CHAPTER 10

AUDIT AND AUDITORS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

 Understand the procedure for appointment of auditors, their

removal, resignation, eligibility, qualifications, disqualifications
and remuneration.
 Know the powers and duties of auditors.
 Know about auditing services and certain services which an
auditor cannot render.

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 10.2 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

First Auditor
Appointment of Auditors
Subsequent
Removal, resignation of Auditor
auditor and giving of special
notice

Eligibility, Qualification &

Disqualification

Remuneration of Auditor

Powers & Duties of auditors

Audit & Auditors and auditing standards

Segment of Audit Reports

Prohibited Services

Signing of Audit Reports

Auditor to attend AGM

Punishment Provisions

Cost Auditor

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.3

1. INTRODUCTION
Large business corporations are managed by the directors who represent the
members who are the real owners of the company through board. In the absence
of any check the directors may mismanage the finances of the organisation. Thus,
members appoint auditor/auditors to look into the true and fair view of the
financial affairs of the company. These auditors are independent from the
management of the company. Hence they can express an un-biased opinion on the
financials of the company.

2. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS [SECTION 139]

Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides provision for appointment of
auditors. According to this section:
(i) Appointment of auditor [Section 139(1)]:
(a) Every company shall appoint an individual or a firm as an auditor of the
company at the first annual general meeting (AGM).
Example 1: Rashail Techlabs Private Limited incorporated during the
financial year 2019-20. First AGM of the company held on 30.09.2020.
The company appointed M/s. Rams & Associates, Chartered Accountant
firm for the period of 5 Years as a subsequent statutory auditor.
(b) The auditor shall hold office from the conclusion of 1stAGM till the
conclusion of its 6th AGM and thereafter till the conclusion of every sixth
AGM. The manner and procedure of selection of auditors by the
members of the company at AGM has been prescribed under the
Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
(c) Manner and procedure of selection and appointment of auditors:
(1)
Categories of Competent Responsibility of the competent
Companies authority authority
A company Audit (i) The competent authority shall
which is required Committee take into consideration the
to constitute an qualifications and experience of the
Audit Committee individual or the firm proposed to be
under section considered for appointment as

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 10.4 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

177 1 auditor and such qualifications and

A Company Board of experience are commensurate with
which is not Directors the size and requirements of the
required to company.
constitute an (ii) It shall have regard to any order or
Audit Committee pending proceeding relating to
under section professional matters of conduct
177 against the proposed auditor before
the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India (ICAI) or any competent
authority or any Court.
(iii) It may call for such other
information from the proposed
auditor as it may deem fit.
(2)

Categories of Competent Responsibility of the

Companies authority competent authority
A company which is Audit the committee shall
required to constitute Committee recommend the name of an
an Audit Committee individual or a firm as auditor
under section 177 to the Board for consideration
A Company which is Board the Board shall consider and
not required to recommend an individual or a
constitute an Audit firm as auditor to the

1
Companies that require to constitute an audit committee
For the purpose of constitution of Audit Committee, section 177 of the Act, read with
Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014 provides that:
The Board of directors of every listed public companies and the following classes of
companies shall constitute an Audit Committee-
(i) all public companies with a paid up capital of ten crore rupees or more;
(ii) all public companies having turnover of one hundred crore rupees or more;
(iii) all public companies, having in aggregate, outstanding loans or borrowings or
debentures or deposits exceeding fifty crore rupees or more.
Explanation: The paid up share capital or turnover or outstanding loans, or borrowings or
debentures or deposits, as the case may be, as existing on the date of last audited financial
statements shall be taken into account for the purposes of this rule.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.5

Committee under members in the AGM for

section 177 appointment

(3) If the Board agrees with the recommendation of the Audit

Committee, it shall further recommend the appointment of an
individual or a firm as auditor to the members in the AGM.
(4) If the Board disagrees with the recommendation of the Audit
Committee, it shall refer back the recommendation to the
committee for reconsideration citing reasons for such
disagreement.
(5) If the Audit Committee, after considering the reasons given by the
Board, decides not to reconsider its original recommendation, the
Board shall record reasons for its disagreement with the
committee and send its own recommendation for consideration
of the members in the AGM; and if the Board agrees with the
recommendations of the Audit Committee, it shall place the
matter for consideration by members in the AGM.
Example 2: Audit Committee recommended KPM & Associates,
Chartered Accountants firm for appointment as statutory auditor
to the board of Surya Solar Limited. However, board of the
company disagreed with the recommendation of the audit
committee. In such condition, board shall refer back the
recommendation to the committee for reconsideration citing
reasons for such disagreement.
(d) Before the appointment is made, the written consent of the auditor to
such appointment and a certificate shall be obtained from the auditor
that the appointment, if made, shall be in accordance with the
conditions as may be prescribed.
Conditions for appointment and notice to the Registrar: As per
second proviso of section 139(1) read with rule 4 stipulates that written
consent of the auditor must be taken before appointment. The auditor
appointed shall submit a certificate that–
(A) the individual or the firm (as the case may be) is eligible for
appointment and is not disqualified for appointment under the
Act, the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the rules or
regulations made thereunder;

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 10.6 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

(B) the proposed appointment is as per the term provided under the
Act;
(C) the proposed appointment is within the limits laid down by or
under the authority of the Act;
(D) the list of proceedings against the auditor or audit firm or any
partner of the audit firm pending with respect to professional
matters of conduct, as disclosed in the certificate, is true and
correct.
(e) The certificate shall also indicate whether the auditor satisfies the
criteria provided in section 141 [Section 141 provides provisions on
eligibility, qualification and disqualification of Auditor which will be
discussed later] of the Companies Act, 2013
(f) Communication to Auditor: Further the company shall inform the
concerned auditor of his or its appointment, and also file a notice (in the
Form ADT-1) of such appointment with the Registrar within 15 days of
the meeting in which the auditor is appointed.
Here, “appointment” includes re-appointment.
National Financial Reporting Authority Rules, 2018 (NFRA Rules)
As per Rule 3 (2) of NFRA Rules, every existing body corporate other than a
company governed by NFRA rules, shall inform the National Financial
Reporting Authority (NFRA) within 30 days of the commencement of the
NFRA rules, in Form NFRA-1, the particulars of the auditor as on the date of
commencement of the NFRA rules.
According to Rule 3(3) of NFRA Rules, every body corporate, other than a
company as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Act, formed in India and
governed under NFRA Rules shall, within 15 days of appointment of an
auditor under sub-section (1) of section 139, inform the NFRA in Form NFRA-
1, the particulars of the auditor appointed by such body corporate, provided
that a body corporate governed under clause (e) of sub-rule (1) of NFRA Rules
shall provide details of appointment of its auditor in Form NFRA-1.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.7

(ii) Term of Auditor [Section 139(2)]:

(a) Section 139(2) provides that listed companies and other prescribed
class or classes of companies (except one person companies and small
companies) shall not appoint or re-appoint—
(1) an individual as auditor for more than one term of five
consecutive years; and
(2) an audit firm as auditor for more than two terms of five
consecutive years.
(b) Rule 5 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 has prescribed
the following classes of companies for the purposes of section 139(2):
(1) all unlisted public companies having paid up share capital of rupees
10 crores or more;
(2) all private limited companies having paid up share capital of rupees
50 crore or more;
(3) all companies having paid up share capital of below threshold
limit mentioned in (2) and (3) above, but having public borrowings
from financial institutions, banks or public deposits of rupees 50
crores or more.
(c) Cooling Period:
(1) An individual auditor who has completed his term (i.e. one term
of five consecutive years) shall not be eligible for re-appointment
as auditor in the same company for five years from the completion
of his term;
(2) An audit firm which has completed its term (i.e. two terms of five
consecutive years) shall not be eligible for re- appointment as
auditor in the same company for five years from the completion
of such term.
Example 3: XYZ Ltd. which is a listed company appoints individual Mr.
Raghav as an auditor in its AGM dated 29th September, 2016. Mr.
Raghav will hold office of Auditor from the conclusion of this meeting
upto conclusion of sixth AGM i.e. AGM to be held in the year 2021. Now
as per sub-section (2), Mr. Raghav shall not be re-appointed as Auditor
in XYZ Ltd. for further term of five years i.e. he cannot be appointed as
Auditor in XYZ Ltd. upto year 2026.

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 10.8 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

Example 4: XYZ Ltd. which is a listed company appoints M/s Raghav &
Associates as an audit firm in its AGM dated 29th September, 2016. M/s
Raghav & Associates will hold office from the conclusion of this meeting
upto conclusion of sixth AGM to be held in the year 2021. Now as per
sub-section (2), M/s Raghav & Associates can be appointed or re-
appointed as auditor for one more term of five years i.e. upto year 2026.
It shall not be re-appointed as Audit firm in XYZ Ltd. for further term of
five years after year 2026 to year 2031.
(d) Further, as on the date of appointment no audit firm having a common
partner or partners to the other audit firm, whose tenure has expired in
a company immediately preceding the financial year, shall be appointed
as auditor of the same company for a period of five years.
Example 5: M/s Krishna & Associates is an audit firm having 2 partners
namely Mr. Krishna and Mr. Shyam. Mr. Shyam is also a partner of
another audit firm named M/s Kukreja & Associates. M/s Krishna &
Associates was appointed as the auditors in the company Golden Smith
Ltd. for two consecutive periods of 5 years i.e. from year 2016 to year
2026. Now, if Golden Smith Ltd. wants to appoint M/s Kukreja &
Associates as its audit firm, it cannot do so because Mr. Shyam is the
common partner between both the Audit firms. This prohibition is only
for 5 years i.e. upto year 2031. After 5 years, Golden Smith Ltd. may
appoint M/s Kukreja & Associates or M/s. Krishna & Associates as its
auditors.

(e) Transitional period: Every company, existing on or before the

commencement of this Act which is required to comply with the provisions
as mentioned in above mentioned points (a) to (d) (i.e. provisions of this
sub-section), shall comply with those provisions within a period which shall
not be later than the date of the first AGM of the company held, within the
period specified under sub-section (1) of section 96, after three years from
the date of commencement of this Act.”

