Infighting, a way of life at ICAI
Feb 5, 2010 ICAI
Country’s regulator for chartered accountants (CAs), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or ICAI, which witnessed enormous mudslinging in the year 2009 has started 2010 also with infighting. The centre of the controversy again is Uttam Prakash Agarwal, the outgoing president.
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Tags: Accounting, Audit, ICAI, institute of chartered accountants of india, Satyam Fraud, Uttam Prakash Agarwal
Auditor ask extension to complete Special Audit of Reliance Communication
Jul 25, 2009 Audit
A special audit of Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications will be delayed, as the auditor Parakh & Co has sought an extension for three months from mid-July. Read the rest of this entry »
The government has, however, asked the auditor for progress report before deciding on giving the extension and in case more time was given, the auditors would have to furnish a weekly report, sources said.
Tags: Audit, dot, Parakh & Co, reliance commnication, Special Audit, telecom
The Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2009 passed in 2009 Mahrashtra Government Budget
Jun 20, 2009 MVAT
L.A.BILL No.XIV of 2009
A BILL
Further to amend certain tax laws in operation in the State of Maharashtra
WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend certain tax laws in operation in the State of Maharashtra, for the purpose hereinafter appearing; it is hereby enacted in the Sixtieth year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Validation) Act, 2009.
(2)(a) Sections 1 to 4 shall come into force on such date as the state Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. (Government of Maharashtra appointed the 1st July 2009 to be the date on which sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the said Act shall come into force)
(b) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the remaining sections shall come into force with effect from the 1st July, 2009.
CHAPTER II
AMENDMENTS TO THE BOMBAY STAMP ACT, 1958.
2. In SCHEDULE 1 appended to the Bombay Stamp Act, 1958,-
(c) in article 5, in clause (h), for sub-clause (A), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
Amendment of SCHEDULE I of Bom.LX of 1958.
| “(A) If relating to,- | |
| (i) any advertisement on mass media, made for promotion of any product; or programme or event with an intention to make profits or business out it,- | |
| (a) If the amount agreed does not exceed rupees ten lakhs; | Two rupees and fifty paise for every rupees 1,000 or part thereof on the amount agreed in the contract subject to minimum of rupees 100. |
| (b) in any other case | Five rupees for every rupees 1,000 or part thereof on the amount agreed in the contract.
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Tags: accountancy, advertisement, advertisements, APPEAL, Audit, maharashtra, mat, notifications, official gazette, stamp act, state government, state of maharashtra
Deloitte may be the new statutory auditor of Satyam
Jun 20, 2009 Satyam
The Satyam scam had its auditors PWC red in the face. Raju had cooked the books for many years and did the auditors fail or were partners in the crime, is for the investigative agencies to find out.
But life must go on for Satyam and that’s why the new management is making important changes on the audit front to win back the confidence of market regulators and investigators.
Exit PricewaterhouseCoop ers, enter Deloitte—could be the new auditing formula at Satyam.
NDTV has learnt that KPMG and Deloitte, who were appointed after the Satyam scam broke to restate its accounts, will now see a rejig in their roles.
KPMG will handle Satyam’s investigative audit, which means restatement of accounts for almost 7 years will now be its responsibility and it will get time till December to complete the task.
Deloitte, on the other hand, may be Satyam’s new statutory auditor. Incidentally Deloitte is also Tech Mahindra’s auditor and in case of a merger eventually, uniform audit standards can help make integration easier.
Meanwhile, Tech Mahindra and Satyam top brass will meet in Hyderabad over this weekend and a decision on the auditors’ front is one of the top priorities.
