the Register;
(d) the recognition of foreign qualifications and training for the purposes of enrolment;
(e) the prescribing of guidelines for granting or refusal of certificates of practice under this Act;
(f) the levy of fees from members, examinees and other persons;
(g) the regulation and maintenance of the status and standard of professional qualifications of members of the Institute;
(h) the carrying out, by granting financial assistance to persons other than members of the Council or in any other manner, of research in accountancy;
(i) to enable functioning of the Director (Discipline), the Board of Discipline, the Disciplinary Committee and the Appellate Authority constituted under the provisions of this Act;
(j) to enable functioning of the Quality Review Board;
(k) consideration of the recommendations of the Quality Review Board made under clause (a) of Section 29-B, action taken thereon with a report to the Central Government within a period of three months, and their inclusion in the annual report; and
(l) to ensure the functioning of the Institute in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in performance of other statutory duties as may be entrusted to the Institute from time to time.]
15-A. Functions of Institute.
[xiii][15-A. Functions of Institute.—The functions of the Institute shall include—
(a) the examination of candidates for enrolment;
(b) the regulation of training of students;
(c) the maintenance and publication of a Register of persons qualified to practice as cost accountants;
(d) collection of fees from members, examinees and other persons;
(e) subject to the orders of the appropriate authorities under this Act, the removal of names from the Register and the restoration to the Register of names which have been removed;
(f) the maintenance of a library and publication of books and periodicals relating to accountancy and allied subjects;
(g) the conduct of elections to the Council of the Institute; and
(h) the granting or refusal of certificates of practice as per guidelines issued by the Council.]
15-B. Imparting education by Universities and other bodies.
[xiv][15-B. Imparting education by Universities and other bodies.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any University established by law or any body affiliated to the Institute, may impart education on the subjects covered by the academic courses of the Institute.
(2) The Universities or bodies referred to in sub-section (1) shall, while awarding degree, diploma or certificate or bestowing any designation, ensure that the award or designation does not resemble or is not identical to the one awarded by the Institute.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall enable a University or a body to adopt a name or nomenclature which is in any way similar to that of the Institute.]
16. Officers and employees, salary, allowances, etc.
[xv][16. Officers and employees, salary, allowances, etc.—(1) For the efficient performance of its duties, the Council shall—
(a) appoint a Secretary of the Council to perform such duties as may be prescribed;
(b) appoint a Director (Discipline) to perform such functions as assigned to him under this Act and the rules and regulations framed thereunder;
(c) designate an officer of the Council or the Institute to carry out the administrative functions of the Institute as its chief executive.
(2) The Council may also—
(a) appoint such other officers and employees to the Council and the Institute as it considers necessary;
(b) require and take from the Secretary or from any other officer or employee of the Council and the Institute such security for the due performance of his duties, as the Council considers necessary;
(c) prescribe the salaries, fees, allowances of the officers and employees of the Council and the Institute and their terms and conditions of service;
(d) with the previous sanction of the Central Government, fix the allowances of the President, Vice-President and other members of the Council and members of its Committees.
(3) The Secretary of the Council shall be entitled to participate in the meetings of the Council but shall not be entitled to vote thereat.]
17. Committees of the Council.
17. Committees of the Council.—(1) The Council shall constitute from amongst its members the following Standing Committees, namely:—
(i) an Executive Committee;
[xvi][(ii) a Finance Committee; and]
(iii) an Examination Committee.
(2) The Council may also form a Training and Educational Facilities Committee and such other Committees from amongst its members as it deems necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act.
[xvii][(3) Each of the Standing Committees shall consist of the President and the Vice-President ex-officio, and minimum of three and maximum of five members to be elected by the Council from amongst its members.]
(4) [xviii][* * *]
(5) [xix][* * *]
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, any Committee formed under sub-section (2), may, with the sanction of the Council, co-opt such other members of the Institute not exceeding [xx][one-third of total membership of the Committee] as the Committee thinks fit, and any member so co-opted shall be entitled to exercise all the rights of a member of the Committee.
(7) The President shall be the Chairman of every Committee of which he is a member, and in his absence, the Vice-President, if he is a member of the Committee, shall be the Chairman.
(8) The Standing Committees and other Committees formed under this section shall exercise such functions and be subject to such conditions in the exercise thereof as may be prescribed.
18. Finances of the Council.
18. Finances of the Council.—(1) There shall be established a fund under the management and control of the Council into which shall be paid all moneys received by the Council and out of which shall be met all expenses and liabilities properly incurred by the Council.
(2) The Council may invest any money for the time being standing to the credit of the fund in any Government security or in any other security approved by the Central Government.
[xxi][(3) The Council shall keep proper accounts of the fund distinguishing capital from revenue in the manner prescribed.
(4) The Council shall prepare in the manner prescribed and approve, prior to the start of the financial year, an annual financial statement (the budget) indicating all its anticipated revenues as well as all proposed expenditures for the forthcoming year.
(5) The annual accounts of the Council shall be prepared in such manner as may be prescribed and be subject to audit by a chartered accountant in practice to be appointed annually by the Council:
Provided that no member of the Council or a person who has been a member of the Council during the last four years or a person who is in partnership with such member shall be eligible for appointment as an auditor under this sub-section:
Provided further that, in the event it is brought to the notice of the Council that the accounts of the Council do not represent a true and fair view of its finances, then, the Council may itself cause a special audit to be conducted:
Provided also that if such information, that the accounts of the Council do not represent a true and fair view of its finances, is sent to the Council by the Central Government, then, the Council may, wherever appropriate cause a special audit or take such other action as it considers necessary and shall furnish an action taken report on it to the Central Government.]
[xxii][(5-A) As soon as may be practicable at the end of each year, the Council shall circulate the audited accounts to its members at least fifteen days in advance and consider and approve these accounts in a special meeting convened for the purpose.
(5-B) The Council shall cause to be published in the Gazette of India not later than the 30th day of September of the year next following, a copy of the audited accounts and the Report of the Council for that year duly approved by the Council and copies of the said accounts and Report shall be forwarded to the Central Government and to all the members of the Institute.]
(6) The Council may borrow from a scheduled bank as defined in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934), or from the Central Government—
(a) any money required for meeting its liabilities on capital account on the security of the fund or on the security of any other assets for the time being belonging to it; or
(b) for the purpose of meeting current liabilities pending the receipt of income by way of temporary loan or over-draft.
References
[i] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 6 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[ii] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 6 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[iii] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 7 (w.e.f. 8-8-2006).
[iv] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 8 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[v] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 8 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[vi] Substituted for “Chief Executive Authority” by Act 7 of 2006, Section 9 (w.e.f. 8-8-2006).
[vii] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 9 (w.e.f. 8-8-2006).
[viii] Substituted for “the President” by Act 7 of 2006, Section 9 (w.e.f. 8-8-2006).
[ix] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 10 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[x] Substituted for “six months” by Act 7 of 2006, Section 10 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xi] Substituted for “three years” by Act 7 of 2006, Section 11 (w.e.f. 22-7-2007).
[xii] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 13 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xiii] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 13 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xiv] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 13 (w.e.f. 8-8-2006).
[xv] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 14 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xvi] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 15 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xvii] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 15 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xviii] Sub-section (4) and (5) omitted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 15 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xix] Sub-section (4) and (5) omitted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 15 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xx] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 15 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xxi] Substituted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 16 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
[xxii] Inserted by Act 7 of 2006, Section 16 (w.e.f. 17-11-2006).
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