Revised guidelines for training of article assistants outside India

The matter
regarding revision in the Guidelines of Articleship Training abroad was
considered at the 340th
meeting of Council held from February 10-12, 2015 wherein the Council agreed
with the recommendation of
Executive Committee regarding the revision of the existing Guidelines for Articleship Training abroad and agreed to the
addition of proviso to the existing Guideline under point No. (iii). Pursuant to the approved Summary of decision the
guidelines would now stand as under:

Revised guidelines for training of articled assistants outside india (APPLICABLE
W.E.F….)

i.               
A Chartered Accountant is eligible
to train an articled assistant provided his main occupation is the practice of
the profession of Accountancy at the time of engaging articled assistants as
well as in each of the qualifying years on the basis of which he claims
eligibility to train articled assistants.

ii.             
Any member
engaged in any other business, occupation or holding part time certificate of practice is not entitled to train articled
assistant.

iii.           
Any member
employed as a Paid Assistant or engaged as a partner in a foreign firm of
Chartered Accountants
will also be eligible to train articled assistants at par with the paid assistants
with a firm of Chartered Accountants in India. All conditions applicable to the
Paid Assistants in India would be
applicable to them as well. However, in case of a foreign firm, such a foreign
firm shall have at least
one partner who is either a member of the Institute or who is eligible to become a member of the Institute, in terms of MRA.

Provided that every Chartered Accountant
from ICAI who is registered as an auditor and obtained a license and registration number
from the appropriate competent authority abroad to establish a professional firm and carry out
the attest function and who meets the international/local experience and expertise criteria laid down by
the law shall be eligible to train articled assistants as under:

 It would also be essential for
such member abroad to produce the copy of License and certificate of registration issued by the competent authority abroad
to him as individual member and to the professional
firm with whom he is affiliated to the Institute with current validity at the
time of registration of articlehip.

Further where an Indian Chartered
Accountant is working as paid assistant in a firm where there is no Indian CA as a partner such paid
assistant shall not be entitled to train any articled assistant

iv.        The members shall provide a professional address as envisaged
in Regulation 2(1)(xiii) as well as

an address in India.

(As per the said Regulation,
professional address means: –

a. an address of the place where
the member is carrying on his profession ( or where he is carrying on his
profession at more than one place, the principal

place), or

b. if a member is employed, the
place of employment or at his option the place of his residence

c. the place of residence, if the
member neither carried on the profession nor is employed.

It may please be noted that an
address in India is essential in any of the situation)

v.        Since there is full time employment visa
instead of Trainee Visa for students who wish to register their articleship with chartered
accountants abroad according to the immigration laws of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Countries, so such employees shall be treated at par with the articled assistants registered in India.

It would be essential for such articled assistants abroad to
produce the copy of such visa and immigration
details along with a copy of passport at the time of registration of
articleship. The terms and conditions
that may be made applicable for training articled assistant in India from time
to time shall mutates mutandis apply for training of articled assistant abroad.

vi.    The
period of practical training shall be 3 years or 3 1/2 years as applicable,
under a practising chartered accountant abroad.
However, the articled / audit assistants should have an option to undergo
industrial training in accordance with the Regulations 51 & 72 of the
Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 during the last one year of training.

vii.       The
Industrial Training may be imparted by the Chartered Accountants working abroad
in a financial, commercial or industrial undertaking with minimum fixed
assets & minimum total turnover or minimum paid up capital as may
be specified by the Council (whatever the value specified in terms of Indian
currency may be deemed as applicable in foreign countries in their respective
currencies) or such other organization or institution approved by the Council.
In case of a member employed outside India, and
eligible to impart Industrial training outside India, is unable to
submit Annual Report/Balance sheet of the corporate/undertaking the member is working with,
the member may submit a self declaration about the particulars of the undertaking
alongwith the application.

viii.     The terms
& conditions contained in Regulation 54 and Regulation 54A dealing with
secondment
shall be applicable to the articled assistants receiving training
abroad.

ix.       
The Principal shall send training reports as
prescribed alongwith the service certificate to be issued in Form
109 & 108 as the case may be.

