Institute of Chartered Accountants of India - Disciplinary Process

Disciplinary Process

The Disciplinary Directorate, the Board of Discipline, and the Disciplinary Committee form the foundation of the disciplinary process of the Institute. These entities are quasi-judicial and have substantial powers like that of a Civil Court to summon and enforce attendance or require discovery or production of documents on affidavit or otherwise. The Disciplinary Directorate is headed by an officer designated as Director (Discipline). On receipt of any information or complaint that a member has allegedly engaged in any misconduct, the Director (Discipline) shall arrive at a prima facie opinion whether or not there is any misconduct. If the Director (Discipline) is of the opinion that the misconduct is covered by the items listed in the first schedule of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, he shall refer the case to the Board of Discipline. If he is of the Opinion that the case is covered by the Second Schedule or both schedules of the CA Act, he will refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee. If the Board of Discipline finds a member guilty of professional or other misconduct, it may at its discretion reprimand the member, remove the name of the member from the register of members for up to three months or impose a fine up to 1,00,000/-. If the Disciplinary Committee finds a member guilty of professional or other misconduct, it may at its discretion reprimand the member, remove the name of the member from the register of members permanently or impose a fine up to 5,00,000/-. Any member aggrieved by any order may approach the Appellate Authority.

It should be born in mind that this disciplinary proceeding is not in lieu of or alternative for criminal proceedings in a court. Criminal proceedings against a Chartered Accountant and disciplinary action by ICAI are to separate issues and one need not wait for another to be completed first.