Tags: Audit, DELOITTE, KPMG, mahindra, pricewaterhousecoopers, PWC, Raju, Satyam, statutory auditor
Profile/Resume format for empanelment of eligible Chartered Accountant Firms in Corporation Bank
Jun 16, 2009 Empanelment
Profile/Resume sent through E-mail will not be considered for empanelment. Only properly filled in and duly signed Hard copy of the Profile/Resume as per the Format will be considered for empanelment subject to the Firm meeting the eligibility criteria. Such applications shall be submitted to the following address:
The Deputy General Manager
Inspection and Audit Division,
Corporation Bank
Head Office,
Pandeshwar
MANGALORE-575 001
Please click below for:
Profile/Resume for Concurrent Audit format
Tags: Audit, audits, Bank, chartered accountant firms, empanel, Empanelment, mangalore
ICAI approved formation of a Directorate of Accounting Technicians
Jun 15, 2009 ICAI
The Executive Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in its meeting held on 8th June 2009 has decided to approve formation of a Directorate of Accounting Technicians (ATs) within ICAI to provide singular and unified focus on the development of Accounting Technicians as an independent certification amongst all stake holders. The Directorate would work towards bringing the eligible candidates under the Accounting Technicians Umbrella and would provide for their regulation and development for the benefit of the industry. This certification program would immensely benefit the small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and all those who are looking for the rendering of specialized accounting services other than the audit and assurance function. The certification by a premier accounting body like ICAI would give the added stamp of authority to the holder of such Accounting Technicians certificates.
Worldwide the developed as well as developing economies have this demarcation already in place and the certified ranking ATC would proof very handy for corporate and others who while do not need the services of full fledged chartered accountants for some of the areas and for such niche components of their working, ATC holders would be a boom to bolster their functional prospects.
Tags: accounting technicians, Audit, audits, chartered accountants of india, corporates, ICAI, institute of chartered accountants, institute of chartered accountants of india, medium sized enterprises
CAs may be roped to Audit the finances of sarpanches, BDO and other officials handling NREGP
Jun 11, 2009 Audit
Chartered accountants may soon see their world expanding with the government considering a proposal deploying them in the countryside to audit the finances of sarpanches, block development officers and other officials handling the United Progressive Alliance’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP).
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Tags: Audit, chartered accountants of india, Finance, financial audits, ICAI, institute of chartered accountants, institute of chartered accountants of india, rural development
Centralise the procedure for the allotment of auditors : ICAI
Jun 7, 2009 ICAI
The accounting regulator, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has urged the government on centralising the procedure for the allotment of auditors. The institute is of the view that auditors should be appointed by a regulator since the management presents the accounts and is an interested party.
ICAI president Uttam Prakash Agarwal told, “In order to maintain independence in the allotment procedure of auditors, there should be a centralised system of allotment of auditors. There is a need for the appointment process of the auditors to be handled by a regulator and the regulator should imply it for all players.”
ICAI’s statement is in the context of the private players and the public sector banks that are free to appoint their own auditors. In March, ICAI had approached the finance ministry and RBI seeking a reversal of their decision of liberalising the process of allotment of the statutory branch auditors by PSBs.
ICAI had recently opposed the Maharashtra government’s decision that allowed the certified auditors who are non-chatered accounts to conduct the audit of trusts of any size. “We have recently requested the Maharashtra government to restore the audit limit of the certified auditors back to Rs 1 lakh,” said Agarwal.
Agarwal also feels that there is a need to fix a standardised fee for the auditors with the consultation of the ICAI council representatives. Agarwal further said that ICAI wants there should be 100% reliability of the audit procedure.
Tags: allotment, appointment, appointments, Audit, audit procedure, Auditor, audits, chartered accountants of india, ICAI, institute of chartered accountants, institute of chartered accountants of india, public sector banks, RBI
Auditors cannot be forced to part with information of clients not related to search found in their laptops
Jun 7, 2009 Income Tax
Department cannot force auditors to part with information of clients not related to search, found in their laptops seized during search
While conducting an audit of EMAAR on 11.9.2007, the laptops of two employees of the Petitioner were seized by the Deputy Director, Income Tax (DDIT) in the course of conducting a Search and Seizure operation against EMAAR. Subsequently on 17.9.2007, the DDIT issued summons under Section 131 of the Income Tax Act, to Ms. Sandhya Sama and Shri Sanjay K. Jain, the employees of the Petitioner firm and their statements were recorded on 18.9.2007. On the request of the DDIT these employees provided him with the electronic data relating to three companies of the EMAAR Group together with the print copies of the data. Nevertheless, the DDIT insisted on securing total and unrestricted access to the laptops obviously in order to gain information and data of all the other clients of the Petitioner. This request was refused by the employees. The seized laptops were sent by the Respondents to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) who, however, could not ascertain the password and accordingly could not access the entire data on the laptops. The Petitioner was thereupon asked to disclose the password, which it again declined and thereafter the laptops were sealed in the presence of the said employees of the Petitioner.