(f) It is also provided that nothing contained in above mentioned points

(a) to (d) (i.e. this sub-section) shall prejudice the right of the company
to remove an auditor or the right of the auditor to resign from such
office of the company.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.9

(iii) Rotation of auditor [section 139(3) and (4)]:

(a) Members of a company may resolve to provide that—

(1) in the audit firm appointed by them, the auditing partner and his
team shall be rotated at such intervals as may be resolved by
members; or

(2) the audit shall be conducted by more than one auditor.

(b) The Central Government may, by rules, prescribe the manner in which
the companies shall rotate their auditors.

(c) Manner of rotation of auditors by the companies on expiry of their term

as provided under the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014:
(1) The Audit Committee shall recommend to the Board, the name of
an individual auditor or of an audit firm who may replace the
incumbent auditor on expiry of the term of such incumbent.

(2) Where a company is required to constitute an Audit Committee,

the Board shall consider the recommendation of such committee,
and in other cases, the Board shall itself consider the matter of
rotation of auditors and make its recommendation for
appointment of the next auditor by the members in annual
general meeting.
(3) For the purpose of the rotation of auditors:
(i) in case of an auditor (whether an individual or audit firm), the
period for which the individual or the firm has held office as
auditor prior to the commencement of the Act shall be taken
into account for calculating the period of five consecutive
years or ten consecutive years, as the case may be;
(ii) the incoming auditor or audit firm shall not be eligible if such
auditor or audit firm is associated with the outgoing auditor
or audit firm under the same network of audit firms.
The term “same network” includes the firms operating or
functioning, hitherto or in future, under the same brand
name, trade name or common control.

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 10.10 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

(iii) For the purpose of rotation of auditors:

(A) a break in the term for a continuous period of five years
shall be considered as fulfilling the requirement of
rotation.
(B) if a partner, who is in charge of an audit firm and also
certifies the financial statements of the company,
retires from the said firm and joins another firm of
chartered accountants, such other firm shall also be
ineligible to be appointed for a period of five years.
Illustration explaining rotation in case of individual auditor:
Number of consecutive Maximum number of Aggregate
years for which an consecutive years for period which the
individual auditor has which he may be auditor would
been functioning as appointed in the same complete in the
auditor in the same company (including same company in
company [in the first AGM transitional period) view of column I
held after the and II
commencement of
provisions of section
139(2)]
I II III
5 years (or more than 5 3 years 8 years or more
years)
4 years 3 years 7 years
3 years 3 years 6 years
2 years 3 years 5 years
1 year 4 years 5 years
Here,
(a) Individual auditor shall include other individuals or firms
whose name or trademark or brand is used by such
individual, if any.
(b) Consecutive years shall mean all the preceding financial
years for which the individual auditor has been the auditor
until there has been a break by five years or more.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.11

Illustration explaining rotation in case of audit firm

Number of consecutive Maximum number Aggregate
years for which an audit of consecutive years period which
firm has been for which the firm the firm would
functioning as auditor may be appointed in complete in the
in the same company [in the same company same company
the first AGM held after (including in view of
the commencement of transitional period) column I and II
provisions of section
139(2)]
I II III
10 years (or more than 3 years 13 years or
10 years) more
9 years 3 years 12 years
8 years 3 years 11 years
7 years 3 years 10 years
6 years 4 years 10 years
5 years 5 years 10 years
4 years 6 years 10 years
3 years 7 years 10 years
2 years 8 years 10 years
1 year 9 years 10 years
Here,
(a) Audit Firm shall include other firms whose name or trade
mark or brand is used by the firm or any of its partners.
(b) Consecutive years shall mean all the preceding financial years
for which the firm has been the auditor until there has been a
break by five years or more.
(4) Where a company has appointed two or more individuals or firms or
a combination thereof as joint auditors, the company may follow the
rotation of auditors in such a manner that both or all of the joint
auditors, as the case may be, do not complete their term in the same
year.
(d) Here, the word “firm” shall include a limited liability partnership
incorporated under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.

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(iv) First auditors [Section 139(6)]:

(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of Section 139 i.e.
point 2(i) mentioned above, the first auditor of a company, other than a
Government Company, shall be appointed by the Board of directors within
30 days of the date of registration of the company and the auditor so
appointed shall hold office until the conclusion of the first AGM.

First auditor shall be within 30 days of to hold office until

appointed by the the date of the conclusion of
BOD registration the first AGM

Example 6: Unicorn Steel Private Limited is incorporated as on 02.06.2020,

board of directors of the company held board meeting as on 15.06.2020 to
appoint Jain Ajmera & Associates as a first auditor of the company for a term
of 5 years. As per section 139(6) of the companies act, 2013, the board shall
appoint first director within 30 days from the date of registration of the
company. State the validity of the aforesaid situation.
(a) Invalid
(b) Valid
(c) Valid after approval of shareholder in General Meeting
(d) Valid only after approval of Central Government
Answer: The given situation is Invalid i.e. option (a)
(b) If the Board fails to exercise its powers i.e. appointment of first auditor,
it shall inform the members of the company and the company may
appoint the first auditor within 90 days at an extra ordinary general
meeting (EGM) and such auditor shall hold office till the conclusion of
the first AGM.
Example 7: Managing Director of PQR Ltd. himself wants to appoint Shri
Ganpati, a practicing Chartered Accountant, as first auditor of the company.
Comment on the proposed action of the Managing Director.
Answer: Provisions and Explanation: Section 139(6) of the Companies Act,
2013 provides that “the first auditor or auditors of a company shall be

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.13

appointed by the Board of directors within 30 days from the date of

registration of the company”. In the instant case, the appointment of Shri
Ganapati, a practicing Chartered Accountant as first auditors by the Managing
Director of PQR Ltd by himself is in violation of Section 139(6) of the
Companies Act, 2013, which requires the Board of Directors to appoint the
first auditor of the company.
Conclusion: In view of the above, the Managing Director of PQR Ltd. cannot
appoint the first auditor of the company himself.
(v) Filling up casual vacancy [Section 139(8)]:
(a) The Board may fill any casual vacancy in the office of an auditor within
30 days but where such vacancy is caused by the resignation of an
auditor, such appointment shall also be approved by the company at a
general meeting convened within three months of the recommendation
of the Board.
(b) Any auditor appointed in a casual vacancy shall hold office until the
conclusion of the next annual general meeting.

Casual vacancy of Auditor

Filling the casual vacancy by Board within 30 days

If vacancy is caused by Resignation- appointment by Board shall

also be approved by company at GM convened within 3 months
of recommendation of Board

the Auditor so appointed shall hold office until the conclusion of

next AGM.

Example 8: Prakash Carriers Limited appointed Mr. Raman as its auditor in

the Annual General Meeting held on 30th September, 2019. Initially, he
accepted the appointment. But he resigned from his office on 31st October,
2019 for personal reasons. The Board of directors seeks advice for filling up
the vacancy by appointment of Mr. Albert as auditor.
In the present case, as the auditor has resigned, the casual vacancy so created
can be filled up by the Board appointing Mr. Albert. However, the
appointment of Mr. Albert must be approved by the company by passing of
an ordinary resolution at a general meeting of the company which must be

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 10.14 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

convened by the Board within 3 months of the recommendation of the Board.

Mr. Albert will be entitled to hold office till the conclusion of the next Annual
General Meeting.
(vi) Appointment of auditors in case of Government Company or any other
company controlled by the State Government or the Central Government
[Section 139(5), 139(7) and 139(8)]
(a) As per section 139(5), the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India
(CAG) shall, in respect of a financial year, appoint an auditor duly
qualified to be appointed as an auditor of companies under this Act in
the case of:
(1) a Government company; or
(2) any other company owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by
the Central Government, or by any State Government or
Governments, or partly by the Central Government and partly by
one or more State Governments.
(b) The auditor shall be appointed within a period of 180 days from the
commencement of the financial year. The auditor appointed shall hold
office till the conclusion of the annual general meeting.

Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG)

within 180 days from the

commencement of the FY, appoint Shall hold office till the
an auditor duly qualified to be conclusion of AGM
appointed as an auditor of

Government company

Appointment of auditor by
any other company owned or controlled,
CAG in respect of a financial
directly or indirectly, by the Central
year (FY)
Government, or by any State Government
or Governments, or partly by the Central
Government and partly by one or more
State Governments

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(c) First auditor [section 139(7)]:

(1) in the case of a Government company or any other company
owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Central
Government, or by any State Government, or Governments, or
partly by the Central Government and partly by one or more State
Governments, the first auditor shall be appointed by the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) within 60 days
from the date of registration of the company.
(2) In case the CAG does not appoint first auditor within the said
period, the Board of Directors of the company shall appoint such
auditor within the next 30 days.
(3) Further, in the case of failure of the Board to appoint such auditor
within the next 30 days, it shall inform the members of the
company who shall appoint such auditor within the 60 days at an
EGM, who shall hold office till the conclusion of the first annual
general meeting.
(d) Casual vacancy [section 139(8)]:
(1) In the case of a company whose accounts are subject to audit by
an auditor appointed by the CAG, casual vacancy of an auditor
shall be filled by the CAG within 30 days.
(2) In case the CAG does not fill the vacancy within the said period,
the Board of Directors shall fill the vacancy within next 30 days.
(vii) Re-appointment of retiring auditor [section 139(9), (10) and (11)]:
(a) A retiring auditor may be re-appointed at an AGM if—
(1) he is not disqualified for re-appointment;
(2) he has not given a notice in writing to the company of his
unwillingness to be re-appointed; and
(3) a special resolution has not been passed at that meeting
appointing some other auditor or providing expressly that he shall
not be re-appointed.
(b) Where at any AGM, no auditor is appointed or re-appointed, the
existing auditor shall continue to be the auditor of the company.

