The Professional Development Committee (PDC) of ICAI has announced the availability of the Multipurpose Empanelment Form (MEF) for 2023-24 on http://www.meficai.org.
ICAI has issued advisory regarding Multipurpose Empanelment Form (MEF) for the FY 2023-24, i.e. Bank/Branch Auditors Panel. The original deadline for submitting the online form (MEF) and declaration was 6th October 2023, which has been extended by ICAI to 21st October 2023* vide Announcement dated 04/10/2023.
| * ICAI has announced on 17/11/2023 to provide members with a one-time opportunity of 3 days to complete or submit the MEF 2023-24 application during November 20-22, 2023. |
Registration and Login Details: MEF 2023-24
i) Existing Applicants: Applicants can sign in using their MEF 2022-23 credentials. In case of forgotten password, retrieval can be made by clicking the “Forgot Password” button.
ii) New Applicants: Registration should be made using the FRN & Date of Establishment if the applicant is a Partnership Firm/LLP/Proprietary Concern. Individual applicants should register using their MRN & Date of Birth.
A new feature, the “Category Calculator”, has been introduced by ICAI, which allows applicants to determine their category based on revised RBI norms as of 6th March, 2023.
Eligibility for filing MEF 2023-24
i) Partnership or LLP firms that were operational as of July 1st, 2023.
ii) Proprietary firms that were established as of July 1st, 2023.
iii) Individuals who held a Full-time Certificate of Practice as of July 1st, 2023 and were practicing under their own name.
MEF Filing Procedure 2023-24
i) Green Fields: These are non-editable fields displaying data about firms, members, partners, and paid employees fetched from ICAI’s SSP. Any changes to these fields will only take effect in MEF if they’re reflected in the ICAI’s SSP. Applicants can indicate these changes in the corresponding grey fields in MEF for information tracking.
ii) White Fields: These are editable fields that show data from last year’s MEF, which applicants need to update based on the latest actuals.
MEF offers a page-wise saving mechanism, letting you edit your entries numerous times before final submission. However, once submitted, the form cannot be further modified.
Key Aspects of Credit Scaling in MEF
i) Applicants will only receive the merit of the partner/proprietor if this individual has been exclusively associated with the applicant from July 1, 2023, up until the date of the second verification.
ii) The second verification is the later confirmation of the member/firm’s records as of July 1st of the relevant year against the most recent records in the SSP (Self-Service Portal). This procedure usually occurs in October.
iii) An applicant applying as an individual will gain credit only if they’ve remained exclusively involved from July 1, 2023, to the second verification date.
iv) Among multiple firms with common partners, only one firm can apply for the Bank Branch Auditors’ (BBA) Panel. If multiple firms apply, all their submitted MEFs for the BBA panel will be rejected.
v) If firms have common partner(s)/proprietor(s) as of July 1, 2023, and only one firm applies, it will still be eligible. However, the credit of the common partner(s)/ proprietor(s) will be excluded.
vi) Information about common partners and their affiliations with other firms, as well as solo practices, will be shown once logged into the MEF.
vii) Members involved with any of the following entities even for a day from July 1, 2023, to the second verification date, won’t be considered as exclusively associated with the applicant:
a) Member is not holding a full-time CoP.
b) Proprietor/Partner also runs a Solo Practice individually.
c) Proprietor manages more than one Proprietary Concern.
d) Partner/Proprietor/Sole Practitioner is employed elsewhere.
e) Proprietor/Partner has partnership in any other company.
Unique Code Number (UCN): MEF 2023-24
i) All first-time applicants eligible for the Bank Branch Auditor’s panel will be assigned a UCN.
ii) Even those applicants who do not qualify for the Bank Branch Auditor’s panel will receive a UCN, provided any of their partners, proprietors or members practicing under an individual name is exclusively tied to the applicant as of July 1, 2023.
iii) Any member assigned a UCN while operating under an individual name should continue using that UCN even after forming a proprietary firm.
Consideration of Bank Audit Experience
i) The experience of functioning as a Statutory Auditor for a branch of either Public or Private Sector Bank with total bank deposits exceeding Rs 500 Crore should be specified. It’s important to note that the total sum refers to the whole bank, not merely a branch.
ii) The experience of conducting a Statutory Central Audit of J & K Bank will also be considered as a Public Sector Bank Audit experience.
iii) If an applicant has audited both Public and Private Sector Banks in the same year, the experience will be counted as one year only.
iv) Only those members who have signed the Audit Report or conducted the Audit will be deemed to possess such experience.
v) Any experience accrued in the role of Articled/Audit Assistant or paid employee/assistant should not be counted when documenting the audit experience in MEF.