x.        
The principal shall impart training in
accordance with the guidelines contained in Training Guide. He shall
maintain a record of practical training imparted by him to the articled
assistant and report to the Council in the form prescribed
in the training guide.

xi.       
The rates, terms and conditions of stipend
prescribed as payable to the articled assistants receiving training in India shall
be applicable to the articled assistants receiving training aboard except that the same rate of stipend in
equivalent terms specified in respective national currencies of the countries concerned instead of
Indian rupees.

xii.       Regulation of
training in terms of office hours and working days holidays will be applicable
as
per local office timings and laws. However, requirements of total
training hours will be the same as applicable in India, the terms of which are
given hereunder: –

a. The working hours for the articled assistants shall be 35 hours in a
week excluding the lunch break. b. The office hours of the Principal for
providing article training to the articled assistant shall not be generally
before 9.00 a.m. or after 7.00 p.m.

c. The normal working hours for the articled assistant shall not start
after 11.00 a.m. or end before 5.00 p.m.

d. The working hours for the articled assistants should not exceed 35
hours in a week excluding the lunch break and normally an articled assistant
be required to work during the normal working hours fixed for articled
assistants.

e. ln case of exigencies of work
with Principal, an article assistant may be required to work beyond his / her normal working hours. However, under such circumstances, the
aggregate number of working hours shall not exceed 45 hours per week. The requirement to
work beyond 35 hours in a week should not be a practice but
only in exceptional circumstances.

Further, where the articled assistant is required to
work beyond normal working hours, and aggregate of  such hours exceed 35 hours per week, he / she shall be
entitled to compensatory leave calculated with reference to number of completed working hours, over
and above, 35 hours per week.

Further conduct of training will be regulated as per
provisions of the relevant Regulations as follows: –

Regulation 60: Working hours of an Articled Assistant

“Subject to such directions as may
be issued by the Council, the working hours of an articled assistant shall be 35 hours per week to be regulated by the Principal from time to
time”.

Regulation 65: Articled assistant not to engage in any other occupation

“Without the previous permission of the Council,
obtained on application made in the *approved form, no articled assistant shall, during
the period of his service as an articled assistant, take any other course of study or training, whether academic or
professional, or engage in any business or
occupation.” 

Regulation 66: Enquiries against articled assistant

“(1) Where a complaint or information of any
misconduct or breach of Regulation 65 or breach of any of the covenants contained in the articles is received against an

articled assistant from his principal or any other
person, the President or the Vice-

President as the Executive Committee may decide from
time to time, may cause an investigation to be made

(2) The Executive Committee may, on a consideration of
the report of the investigation and after giving the
articled assistant an opportunity of being heard, make any of the following
orders, namely;-

i.   direct that the papers be filed and the complaint be dismissed, if the
Executive Committee finds that the articled assistant
is not guilty of any misconduct of breach of Regulation 65 or breach of any of the covenants contained in the articles; or

ii.  if the articled assistant is found guilty, reprimand the articled
assistant or cancel the registration of articles or direct that any
period already served under such articles shall not be reckoned as service for the purpose of the period of practical training
specified in Regulation 50. 

(3) The articled assistant, the registration of whose
articles has been cancelled under this regulation, shall not, except with the
permission of the Executive Committee be retained or taken as an articled assistant or audit assistant by any member”. 

Regulation 67: Complaint against the Principal

1) Where an articled assistant makes a complaint against his principal on a matter concerning
his training as an articled assistant,
the President or the Vice- President as the Executive Committee may decide from time to time, may cause

an investigation to be made and submit a report to
the Executive Committee.

2) The Executive Committee shall submit the report of the investigation to
the Council with its recommendations. 

3) The Council may, on a
consideration of the report of the Executive Committee, pass such order as it
may consider expedient, including an order withdrawing the entitlement of the
principal to train one or more articled
assistants either permanently or for a specified period:

DS                      

Ad S (RS)                                               

Acting Secretary

Download Complete Guidelines for training of articled assistants outside India