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(viii) Audit committee’s recommendation [Section 139(11)]:

Where a company is required to constitute an Audit Committee under section
177, all appointments, including the filling of a casual vacancy of an auditor
under this section shall be made after taking into account the
recommendations of such committee.
As per NFRA Rules, every auditor referred to in Rule 3 shall file a return with
the NFRA on or before 30th April every year in such form as may be specified
by the Central Government.
As per NFRA Rules, following provisions are relevant for the understanding of the
students:
Monitoring and enforcing compliance with auditing standards -
(1) For the purpose of monitoring and enforcing compliance with auditing
standards (SA) under the Act by a company or a body corporate governed
under rule 3, the NFRA may:
(i) review working papers (including audit plan and other audit
documents) and communications related to the audit;
(ii) evaluate the sufficiency of the quality control system of the auditor and
the manner of documentation of the system by the auditor; and
(iii) perform such other testing of the audit, supervisory, and quality control
procedures of the auditor as may be considered necessary or
appropriate.
(2) The NFRA may require an auditor to report on its governance practices and
internal processes designed to promote audit quality, protect its reputation
and reduce risks including risk of failure of the auditor and may take such
action on the report as may be necessary.
(3) The NFRA may seek additional information or may require the personal
presence of the auditor for seeking additional information or explanation in
connection with the conduct of an audit.
(4) The NFRA shall perform its monitoring and enforcement activities through its
officers or experts with sufficient experience in audit of the relevant industry.
(5) The NFRA shall publish its findings relating to non-compliances on its website
and in such other manner as it considers fit, unless it has reasons not to do
so in the public interest and it records the reasons in writing.

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(6) The NFRA shall not publish proprietary or confidential information, unless it
has reasons to do so in the public interest and it records the reasons in
writing.
(7) The NFRA may send a separate report containing proprietary or confidential
information to the Central Government for its information.
(8) Where the NFRA finds or has reason to believe that any law or professional
or other standard has or may have been violated by an auditor, it may decide
on the further course of investigation or enforcement action through its
concerned Division.
Overseeing the quality of service and suggesting measures for improvement (As
per NFRA Rules)
(1) On the basis of its review, the NFRA may direct an auditor to take measures
for improvement of audit quality including changes in their audit processes,
quality control, and audit reports and specify a detailed plan with time-limits.
(2) It shall be the duty of the auditor to make the required improvements and
send a report to the NFRA explaining how it has complied with the directions
made by the NFRA.
(3) The NFRA shall monitor the improvements made by the auditor and take such
action as it deems fit depending on the progress made by the auditor.
(4) The NFRA may refer cases with regard to overseeing the quality of service of
auditors of companies or bodies corporate referred to in rule 3 to the Quality
Review Board constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949)
or call for any report or information in respect of such auditors or companies or
bodies corporate from such Board as it may deem appropriate.
(5) The NFRA may take the assistance of experts for its oversight and monitoring
activities.

3. REMOVAL, RESIGNATION OF AUDITOR AND

GIVING OF SPECIAL NOTICE [SECTION 140]
Section 140 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for removal, resignation of
auditor and giving of special notice. According to this section:

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 10.18 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

(i) Removal of auditor before the expiry of his term [Section 140(1)]:
(a) The auditor appointed under section 139 may be removed from his
office before the expiry of his term only by a special resolution of the
company and after obtaining the previous approval of the Central
Government 2 by making an application in Form ADT-2 and shall be
accompanied with the prescribed fees.
(b) The application shall be made to the Central Government within 30 days
of the resolution passed by the Board.
(c) The Company shall hold the general meeting within 60 days of receipt of
approval of the Central Government for passing the special resolution.
(d) Giving opportunity of being heard (Audi Alteram Partem): Before taking
any action for removal of auditor before the expiry of his term, the auditor
concerned shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
STEPS FOR REMOVAL OF AUDITOR

A Special Notice
is received for Auditor shall be Auditor removal
Removal of given a reasonable can be done only
auditor opportunity of through Special
being heard Resolution
A board meeting will be
held (To decide about After approval
removal and then from CG, Special Auditor will be
authorising the filing of Notice to be sent removed
application to CG) for AGM

Application to CG
(To be made in
ADT-2), within 30 Approval of CG
days of Board received
meeting

Example 9: Mr. Suresh, a Chartered Accountant, was appointed by the Board

of Directors of AB Limited as the First Auditor. The company in General
Meeting removed Mr. Suresh without seeking the approval of the Central
Government and appointed Mr. Gupta as an auditor in his place. The first
auditor appointed by the Board of Directors can be removed in accordance

2
Powers are delegated to Regional Director

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with the provision of Section 140(1) of the Companies Act, 2013. Hence, the
removal of the first auditor in this case is invalid. The company contravened
the provision of the Act.
(ii) Resignation by Auditor [Section 140(2) & (3)]
(a) If the Auditor has resigned from the company, he shall file a statement
in the form ADT-3 with the company and the Registrar within a period
of 30 days from the date of such resignation.
(b) The auditor shall indicate the reasons and other facts as may be relevant
with regard to his resignation, in the statement.
(c) In case of government companies or companies controlled by Central
Government or State Government, the auditor shall file such statement
with the CAG along with the company and the Registrar indicating the
reasons and other facts as may be relevant with regard to his
resignation.
(d) Penalty for contravention: If the auditor does not comply with
aforesaid provision, he or it shall be liable to a penalty of ₹50,000 or an
amount equal to the remuneration of the auditor, whichever is less, and
in case of continuing failure, with a further penalty of ₹ 500 for each day
after the first during which such failure continues, subject to a maximum
of ₹ 5 lacs.

•
•Form ADT-3
Resignation by auditor of ••within 30 days of resignation
Non-Government co. ••with Company and Registrar

Resignation by auditor of ••Form ADT-3 [Rule 8 of Companies Audit and

Government company or Audiors Rule, 2014]
company controlled by CG or ••within 30 days of resignation
SG ••with Company, Registrar & CAG

(iii) Appointing Auditor other than the Retiring Auditor [Section 140(4)]

(a) If the retiring auditor has not completed a consecutive tenure of 5 years
or 10 years, as the case may be, as provided under sub-section (2) of
section 139, special notice shall be required for a resolution at an annual
general meeting appointing as auditor a person other than a retiring

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 10.20 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

auditor, or providing expressly that a retiring auditor shall not be re-

appointed.

(b) On receipt of notice of such a resolution, the company shall forthwith

send a copy thereof to the retiring auditor.

(c) Where notice is given of such a resolution and the retiring auditor
makes with respect thereto representation in writing to the company
(not exceeding a reasonable length) and requests its notification to
members of the company, the company shall, unless the representation
is received by it too late for it to do so,—

(1) in any notice of the resolution given to members of the company,

state the fact of the representation having been made; and

(2) send a copy of the representation to every member of the

company to whom notice of the meeting is sent, whether before
or after the receipt of the representation by the company.

(d) If a copy of the representation is not sent as aforesaid because it was

received too late or because of the company’s default, the auditor may
(without prejudice to his right to be heard orally) require that the
representation shall be read out at the meeting.

(e) However, if a copy of representation is not sent as aforesaid, a copy

thereof shall be filed with the Registrar.

(f) If the Tribunal is satisfied on an application either of the company or of

any other aggrieved person that the rights conferred by this sub-section
are being abused by the auditor, then the copy of the representation may
not be sent and the representation need not be read out at the meeting.

(iv) Auditor acts in a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud

[Section 140(5)]

(a) On satisfaction of Tribunal that the auditor of a company has acted

in a fraudulent manner etc.: Without prejudice to any action under
the provisions of this Act or any other law for the time being in force,
the Tribunal either—

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.21

- suo motu; or

- on an application made to it by the Central Government; or

- by any person concerned,

if it is satisfied that the auditor of a company has, whether directly or

indirectly, acted in a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any
fraud by, or in relation to, the company or its directors or officers, it
may, by order, direct the company to change its auditors.

(b) Requirement for change of auditor: If the application is made by the

Central Government and the Tribunal is satisfied that any change of the
auditor is required, it shall within 15 days of receipt of such application,
make an order that he shall not function as an auditor and the Central
Government may appoint another auditor in his place.

(c) Ineligibility of auditor to be appointed: An auditor, whether

individual or firm, against whom final order has been passed by the
Tribunal under this section shall not be eligible to be appointed as an
auditor of any company for a period of 5 years from the date of passing
of the order and the auditor shall also be liable for action under section
447 of the Companies Act 2013.

(d) Explanation I. — It is hereby clarified that the case of a firm, the liability
shall be of the firm and that of every partner or partners who acted in
a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud by, or in
relation to, the company or its director or officers.

(e) Explanation II.—For the purposes of this Chapter the word “auditor”
includes a firm of auditors.

