On Wednesday, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has published a notification in The Gazette of India which notified the draft of certain regulations that will amend the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.
The newly amended regulations are to be called as the Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Regulations, 2020. According to ICAI’s notification the regulation 51 of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 will be substituted with the following regulations which are-
- “51. (1) An articled assistant who has passed the Intermediate (Professional Competence) Examination or Professional Education (Examination-II) or Intermediate examination and has completed a minimum of eighteen months of practical training under these regulations shall be eligible for industrial training.
- (2) An articled assistant may, at his discretion, serve as an industrial trainee for the period specified in sub-regulation (4) in such offices of the Central or State Governments, Central statutory and judicial authorities, regulatory bodies, banking companies and such other departments of central or state governments, institution or organisation as may be decided by the Council from time to time; or in any of the financial, commercial, industrial undertakings with minimum fixed assets or minimum total turnover or minimum paid-up share capital as may be approved by the Council from time to time.
- (3) An articled assistant shall intimate to his principal his intention to take such industrial training at least three months before the date on which such training is to commence.
- (4) The period of industrial training may range between nine months and eighteen months.
- (5) The industrial training shall be received under a member of the Institute. An Associate who has been a member for a continuous period of at least three years shall be entitled to train one industrial trainee at a time and a fellow shall be entitled to train two industrial trainees at a time, whether such trainees be articled assistants or audit assistants.”
The notification also clarifies that if there is no member of Institute is available in the Central or State Governments, statutory and judicial authorities, regulatory bodies, banking companies, etc., then the Industrial Training can be bestowed by such an officer of that organisation who is entitled by the Council from time to time to train the industrial trainee based on the number of years of service and the nature of services that was rendered by the Officer in the department concerned.
After the satisfactory completion of the industrial training, the member training the industrial trainee, shall forthwith issue to the trainee a certificate in the form approved by the Council in respect of the training undergone under him and forward a copy thereof to the Secretary. And in the case of training given by the Officer, the industrial trainee shall obtain a certificate in the form approved by the Council from such officer and shall forward a copy thereof to the Secretary.
The notification also states that an articled assistant can also serve as an industrial trainee for a period ranging from six to eighteen months in any foreign country under a member of the accountancy body in that country recognized by the International Federation of Accountants.
In regulation 54 of the said regulations, in sub-regulation (5), for the words “shall not exceed one year”, the words “shall not exceed eighteen months” shall get substituted.
In regulation 58(2), for the words, “If the period of the excess leave taken is sought to be served”, the words, “The period of excess leave taken shall be served” shall be substituted and for the words, “last served his articles,” the words, “last served his articles and” shall be substituted, and, the Sub-regulation (4) shall be omitted.
Lastly, the notification says that the industrial trainee shall be paid such monthly stipend as may be agreed mutually between the industrial trainee and the member or officer imparting the industrial training.
With Warm Regards,
CL Bureau.