Thereafter, writ petitions were filed by the Petitioner, S.R. Batliboi & Co., reputed Auditors and Accountants against the Department of Income Tax entreating the issuance of an appropriate writ to prevent the Respondents from forcibly gaining or securing access to the data contained in two laptops belonging to them.
In its Order dated 18.11.2008, the previous Division Bench passed the following orders: “The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent submits that as per his instructions he would like to argue the matter with regard to de-sealing of the laptops and having access to the data in the laptops. He submits that to ascertain as to whether the data relates to EMAAR-MGF, the entire data available on the laptops would have to be examined. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the data concerning EMAAR-MGF is available on different and distinct files and has nothing to do with its 47 other clients. We had suggested that the laptops be de-sealed and the data be examined by the Assessing Officer in the presence of representatives of the petitioner as well as of the assessee. It was also suggested that the entire inspection of the data on the laptops be done without copying the data in any form for the purposes of informing the Court as to which files were connected with EMAAR-MGF and would be required by the Assessing Officer. Unfortunately, this suggestion is not acceptable to the respondents though the petitioners had accepted the same. Consequently, this matter would have to be heard. The learned counsel for the petitioner requests for some other date for advancing arguments inasmuch as today the respondents were only to report as to whether the suggestion was to be carried out or not”.
Over two score years ago the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court had opined in N.K. Textiles Mills vs. CIT, that it was “necessary and essential for these officers to take into custody only such books as were considered relevant to or useful for the proceedings in question. It was not open to them to indiscriminately, arbitrarily and without any regard for relevancy or usefulness, seize all the books and documents which were lying in the premises, and, if they did so, the seizure would be beyond the scope of the authorization”.
The High Court held that where the laptops of employees of the Auditors had been seized during search of an assessee, the Income Tax Department cannot force auditors to part with information of other parties stored in computers.
Tags: Audit, Auditor, Computer, department, emaar, income tax act, laptops, passwords, Search, search and seizure, seizure
ICAI asked amnesty for firms formed in Maharashtra
Jun 2, 2009 partnership act
Introduction of Amnesty Scheme and on-line system for compliances/ registration of documents with the office of the Registrar of Firms, Maharashtra, Mumbai
No. 1-CA(RepCom) /2009, Dated : June 1, 2009
The Principal Secretary, Law & Judiciary Department, Government of Maharashtra, 3rd floor, Mantralaya Main Building, Mantralaya, Mumbai – 400 032.
Dear Sir
Sub.:Introduction of Amnesty Scheme and on-line system for compliances/ registration of documents with the office of the Registrar of Firms, Maharashtra, Mumbai
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established by the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) for regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. During its six decades of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for its contribution in the fields of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing, ethical standards. ICAI now is the second largest accounting body in the world.
We are given to understand by our members from Mumbai that they are facing a lot of hardship with the functioning of the office of Registrar of Firms. A large number of our members practice as partnership firms and they also serve their clients, who are partnership firms.
As you are aware, the partnership firms are governed by the Law of Partnership enacted in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. In accordance with the said Act, registration of partnership firm, though not compulsory, non-registration suffers from the impediments of Section 69 of the said Act. It is, therefore, desired that to circumvent the ‘ill effects’ of Section 69, every partnership firm should be registered, to enjoy commercial and business advantage.
Though the procedures, forms and formalities including deeds and documents are very simple with reference to various compliances procedures and formalities, yet, we are given to understand that the functioning and practices at the office of ROF are complex and complicated resulting in many partnership firms continuing to be “un-registered” or the changes in constitution, in address and other matters remain un-updated.
We are told that the officials at ROF function in a bureaucratic style, and are perceived to be not-so-customer friendly. Though a regulatory body requires to be formality-oriented, but it seems the officials at ROF discourage compliances by raising queries on documents time and again, and do not settle all their queries in one go. The payment of fees at every stage and for every default is another reason why the firms do not come forward for registration of documents/changes. The net result is the firm remains unregistered or the documents remain un-updated. This not only results in avoidable hardship to the firms concerned, but also results in loss of revenue to the Government.
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Tags: Accounting, amnesty scheme, Audit, business advantage, chartered accountants act 1949, compliance, constitution, DEEDS, ICAI, institute of chartered accountants, institute of chartered accountants of india, law of partnership, LLP, maharashtra, mumbai, Online, partnership act, profession, registration of partnership, updation