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 10.22 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

suo motu
If tribunal is satisfied, within
15 days of receipt of
on application by application, it shall order
TRIBUNAL CG that he shall not function as
Auditor and CG may
appoint another auditor
on application by
any person
concerned
Satisfied that Auditor has
directly or indirectly acted in
fraudulent manner

Direct the company to

change its auditors

The removed auditor shall not be

eligible to be appointed as auditor of
any company for 5 years and liable for
action u/s 447

Example 10: FLP Ltd, engaged in the business of real estate and energy,
defaulted on its borrowings which amounted to thousands of crores. During
the year ended 31st March 2019, a fraud was uncovered in respect of various
transactions of the company and it was observed by the Central Government
that the auditors of the company were involved in such fraud. Please suggest
what can be the course of action in this case.
Answer: The Central Government may apply to the Tribunal in respect of such
matter highlighting that the auditors miserably failed to fulfill their duties as
auditors of the company. If the Tribunal is satisfied that the auditors were
involved in the fraud with the company, the Tribunal may direct the company
to change its auditors and those auditors shall not be eligible to be appointed
as auditor of any company for 5 years and also liable for action under section
447 of the Companies Act 2013.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.23

4. ELIGIBILITY, QUALIFICATIONS AND

DISQUALIFICATIONS OF AUDITORS
[SECTION 141]
Section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for eligibility, qualifications and
disqualifications of auditors. This section deals with:
(i) Qualifications of an auditor [Section 141(1) & (2)]:
(a) A person shall be eligible to be appointed as an auditor of a company
only if he is a Chartered Accountant within the meaning of the
Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
(b) A firm whereof majority of partners practicing in India are qualified for
appointment as aforesaid may be appointed by its firm name to be
auditor of a company.
(c) Where a firm including a Limited Liability Partnership is appointed as
an auditor of a company, only the partners who are Chartered
Accountants shall be authorized to act and sign on behalf of the firm.
(ii) Disqualifications of auditors [Section 141(3)]:
(a) Section 141 (3) of the Act read with Rule 10 of Companies (Audit and
Auditors) Rule 2014 prescribes following persons shall not be
qualified for appointment as auditor of a company—
(1) A body corporate other than a limited liability partnership
registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008;
(2) an officer or employee of the company;
(3) a person who is a partner, or who is in the employment, of an
officer or employee of the company;
Example 11: Mr. Anil, a Chartered accountant, is a partner of a firm and
has been appointed as an auditor of Laxman Ltd. in the Annual General
Meeting of the company held in September 2018 in which he accepted
the assignment. Subsequently, in January 2019, he offered Bharat,
another Chartered Accountant, who is the Manager Finance of Laxman
Ltd., to join the firm of Anil as a partner.
Answer: Provisions and Explanation: Section 141(3)(c) of the
Companies Act, 2013 prescribes that any person who is a partner or in

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 10.24 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

employment of an officer or employee of the company will be

disqualified to act as an auditor of a company. Sub-section (4) of
Section 141 provides that an auditor who becomes subject, after his
appointment, to any of the disqualifications specified in sub-sections
(3) of Section 141, shall be deemed to have vacated his office as an
auditor.
Conclusion: In the present case, Anil is auditor of M/s Laxman Ltd. and
any employee of Laxman Ltd. cannot become the Partner of the firm
where Anil is a Partner. In case that happens, he/the firm shall be
deemed to have vacated office of the auditor of M/s Laxman Ltd.
(4) a person who, or his relative or partner—
(A) is holding any security of or interest in the company or its
subsidiary, or of its holding or associate company or a
subsidiary of such holding company (i.e. fellow subsidiary):
Provided that the relative may hold security or interest in
the company of face value not exceeding ₹1,00,000 as
prescribed under Rule 10 of the Company (Audit and
Auditors) Rules, 2014.
Further, the above condition shall, wherever relevant, be
also applicable in the case of a company not having share
capital or other securities. If the relative acquires any
security or interest above the prescribed threshold i.e.
₹1,00,000 , the corrective action to maintain the limits as
specified above shall be taken by the auditor within 60
days of such acquisition or interest.
Example 12: “Mr. Ashish”, a practicing Chartered
Accountant, is holding securities of “XYZ Ltd.” having face
value of ₹ 900/-. Whether Mr. Ashish is qualified for
appointment as an Auditor of “XYZ Ltd.”?
Answer: As per section 141 (3)(d) (i) an auditor is
disqualified to be appointed as an auditor if he, or his
relative or partner holding any security of or interest in the
company or its subsidiary, or of its holding or associate
company or a subsidiary of such holding company:

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.25

In the present case, Mr. Ashish is holding security of ₹ 900

in the XYZ Ltd, therefore he is not eligible for appointment
as an Auditor of “XYZ Ltd”.
Example 13: “Mr. P” is a practicing Chartered Accountant
and “Mr. Q”, the relative of “Mr. P”, is holding securities of
“ABC Ltd.” Having face value of ₹ 90,000/-. Whether “Mr. P”
is qualified for being appointed as an auditor of “ABC Ltd.”?
Answer: As per section 141 (3)(d)(i), an auditor is
disqualified to be appointed as an auditor if he, or his
relative or partner holding any security of or interest in the
company or its subsidiary, or of its holding or associate
company or a subsidiary of such holding company. Further
as per proviso to this Section, the relative of the auditor may
hold the securities or interest in the company of face value
not exceeding of ₹1,00,000.
In the present case, Mr. Q. (relative of Mr. P, an auditor), is
having securities of ₹90,000 face value in ABC Ltd., which is
as per requirement of proviso to section 141 (3)(d)(i).
Therefore, Mr. P will not be disqualified to be appointed as
an auditor of ABC Ltd.
Example 14: “BC & Co.” is an audit firm having partners “Mr.
B” and “Mr. C” and “Mr. A”, relative of “Mr. C”, is holding
securities of “MWF Ltd.” having face value of ₹1,01,000.
Whether “BC & Co.” is qualified for appointment as auditor
of “MWF Ltd.”?
Answer: As per section 141(3)(d)(i) an auditor is disqualified
to be appointed as an auditor if he, or his relative or partner
holding any security of or interest in the company or its
subsidiary, or of its holding or associate company or a
subsidiary of such holding company. Further as per proviso
to this Section, the relative of the auditor may hold the
securities or interest in the company of face value not
exceeding of ₹1,00,000.
In the instant case, BC & Co, will be disqualified for
appointment as an auditor of MWF Ltd as the relative of Mr.
C i.e. partner of BC & Co., is holding the securities in MWF

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 10.26 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

Ltd which is exceeding the limit mentioned in proviso to

section 141(3)(d)(i).
(B) is indebted to the company, or its subsidiary, or its holding
or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding
company, in excess of ₹ 5 Lacs; or
(C) has given a guarantee or provided any security in
connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the
company, or its subsidiary, or its holding or associate
company or a subsidiary of such holding company, in excess
of ₹ 1 Lac.
(5) a person or a firm who, whether directly or indirectly, has business
relationship with the company, or its subsidiary, or its holding or
associate company or subsidiary of such holding company or
associate company. According to the Companies (Audit and
Auditors) Rules, 2014, the term “business relationship” shall be
construed as any transaction entered into for a commercial
purpose, except–
(A) commercial transactions which are in the nature of
professional services permitted to be rendered by an
auditor or audit firm under the Act and the Chartered
Accountants Act, 1949 and the rules or the regulations made
under those Acts;
(B) commercial transactions which are in the ordinary course of
business of the company at arm’s length price like sale of
products or services to the auditor as customer by the
companies engaged in the business of telecommunications,
airlines, hospitals, hotels and such other similar businesses.
(6) a person whose relative is a director or is in the employment of
the company as a director or key managerial personnel;
(7) a person who is in full time employment elsewhere or a person or
a partner of a firm holding appointment as its auditor, if such
persons or partner is at the date of such appointment or
reappointment holding appointment as auditor of more than 20
companies other than one person companies, small companies
and private companies having paid-up share capital less than 100
crores rupees.

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.27

Ceiling on numbers of audits: Before appointment is given to

any auditor, the company must obtain a certificate from him to
the effect that the appointment, if made, will not result in an
excess holding of company audit by the auditor concerned over
the limit laid down in section141(3)(g) of the Companies Act, 2013
which prescribes that a person who is in full time employment
elsewhere or a person or a partner of a firm holding appointment
as its auditor, if such person or partner is at the date of such
appointment or reappointment holding appointment as auditor
of more than 20 companies other than one person companies,
dormant companies, small companies and private companies
having paid-up share capital less than ₹ 100 crore (MCA
notification dated 5 June 2015).
Example 15: “ABC & Co.” is an audit firm having partners “Mr. A”,
“Mr. B” and “Mr. C”, Chartered Accountants. “Mr. A”, “Mr. B” and
“Mr. C” are holding appointment as auditors in 4, 6 and 10
companies respectively.
(i) Provide the maximum number of audits remaining in the
name of “ABC & Co.”
(ii) Provide the maximum number of audits remaining in the
name of individual partner i.e. Mr. A, Mr. B and Mr. C.
Fact of the Case: In the instant case, Mr. A is holding appointment
in 4 companies, Mr. B is having appointment in 6 companies and
Mr. C is having appointment in 10 companies. In aggregate all
three partners are having 20 audits.
Provisions and Explanations: As per section 141(3)(g) of the
Companies Act, 2013, a person shall not be eligible for
appointment as an auditor if he is in full time employment
elsewhere or a person or a partner of a firm holding appointment
as its auditor, if such person or partner is at the date of such
appointment or reappointment holding appointment as auditor
of more than twenty companies other than one person
companies, dormant companies, small companies and private
companies having paid-up share capital less than ` 100 crores.
As per section 141 (3)(g), this limit of 20 company audits is per
person. In the case of an audit firm having 3 partners, the overall

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 10.28 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

ceiling will be 3 × 20 = 60 companies audit. Sometimes, a

Chartered Accountant may be a partner in a number of auditing
firms. In such a case, all the firms in which he is partner or
proprietor will be together entitled to 20 company audits only on
his account.
Conclusion:
(i) Therefore, ABC & Co. can hold appointment as an auditor
of 40 more companies:
Total Number of audits for which the firm would be eligible
= 20*3 = 60
Number of audits already taken by all the partners
In their individual capacity = 4+6+10 = 20
Remaining number of audits available to the firm = 40
(ii) With reference to above provisions, an auditor can hold
more appointment as auditor = ceiling limit as per section
141(3)(g)- already holding appointments as an auditor.
Hence
(1) Mr. A can hold: 20 – 4 = 16 more audits.
(2) Mr. B can hold 20 - 6 = 14 more audits and
(3) Mr. C can hold 20-10 = 10 more audits.
Note:
It has been assumed that the companies given in the question are
not one person companies, dormant companies, small companies
and private companies having paid-up share capital less than `100
crore.
(8) a person who has been convicted by a court of an offence
involving fraud and a period of 10 years has not elapsed from the
date of such conviction;
(9) a person who, directly or indirectly, renders any service referred
to in section 144 to the company or its holding company or its
subsidiary company.