MEF Declaration Submission 2023-24
i) To validate the MEF declaration, a One Time Password (OTP) will be used.
ii) The OTP will be sent to the email address and mobile number registered in the ICAI’s SSP. Any necessary alterations to the email or mobile number should be made in the SSP for real-time reflection in the MEF.
iii) The declaration will only be valid if the OTP is validated by all partners, proprietors, or members practicing in their individual name.
In any case where a partner hasn’t validated their OTP, the applicant should state the reason. However, such partners’ credits will be excluded for the applicant.
iv) The partner retiring between July 1, 2023, and the MEF submission does not require OTP validation if updates are reflected in the SSP database.
v) Prior to submission, it’s advisable that a draft MEF is shared with all partners to facilitate validation of the declaration via OTP.
Submitting Financial Documents (MEF 2023-24)
All MEF applicants (firms and continuing partners) must submit the required financial documents. Otherwise, the application cannot proceed.
Before submitting the MEF, applicants need to upload their financial documents by clicking on the designated icon. The following financial documents must be submitted for the financial year 2021-2022:
A. For Partnership Firms:
a) Firms:
i) Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format;
ii) Income Tax Return Acknowledgement;
iii) Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Firm;
iv) Balance Sheet as of 31st March 2022, including Schedules; and
v) Income & Expenditure Account for the financial year 2021-2022, including Schedules.
b) Partners:
i) Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format;
ii) Income Tax Return Acknowledgement; and
iii) Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Partner.
B. For Sole Proprietors / Individuals Practicing in Their Own Name
i) Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format;
ii) Income Tax Return Acknowledgement;
iii) Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Member;
iv) Balance Sheet as of 31st March 2022, including Schedules;
v) Income & Expenditure Account for the financial year 2021-2022, including Schedules;
Applicants who have chosen the Presumptive Taxation scheme under Section 44ADA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and filed their ITR accordingly for the financial year 2021-22 should select the appropriate tab on the Financial Documents page. Such applicants are not required to submit Balance Sheets and Income & Expenditure Accounts.
All financial information should be provided in absolute numbers only (e.g., a gross professional receipt of Rs 2,56,256 should be entered as 2,56,256, not as 2.56 lakhs).
Finalizing the Panel for Bank Audit
Only the partners who have been continuously active from July 1, 2023, up to the date of second verification will be credited.
For partners who retire or depart between July 1, 2023, and the second verification date, credits will not be applicable.
Partners who join after July 1, 2023, including through mergers, will not receive credit. However, they will be eligible for credit in the following year, provided they remain with the same firm.
When a paid Chartered Accountant (CA) employee resigns and another paid CA employee joins the firm between July 1, 2023, and the second verification date, the incoming employee will receive credit.
A firm that closes or merges between July 1, 2023, and the second verification date will not appear in the panel.
Suppose an individual applicant’s Certificate Of Practice (COP) status changes from full-time to part-time, or they have no COP from July 1, 2023, to the second verification date. In that case, they will be excluded from the panel.
Complaint Submission Procedure
If you require any clarification or wish to raise a query or complaint relating to MEF 2023-24, please do so through the “MEF Complaint Entry” tab on ICAI website, meficai.org, for a timely solution.
Applicants can submit their queries or complaints by using their MRN or FRN. Upon successful submission, you will receive a unique complaint number for further reference.
To check the status of your complaint, utilize your MRN or FRN on the said website of ICAI.
Should your complaint remain unresolved within five working days, please contact ICAI by writing an email to mefpdc@icai.in. Include your complaint number in your email.
You can also reach out to ICAI by phone from 2 PM to 5 PM on all working days. Please mention your complaint number when making the call:
i) Ms Priya Duggal: 92055 59866; and
ii) Mr Manish Bhardwaj: 92055 59865
Miscellaneous Matters for MEF 2023-24
To determine your category, please use the calculator provided at https://app.meficai.org/Cats.
The PDC generally presents a draft MEF Panel each November for applicants to review and verify their information.
Please note the Institute may request additional information or documents from applicants as deemed necessary.
While utmost diligence is applied in preparing the panel, the Institute is not liable for any inadvertent errors or omissions.
The Institute does not assume responsibility for audit allocation.
Any changes to the MEF needs to comply with the MEF/RBI guidelines applicable at the time the Panel is prepared.
Applicants are strongly recommended by ICAI not to directly engage with the concerned authorities such as RBI, NABARD, among others, regarding empanelment matters.
https://app.meficai.org/advisory
Related Posts:
ICAI’s Revised Guidance Note on Bank/ Branch Audit 2024
ICAI’s Revised Cut-Off Date (1st July) for MEF Bank Branch Auditors Panel