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Explanation— For the purposes of this clause, the term "directly

or indirectly" shall have the meaning assigned to it in the
Explanation to section 144 (section 144 deals with certain services
not to be tendered by auditor).
(iii) Vacation of office by an auditor [Section 141(4)]:
If a person appointed as an auditor of a company incurs any of the
disqualifications specified in Section 141(3), he shall be deemed to have
vacated his office. Such vacation shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy in
the office of the auditor.

5. REMUNERATION OF AUDITORS [SECTION 142]

Section 142 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for remuneration of auditors.
According to this section:
(i) The remuneration of the auditors of a company shall be fixed by the company
in general meeting or in such manner as the company in general meeting
may determine.
(ii) In the case of first auditor, remuneration may be fixed by the Board.
(iii) The remuneration mentioned aforesaid shall, in addition to the fee payable
to an auditor, include the expenses, if any, incurred by the auditor in
connection with the audit of the company and any facility extended to him.
But the remuneration does not include any remuneration paid to him for any
other service rendered by him at the request of the company.
Example 16: SHRD Private Ltd is engaged in the business of software and
consultancy. The company has an annual turnover of INR 2,000 crores but its
profit margins are not very good as compared to the industry standards. For
the financial year ended 31st March 2019, the company proposed
appointment of its statutory auditors at its Board meeting, however, the
remuneration was not finalized. The statutory auditors completed the
engagement formalities including the engagement letter between the
company and the auditors and it was decided that the engagement letter be
signed without fee i.e. with the clause that the fee to be mutually decided. In
this situation, engagement letter with such arrangement is valid.

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6. POWERS AND DUTIES OF AUDITORS AND

AUDITING STANDARDS [SECTION 143]
(i) Powers of Auditors [Section 143(1)]:
(a) Access to books of account and vouchers: Every auditor of a company
shall have a right of access at all times to the books of accounts and
vouchers of the company, whether kept at the registered office of the
company or at any other place.
(b) Entitled to have necessary information and explanation: He shall be
entitled to require from the officers of the company such information
and explanations as the auditor may consider necessary for the
performance of his duties as auditor.
(c) Access to record of all its subsidiaries: The auditor of a company
which is a holding company shall also have the right of access to the
records of all its subsidiaries and associate companies in so far as it
relates to the consolidation of its financial statements with that of its
subsidiaries and associate companies.
(ii) Duties of Auditors
(a) Matters of inquiry: The auditor shall inquire into the following matters,
namely—
(1) Whether loans and advances made by the company on the basis
of security have been properly secured and whether the terms on
which they have been made are prejudicial to the interests of the
company or its members;
(2) Whether transactions of the company which are represented
merely by book entries are prejudicial to the interests of the
company;
(3) Where the company not being an investment company or a
banking company, whether so much of the assets of the company
as consist of shares, debentures and other securities have been
sold at a price less than that at which they were purchased by the
company;
(4) Whether loans and advances made by the company have been
shown as deposits;

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.31

(5) Whether personal expenses have been charged to revenue

account;
(6) Where it is stated in the books and documents of the company
that any shares have been allotted for cash, whether cash has
actually been received in respect of such allotment, and if no cash
has actually been so received, whether the position as stated in
the account books and the balance sheet is correct, regular and
not misleading.
(b) The auditor shall make a report to the members of the company on the
following:
(1) On the accounts examined by him; and
(2) On every financial statements which are required by or under this
Act to be laid before the company in general meeting; and
(c) The auditor while making the report shall take into account the
provisions of the Act, the accounting and auditing standards and
matters which are required to be included in the audit report under the
provisions of this Actor any rules made thereunder or under any order
made under section 143(11).
(d) The auditor shall express his opinion on the accounts and financial
statements examined by him. He shall express an opinion, according to
him and to the best of his information and knowledge, whether the said
accounts/financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of
the company’s affairs as at the end of its financial year and profit or loss
and cash flow for the year and such other matters as may be prescribed.
(e) The auditors’ report shall also state—
(1) whether he has sought and obtained all the information and
explanations which to the best of his knowledge and belief were
necessary for the purpose of his audit and if not, the details
thereof and the effect of such information on the financial
statements;
(2) whether, in his opinion, proper books of account as required by
law have been kept by the company so far as appears from his
examination of those books and proper returns adequate for the
purposes of his audit have been received from branches not
visited by him;

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(3) whether the report on the accounts of any branch office of the
company audited under sub-section (8) by a person other than
the company’s auditor has been sent to him under the proviso to
that sub-section and the manner in which he has dealt with it in
preparing his report;
(4) whether the company’s balance sheet and profit and loss account
dealt with in the report are in agreement with the books of
account and returns;
(5) whether, in his opinion, the financial statements comply with the
accounting standards;
(6) the observations or comments of the auditors on financial
transactions or matters which have any adverse effect on the
functioning of the company;
(7) whether any director is disqualified from being appointed as a
director under sub section (2) of section 164;
(8) any qualification, reservation or adverse remark relating to the
maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith;
(9) whether the company has adequate internal financial controls
with reference to financial statements in place and the operating
effectiveness of such controls;
As per the Rule 10A inserted by the Companies(Audit and Auditors)
Amendments Rules, 2014 vide Notification dated 14th October,
2014,for the purposes of clause (i) of sub-section (3) of section
143 (i.e. point 9 mentioned above), for the financial years
commencing on or after 1st April 2015, the report of the auditor
shall state about existence of internal financial controls with
reference to financial statements and its operating effectiveness.
Provided that auditor of a company may voluntarily include the
statement referred to in this rule for the financial year
commencing on or after 1st April 2014 and ending on or before
31st March 2015.
Exemption to Private Company: ‘In case of Private Company -
Clause (i) of Sub-Section (3) of Section 143 shall not apply to a
private company:-

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(i) which is a one person company or a small company; or

(ii) which has turnover less than rupees fifty crore as per latest
audited financial statement and which has aggregate
borrowings from banks or financial institutions or any body
corporate at any point of time during the financial year less
than rupees 25 crore. - Notification Dated 13th June, 2017.
The aforesaid exceptions, modifications and adaptations shall be
applicable to a Private company which has not committed a
default in filing of its financial statements under section 137 or
annual return under section 92 of the said Act with the Registrar.’
[Notification No. G.S.R. 583(E) dated 13th June, 2017 stated that
requirements of reporting under section 143(3)(i) read with Rule
10A of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 of the
Companies Act 2013 shall not apply to certain private companies.
Through issue of this circular, it was clarified that the exemption
shall be applicable for those audit reports in respect of financial
statements pertaining to financial year, commencing on or after
1st April 2016, which are made on or after the date of the said
notification. (Clarification regarding applicability of exemption
given to certain private companies under section 143(3)(i) vide
circular no. 08/2017 dated 25th July 2017)]
(10) such other matters as may be prescribed.
(f) Rule 11 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 provides that
the auditor’s report shall also include their views and comments on the
following matters, namely:
(1) whether the company has disclosed the impact, if any, of pending
litigations on its financial position in its financial statement;
(2) whether the company has made provision, as required under any
law or accounting standards, for material foreseeable losses, if
any, on long term contracts including derivative contracts;
(3) whether there has been any delay in transferring amounts,
required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and
Protection Fund by the company.
(4) whether the company had provided requisite disclosures in its
financial statements as to holdings as well as dealings in Specified

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Bank Notes during the period from 8November2016 to 30

December 2016 and if so, whether these are in accordance with
the books of accounts maintained by the company” (this provision
is not relevant now, however, till the time this requirement is not
removed from the law, it will continue to be reported as not
applicable for any financial year post 31 March 2017).
(g) Where any of the matters is answered in the negative or with a
qualification, the auditor’s report shall state the reason for the same.
Example 17: MNO Ltd. is a listed company engaged in the business of
trading of various products. The company also plans to start
manufacturing of certain products which are currently traded.
During the course of its audit, the auditors completed all the procedures
related to audit of financial statements. However, the auditor got stuck
on one procedure because of which audit has not got concluded.
Auditors are waiting for certain additional information – Directors
report and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for their
review. However, the management is not ready with this information
and wants the auditors to complete their work without review of this
information. Please advise as per the legal requirements.
Answer: In the given case, the requirement of the auditors regarding
additional information i.e. Directors report and MD&A without which
they have not been able to conclude the audit doesn’t look valid. The
auditor is required to audit the financial statements and express an
opinion on the same. The auditor does not audit these additional
information.
Hence the auditor should conclude the work without delaying because
of this additional information.
(h) Compliance with auditing standards [Section 143(9) and 143(10)]:
(1) Every auditor shall comply with the auditing standards.
(2) The Central Government may prescribe the standards of auditing
or any addendum thereto, as recommended by the ICAI, in
consultation with and after examination of the recommendations
made by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

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(3) It is further provided that until any auditing standards are notified,
any standard or standards of auditing specified by the ICAI shall
be deemed to be the auditing standards.
(i) Additional matters to be reported in case of specified companies
[Section 143(11)]: In respect of such class or description of companies,
as may be specified in the general or special order by the Central
Government, may in consultation with the NFRA direct, the auditor’s
report shall also include a statement on such matters as may be
specified therein.
CARO 2020 issued by MCA should be complied by the statutory auditor
of every company on which it applies.
(iii) Reporting of frauds by auditors [Section 143(12)]:
Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, if an auditor of a
company, in the course of the performance of his duties as auditor, has
reason to believe that an offence involving fraud is being or has been
committed against the company by officers or employees of the company,
he shall immediately report the matter to the Central Government within
such time and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(1) The Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2015, issued by
the MCA, on 14December 2015, amended Rule 13 of the Companies
(Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014. The amended Rule 13 has introduced
the thresholds for the purpose of reporting on frauds and a differential
reporting responsibilities of the statutory auditor with respect to the
fraud(s) above or below the notified threshold.
As per the amended Rule 13, if an auditor of a company in the course
of the performance of his duties as auditor, has reason to believe that
an offence of fraud, which involves or is expected to involve an amount
of ` 1 crore or above, is being or has been committed in the company
by its officers or employees, the auditor shall report the matter to the
Central Government in following manner:
(a) the auditor shall report the matter to the Board or the Audit
Committee, as the case may be, immediately but not later than 2
days of his knowledge of the fraud, seeking their reply or
observations within 45 days;

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(b) on receipt of such reply or observations, the auditor shall forward

his report and the reply or observations of the Board or the Audit
Committee along with his comments (on such reply or
observations of the Board or the Audit Committee) to the Central
Government within 15 days from the date of receipt of such reply
or observations;
(c) in case the auditor fails to get any reply or observations from the
Board or the Audit Committee within the stipulated period of 45
days, he shall forward his report to the Central Government along
with a note containing the details of his report that was earlier
forwarded to the Board or the Audit Committee for which he has
not received any reply or observations;
(d) the report shall be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate
Affairs (MCA) in a sealed cover by Registered Post with
Acknowledgement Due or by Speed Post followed by an e-mail in
confirmation of the same;
(e) the report shall be on the letter-head of the auditor containing
postal address, e-mail address and contact telephone number or
mobile number and be signed by the auditor with his seal and
shall indicate his Membership Number; and
(f) The report shall be in the form of a statement as specified in Form
ADT-4.
(2) In case of a fraud involving lesser than the specified amount, the auditor
shall report the matter to the audit committee constituted
under section 177 or to the Board immediately but not later than two
days of his knowledge of fraud and he shall report the matter specifying
the following:
(i) Nature of fraud with description;
(ii) Approximate amount involved; and
(iii) Parties involved.
The following details of each of the fraud reported to the Audit
Committee or the Board under sub-rule (3) of amended Rule 13 during
the year shall be disclosed in the Board’s Report:
(i) Nature of fraud with description;

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(ii) Approximate amount involved;

(iii) Parties involved, if remedial action not taken; and
(iv) Remedial actions taken.
(3) The provision of this section shall mutatis mutandis apply to a Cost
Auditor and a Secretarial Auditor during the performance of his duties
under section 148 and section 204 respectively.
(4) No duty to which an auditor of a company may be subject to shall be
regarded as having been contravened by reason of his reporting the
matter referred above if it is done in good faith.
(5) Penalty for non-compliance of section 143(12): If any auditor, cost
auditor or the Secretarial auditor, as mentioned above, do not comply
with the provisions of this section (i.e. section 143(12)), he shall be
punishable with fine which shall not be less than `1 lac but which may
extend to `25 lacs.
(6) Good Faith [Section 143 (13)]: No duty to which an auditor of a
company may be subject to shall be regarded as having been
contravened by reason of his reporting the matter referred to in sub-
section (12) if it is done in good faith.
Example 18: NSH Ltd is engaged in the business of retail and is listed on
National stock exchange. The company recently acquired a business
undertaking to expand its business. During the year, certain transactions
amounting to thousands of rupees were carried out by the employees/
directors of the company which the management found suspicious and
appointed a forensic consultant to carry out their review. Pursuant to this
review process, certain suspect transactions were identified by the
management and the management reported these transactions to the
appropriate authorities. During the course of statutory audit, such
transactions were also made known to the statutory auditors. How should the
auditor dealt with such matter?
Answer: The auditors need to report about this matter appropriately in their
CARO report.
As per Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013, the auditor is required to
report to the Audit Committee or to the Board of Directors and, where
applicable, to the Central Government an offence of fraud in the company by
its officers or employees only if he is the first person to identify/note such

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instance in the course of performance of his duties as an auditor. In this case,

the suspicious transactions have been identified by the management first and
information about the same has been given by the management to the
auditor. Accordingly, the auditor should report about this matter to the Audit
Committee/ Board of Directors but the auditor would not be required to
report the same to Central Government.
(iv) Audit of Government Companies [Section 143(5), (6) & (7)]:
(a) In the case of a Government company or any other company owned or
controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Central Government, or by any
State Government or Governments, or partly by the Central Government
and partly by one or more State Governments, the CAG shall appoint
the auditor under section 139(5) or 139(7) and direct such auditor the
manner in which the accounts of the Government company are required
to be audited and thereupon the auditor so appointed shall submit a
copy of the audit report to the CAG.
(b) The audit report among other things, include the following:
(1) the directions, if any, issued by the CAG;
(2) the action taken thereon; and
(3) its impact on the accounts and financial statement of the company.
(c) The CAG shall within 60 days from the date of receipt of the audit report
have a right to—
(1) conduct a supplementary audit of the financial statement of the
company by such person or persons as he may authorize in this
behalf; and for the purposes of such audit, require information or
additional information to be furnished to any person or persons,
so authorized, on such matters, by such person or persons, and in
such form, as the CAG may direct; and
(2) comment upon or supplement such audit report.
(d) Any comments given by the CAG upon, or supplement to, the audit
report shall be sent by the company to every person entitled to copies
of audited financial statements under section 136(1) and also be placed
before the AGM of the company at the same time and in the same
manner as the audit report.
(e) Test Audit: For Government Company or Company controlled by State
Government or Central Government, the CAG may, if he considers

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necessary, by an order, cause test audit to be conducted of the accounts

of such company, without prejudice to the provisions related to Audit
and Auditors. The provisions of section 19A of the Comptroller and
Auditor-General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971,
shall apply to the report of such test audit.
(v) Audit of accounts of branch office of company [Section 143(8)]:
(a) Branch office in India:
Where a company has a branch office, the accounts of that office shall
be audited either by:
(A) the company’s auditor appointed under section 139, or
(B) by any other person qualified for appointment as an auditor of the
company under section 139.
(b) Branch office outside India:
If the branch office is situated in a country outside India, the accounts of
the branch office shall be audited either by:
(A) the company’s auditor or
(B) by an accountant or
(C) by any other person duly qualified to act as an auditor of the
accounts of the branch office in accordance with the laws of that
country.
(c) The duties and powers of the company’s auditor with reference to the
audit of the branch and the branch auditor, if any, shall be as contained in
sub-sections (1) to (4) of section 143.
(d) The branch auditor shall prepare a report on the accounts of the branch
examined by him and send it to the auditor of the company who shall deal
with it in his report in such manner as he considers necessary.
(e) The provisions regarding reporting of fraud by the auditor shall also
extend to such branch auditor to the extent it relates to the concerned
branch.
(vi) Application of provisions of section 143 to Cost Accountants and Company
Secretary [Section 143(14)]: The provisions of this section shall mutatis
mutandis apply to:
(a) the cost accountant conducting cost audit under section 148; or

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(b) the company secretary in practice conducting secretarial

audit under section 204.

7. AUDITOR NOT TO RENDER CERTAIN

SERVICES [SECTION 144]
Section 144 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for Auditor not to render certain
services. According to this section:

(i) An auditor appointed under this Act shall provide to the company only such
other services as are approved by the Board of Directors or the audit
committee, as the case may be. But such services shall not include any of the
following services (whether such services are rendered directly or indirectly
to the company or its holding company or subsidiary company), namely—

(a) accounting and book keeping services;

(b) internal audit;

(c) design and implementation of any financial information system;

(d) actuarial services;

(e) investment advisory services;

(f) investment banking services;

(g) rendering of outsourced financial services;

(h) management services; and

(i) any other kind of services as may be prescribed. [However no other kind
of services has been prescribed till date]

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Accounting and
book keeping
services;
Any other kind of
Internal
services as may
audit;
be prescribed.

Design and
implementation of
Management
any financial
services; and
information
Prohibited system;
services

Rendering of
outsourced Actuarial
financial services;
services;

Investment
Investment
banking
advisory
services;
services;

(ii) Explanation: The term “directly or indirectly” shall include rendering of

services by the auditor,—
(1) in case of auditor being an individual, either himself or through his
relative or any other person connected or associated with such
individual or through any other entity, whatsoever, in which such
individual has significant influence or control, or whose name or
trademark or brand is used by such individual;
(2) in case of auditor being a firm, either itself or through any of its partners
or through its parent, subsidiary or associate entity or through any
other entity, whatsoever, in which the firm or any partner of the firm
has significant influence or control, or whose name or trademark or
brand is used by the firm or any of its partners.

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RENDERING OF SERVICES ‘DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY’

In case of auditor In case of auditor

being INDIVIDUAL being FIRM

Self Firm

Relatives Partners of firm

Other person connected or

Parent of firm
associated with such individual

Entity in which such individual has

Subsidiary of firm
significant influence or control

Entity whose name or trademark or

Associate entity of firm
brand is used by such individual

Entity in which the firm has significant

influence

Entity in which any partner of the firm has

significant influence or control

Entity whose name or trademark or brand is

used by the firm or any of its partners

Example 19: MNP Ltd is a medium-sized company engaged in the business of

pharmaceuticals. For the year ended 31st March 2018, the company is looking for
appointment of GST (Goods and Services Tax) auditor. The company wants to
appoint somebody for this work who is familiar with the business of the company
i.e. who would have worked with the company in the past so that lesser efforts are
required to get the GST audit completed. The company has options of Statutory
auditors that can be appointed for this work for betterment of company.

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8. AUDITORS TO SIGN AUDIT REPORTS, ETC.

[SECTION 145]
Section 145 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for auditors to sign audit reports,
etc. According to this section:
(i) The person appointed as an auditor of the company shall sign the auditor’s
report or sign or certify any other document of the company in accordance
with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 141 (i.e. in case of firm
including LLP, only Chartered Accountants are authorized to act as statutory
auditors and sign).
(ii) The qualifications, observations or comments on financial transactions or
matters, which have any adverse effect on the functioning of the company
mentioned in the auditor’s report shall be read before the company in general
meeting and shall be open to inspection by any member of the company.

9. AUDITORS TO ATTEND GENERAL MEETING

[SECTION 146]
Section 146 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for auditors to attend general
meeting. According to this section:
(i) All notices of, and other communications relating to, any general meeting
shall be forwarded to the auditor of the company.
(ii) The auditor shall, unless otherwise exempted by the company, attend either
by himself or through his authorized representative, who shall also be
qualified to be an auditor, any general meeting.
(iii) The auditor shall have right to be heard at such meeting on any part of the
business which concerns him as the auditor.

10. PUNISHMENT FOR CONTRAVENTION

[SECTION 147]
Section 147 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for punishment for contravention.
According to this section:

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(i) Penalty on company [Section 147(1)]:

If any of the provisions of sections 139 to 146 (both inclusive) is contravened,
the company shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than ₹
25,000 but which may extend to ₹ 5 lacs.
(ii) Penalty on officers [Section 147(1)]:
If any of the provisions of sections 139 to 146 (both inclusive) is contravened,
every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with
(1) imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 year or
(2) with fine which shall not be less than ₹10,000 but which may extend to
₹1 lac; or
(3) both with imprisonment and fine.
(iii) Penalty on auditor [Section 147(2) & (3)]:
(a) If an auditor of a company contravenes any of the provisions of section
139, section 143, section 144 or section 145, the auditor shall be
punishable with fine which shall not be less than ₹ 25,000 but which
may extend to ₹ 5 lacs or four times the remuneration of the auditor,
whichever is less.
(b) If an auditor has contravened such provisions knowingly or willfully with
the intention to deceive the company or its shareholders or creditors or
tax authorities, he shall be punishable with-
(1) imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 year and
(2) with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but
which may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees or eight times the
remuneration of the auditor, whichever is less.
(c) Further, where an auditor has been convicted as above, he shall be liable
to—
(1) refund the remuneration received by him to the company; and
(2) pay for damages to the company, statutory bodies or authorities
or to members or creditors of the company for loss arising out of
incorrect or misleading statements of particulars made in his audit
report.

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(iv) The Central Government shall, by notification, specify any statutory body or
authority or an officer for ensuring prompt payment of damages to the
company or the persons. Such body, authority or officer shall after payment
of damages to such company or persons file a report with the Central
Government in respect of making such damages in such manner as may be
specified in the said notification. [Section 147(4)]
(v) Liability of Audit firm [Section 147(5)]:
Where, in case of audit of a company being conducted by an audit firm, it is
proved that the partner or partners of the audit firm has or have acted in a
fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud by, or in relation to or
by, the company or its directors or officers, the liability, whether civil or
criminal as provided in the Companies Act, 2013, or in any other law for the
time being in force, for such act shall be of the partner or partners concerned
of the audit firm and of the firm jointly and severally and shall also be liable
under section 447.
Provided that in case of criminal liability of an audit firm, in respect of liability
other than fine, the concerned partner or partners, who acted in a fraudulent
manner or abetted or, as the case may be, colluded in any fraud shall only be
liable.

11. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO SPECIFY AUDIT

OF ITEMS OF COST IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN
COMPANIES [SECTION 148]
Section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides the provisions for Central
Government to specify audit of items of cost in respect of certain companies.
According to this section:
(i) Notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions related to audit and
auditor (Chapter X), the Central Government may, by order, in respect of such
class of companies engaged in the production of such goods or providing
such services as may be prescribed, direct that particulars relating to the
utilisation of material or labour or to other items of cost as may be prescribed
shall also be included in the books of account kept under section 128 by that
class of companies.

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(ii) The Central Government shall, before issuing such order in respect of any
class of companies regulated under a special act, consult the regulatory body
constituted or established under such special Act.
(iii) If the Central Government is of the opinion, that it is necessary to do so, it may,
by order, direct that the audit of cost records of class of companies, which are
covered aforesaid and which have a net worth of such amount as may be
prescribed or a turnover of such amount as may be prescribed, shall be
conducted in the manner specified in the order. An audit conducted under this
section shall be in addition to the audit conducted under section 143.
(iv) The cost audit shall be conducted by a Cost Accountant who shall be
appointed by the Board on such remuneration as may be determined by the
members in such manner as may be prescribed.
(v) Rule 14 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 provides that—
(1) in the case of companies which are required to constitute an audit
committee-
(A) the Board shall appoint an individual, who is a cost accountant, or
a firm of cost accountants in practice, as cost auditor on the
recommendations of the Audit committee, which shall also
recommend remuneration for such cost auditor;
(B) the remuneration recommended by the Audit Committee under
(A) shall be considered and approved by the Board of Directors
and ratified subsequently by the shareholders.
(2) in the case of other companies which are not required to constitute an
audit committee, the Board shall appoint an individual who is a cost
accountant or a firm of cost accountants in practice as cost auditor and
the remuneration of such cost auditor shall be ratified by shareholders
subsequently.
Companies required to Companies not required to
constitute Audit Committee constitute Audit Committee
(a) The Board shall appoint the (a) The Board shall appoint the
cost auditor on the cost auditor.
recommendation of the Audit (b) The remuneration of such
Committee. cost auditor shall be ratified
(b) The Audit Committee shall by shareholders
recommend the subsequently.

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remuneration for cost

auditor.
(c) Such remuneration as
recommended by the Audit
Committee shall be
considered and approved by
the Board of Directors.
(d) Then this remuneration
subsequently to be ratified by
the shareholders.

(vi) No person appointed under section 139 as an auditor of the company (i.e.
company auditor) shall be appointed for conducting the audit of cost records.
(vii) Cost auditor to comply with cost auditing standards: The auditor
conducting the cost audit shall comply with the cost auditing standards.
Here, the expression “cost auditing standards” mean such standards as are
issued by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWA),
constituted under the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, with the
approval of the Central Government.
(viii) An audit conducted under section 148 shall be in addition to the audit
conducted under section 143.
(ix) The qualifications, disqualifications, rights, duties and obligations applicable
to auditors (i.e. applicable to company auditor) shall, so far as may be
applicable, apply to a cost auditor appointed under section 148 and it shall
be the duty of the company to give all assistance and facilities to the cost
auditor appointed under this section for auditing the cost records of the
company.
(x) The report on the audit of cost records shall be submitted by the cost
accountant to the Board of Directors of the company.
(xi) A company shall within 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of the cost
audit report furnish the Central Government with such report along with full
information and explanation on every reservation or qualification contained
therein.
Vide Notification dated 9th September, 2015 under the Rule 4 of the
Companies(Filing of Documents and forms in Extensible Business Reporting
Language) Rules, 2015, a company which is required to furnish cost audit

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report and other documents to the Central Government under sub- section 6
of the section 148 of the Act and rules made thereunder, shall file such report
and other documents using the XBRL taxonomy given in Annexure III for the
financial year commencing on or after 1 April 2014 in e-form CRA-4 specified
under the Companies(Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014.
(xii) If, after considering the cost audit report and the information and explanation
furnished by the company, the Central Government is of the opinion that any
further information or explanation is necessary, it may call for such further
information and explanation and the company shall furnish the same within
such time as may be specified by that Government.
(xiii) Contravention: If any default is made in complying with the provisions of
section 148—
(a) The company and every officer of the company who is in default shall
be punishable in the manner as provided in section 147(1);
(b) the cost auditor of the company who is in default shall be punishable
in the manner as provided in sub-sections (2) to (4) of section 147.
(xiv) The provisions of section 143 shall mutatis mutandis apply to the cost
accountant conducting cost audit under section 148.

SUMMARY
 First auditor: The first auditor of a company, other than a Government
company, shall be appointed by the Board of Directors within 30 days of the
date of registration of the company, and the auditor so appointed shall hold
office until the conclusion of the first AGM.
If the Board fails to appoint first auditor, it shall inform the members of the
company and the company may appoint the first auditor within 90 days at an
extra ordinary general meeting.
 Appointment of Auditors:
 Auditor is to be appointed at 1st AGM for period of 5 years
 Consent of auditors required
 Auditors to attend AGM (have right to be heard in matters concerning
him)

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 Rotation of Auditors:
 Individual auditors: one term of 5 years
 Audit Firm: Two terms of 5 years each
 No reappointment for 5 years from expiry of term i.e. Cooling period.
 Removal of Auditors:
 Auditor to be given reasonable opportunity to be heard
 Prior approval of CG required
 Special resolution in GM
 Special notice to be given in case retiring auditor is not appointed in
AGM.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Question 1
State the procedure for the following, explaining the relevant provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013:
(i) Appointment of First Auditor, when the Board of directors did not appoint the
First Auditor within one month from the date of registration of the company.
(ii) Removal of Statutory Auditor (appointed in last Annual General Meeting)
before the expiry of his term.
Answer
(i) Section 139(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 lays down that the first auditor of a
company shall be appointed by the Board of Directors within 30 days of the
registration of the company.
Section 139 (6) continues to provide further that if the Board of Directors fails to
appoint such auditor, it shall inform the members of the company, who shall
within ninety days at an extraordinary general meeting appoint such auditor and
such auditor shall hold office till the conclusion of the first annual general
meeting.
From the above provisions of law if the Board of Directors fails to appoint the
first auditors within the stipulated 30 days, it shall take the following steps:
a. Inform the members of the Company;

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b. Immediately take steps to convene an extra ordinary general meeting not

later than 90 days;
c. Members shall at that extra ordinary meeting appoint the first auditors of
the company;
d. The first auditors so appointed shall hold office upto the conclusion of the
first AGM of the company.
(ii) Section 140 of the Companies Act, 2013 prescribes certain procedure for removal
of auditors. Under section 140 (1) the auditor appointed under section 139 may
be removed from his office before the expiry of his term only by a special
resolution of the company, after obtaining the previous approval of the Central
Government in that behalf in the prescribed manner. From this sub section it is
clear that the approval of the Central Government shall be taken first and
thereafter the special resolution of the company should be passed.
Provided that before taking any action under this sub-section, the auditor
concerned shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Therefore, in terms of section 140 (1) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule
7 of the Companies (Audit & Auditors) Rules, 2014,the following steps should be
taken for the removal of an auditor before the completion of his term:
The application to the Central Government for removal of auditor shall be made
in Form ADT-2 and accompanied with fees as provided for this purpose under
the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014.
The application shall be made to the Central Government within thirty days of
the resolution passed by the Board.
The company shall hold the general meeting within sixty days of receipt of
approval of the Central Government for passing the special resolution.
Question 2
One-fourth of the subscribed capital of AMC Limited was held by the Government of
Rajasthan. Mr. Neeraj, a Chartered Accountant, was appointed as an auditor of the
Company at the Annual General Meeting held on 30 April,2018 by an ordinary
resolution. Mr. Sanjay, a shareholder of the Company, objects to the manner of
appointment of Mr. Neeraj on the ground of violation of the Companies Act, 2013.
Decide whether the objection of Mr. Sanjay is tenable? Also examine the
consequences of the above appointment under the said Act.

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Answer
As per the section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013, the holding of 25% shares of
AMC Ltd. by the Government of Rajasthan does not make it a government
company. Hence, it will be treated as a non-government company.
Under section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013, the appointment of an auditor by a
company vests generally with the members of the company except in the case of
the first auditors and in the filling up of the casual vacancy not caused by the
resignation of the auditor, in which case, the power to appoint the auditor vests
with the Board of Directors. The appointment by the members is by way of an
ordinary resolution only and no exceptions have been made in the Act whereby a
special resolution is required for the appointment of the auditors.
Therefore, the contention of Mr. Sanjay is not tenable. The appointment is valid
under the Companies Act, 2013.
Question 3
EF Limited appointed an individual firm, Naresh & Company, Chartered Accountants,
as Auditors of the company at the Annual General Meeting held on 30
September2019. Mrs. Kamala, wife of Mr. Naresh, invested in the equity shares face
value of ` 1 lakh of EF Limited on 15 October2019. But Naresh & Company continues
to function as statutory auditors of the company. Advice
Answer
Disqualification of auditor: According to section 141(3)(d)(i) of the Companies
Act, 2013, a person who, or his relative or partner holds any security of the company
or its subsidiary or of its holding or associate company a subsidiary of such holding
company, which carries voting rights, such person cannot be appointed as auditor
of the company. Provided that the relative of such person may hold security or
interest in the company of face value not exceeding 1 lakh rupees as prescribed
under the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
In the case Mr. Naresh, Chartered Accountants, did not hold any such security. But
Mrs. Kamala, his wife held equity shares of EF Limited of face value ` 1 lakh, which
is within the specified limit.
Further Section 141(4) provides that if an auditor becomes subject, after his
appointment, to any of the disqualifications specified in sub-section 3 of section 141,
he shall be deemed to have vacated his office of auditor. Hence, Naresh & Company
can continue to function as auditors of the Company even after 15 October 2019 i.e.
after the investment made by his wife in the equity shares of EF Limited.

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Question 4
Explain how the auditor will be appointed in the following cases:
(i) A Government company within the meaning of section 394 of the Companies
Act2013.
(ii) A public company whose shareholders include XYZ Bank (a nationalized bank)
holding 18% of the subscribed capital of the company.
Answer
(i) The appointment and re-appointment of auditor of a Government Company or
a government controlled company is governed by the provisions of section 139
of the Companies Act, 2013 which are summarized as under:
The first auditor shall be appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India within 60 days from the date of incorporation and in case of failure to do
so, the Board shall appoint auditor within next 30 days and on failure to do so
by Board of Directors, it shall inform the members, who shall appoint the auditor
within 60 days at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), such auditor shall
hold office till conclusion of first Annual General Meeting.
In case of subsequent auditor for existing government companies, the
Comptroller & Auditor General of India shall appoint the auditor within a period
of 180 days from the commencement of the financial year and the auditor so
appointed shall hold his position till the conclusion of the Annual General
Meeting.
(ii) In the given case as the total shareholding of the XYZ Bank is just 18% of the
subscribed capital of the company, it is not a government company. Hence
the provisions applicable to non-government companies in relation to the
appointment of auditors shall apply.
The auditor shall be appointed as follows:
(1) The company shall, at the first annual general meeting, appoint an
individual or a firm as an auditor who shall hold office from the conclusion
of that meeting till the conclusion of its sixth annual general meeting and
thereafter till the conclusion of every sixth meeting.
(2) Before such appointment of auditor is made, the written consent of the
auditor to such appointment, and a certificate from him or firm of auditors
that the appointment, if made, shall be obtained from the auditor:

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.53

Further, the company shall inform the auditor concerned of his or its
appointment, and also file a notice of such appointment with the Registrar
within 15 days of the meeting in which the auditor is appointed.
Question 5
Examine the following situations in the light of the Companies Act, 2013
(i) Mr. Ayush, a Chartered Accountant, has been appointed as an auditor of X Ltd.
in the Annual General Meeting of the company held in September2018, in
which he accepted the assignment. Subsequently, in January2019 he joined B,
as a partner in the consultancy firm of Mr. B. Mr. B is also working as a Finance
Executive of X Ltd.
(ii) “Mr. Abhi”, a practicing Chartered Accountant, is holding securities of Abhiman
Ltd. having face value of ` 1000/-. Whether Mr. Abhi is qualified for
appointment as an Auditor of Abhiman Ltd.?
Answer
(i) Provisions and Explanation: Section 141(3) (c) of the Companies Act, 2013
prescribes that any person who is a partner or in employment of an officer or
employee of the company will be disqualified to act as an auditor of a
company. Sub-section (4) of Section 141 provides that an auditor who
becomes subject, after his appointment, to any of the disqualifications
specified in sub-sections (3) of Section 141, he shall be deemed to have
vacated his office as an auditor.
Conclusion: In the present case, Ayush, an auditor of X Ltd., joined as partner
with consultancy firm where B is also a partner and B is also the Finance
executive of X Ltd. Hence,Ayushhas attracted clause (3)(c) of Section 141 and,
therefore, he shall be deemed to have vacated office of the auditor of X
Limited.
(ii) As per section 141(3)(d)(i), an auditor is disqualified to be appointed as an
auditor if he, or his relative or partner holds any security of or interest in the
company or its subsidiary, or of its holding or associate company or a
subsidiary of such holding company.
In the present case, Mr. Abhi. is holding security of`1000 in the Abhiman Ltd,
therefore, he is not eligible for appointment as an auditor of Abhiman Ltd.

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 10.54 CORPORATE AND OTHER LAWS

Question 6
Examine whether the following persons are eligible for being appointed as auditor
under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013:
(i) "Mr. Prakash" is a practicing Chartered Accountant and "Mr. Aakash", who is a
relative of "Mr. Prakash" is holding securities of "ABC Ltd." having face value of
` 70,000/- (market value ` 1, 10,000/-). Directors of ABC Ltd. want to appoint
Mr. Prakash as an auditor of the company.
(ii) Mr. Ramesh is a practicing Chartered Accountant indebted to MNP Ltd. for
rupees 6 lakh. Directors of MNP Ltd. want to appoint Mr. Ramesh as an auditor
of the company.
(iii) Mrs. KVJ spouse of Mr. Kumar, a Chartered Accountant, is the store keeper of
PRC Ltd. Directors of PRC Ltd. want to appoint Mr. Kumar as an auditor of the
company
Answer
(i) As per section 141 (3)(d)(i) of the Companies Act, 2013, an auditor is
disqualified to be appointed as an auditor if he, or his relative or partner
holding any security of or interest in the company or its subsidiary, or of its
holding or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding company.
Further as per proviso to this Section, the relative of the auditor may hold the
securities or interest in the company of face value not exceeding of
` 1,00,000. In the present case, Mr. Aakash (relative of Mr. Prakash, an
auditor), is having securities of ABC Ltd. having face value of ` 70,000 (market
value ` 1,10,000), which is within the limit as per requirement of under the
proviso to section 141 (3)(d)(i). Therefore, Mr. Prakash will not be disqualified
to be appointed as an auditor of ABC Ltd.
(ii) As per section 141(3)(d)(ii), an auditor is disqualified to be appointed as an
auditor if he or his relative or partner is indebted to the company, or its
subsidiary, or its holding or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding
company, in excess of rupees 5 Lacs. In the instant case, Mr. Ramesh will be
disqualified to be appointed as an auditor of MNP Ltd. as he indebted to MNP
Ltd. for rupees 6 lacs.
(iii) As per section 141(3)(f), an auditor is disqualified to be appointed as an
auditor if a person whose relative is a director or is in the employment of the
company as a director or a key managerial personnel. In the instant case,
since Mrs. KVJ Spouse of Mr. Kumar (Chartered Accountant) is the store

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 AUDIT AND AUDITORS 10.55

keeper (not a director or KMP) of PRC Ltd., hence Mr. Kumar will not be
disqualified to be appointed as an auditor in the said company.
Question 7
The Board of Directors of A Ltd. requested its Statutory Auditor to accept the
assignment of designing and implementation of suitable financial information
system to strengthen the internal control mechanism of the Company. How will you
approach to this proposal, as an Statutory Auditor of A Ltd., taking into account the
consequences, if any, of accepting this proposal?
Answer:
According to section 144 of the Companies Act, 2013, an auditor appointed under
this Act shall provide to the company only such other services as are approved by
the Board of Directors or the audit committee, as the case may be. But such services
shall not include designing and implementation of any financial information
system.
In the said instance, the Board of directors of A Ltd. requested its Statutory Auditor
to accept the assignment of designing and implementation of suitable financial
information system to strengthen the internal control mechanism of the company.
As per the above provision said service is strictly prohibited.
In case the Statutory Auditor accepts the assignment, he will attract the penal
provisions as specified in Section 147 of the Companies Act, 2013.
In the light of the above provisions, we shall advise the Statutory Auditor not to
take up the above stated assignment.

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