ADVISORY FOR MULTIPURPOSE EMPANELMENT FORM (MEF) 2025-26

⏰ Last date for submission of online Form and Declaration is 10th October, 2025.

✅ Eligibility for filing MEF

• Partnership/LLP Firms which are in existence as on 1st July, 2025
• Proprietary Firms which are in existence as on 1st July, 2025
• Member holding Full-time Certificate of Practice as on 1st July, 2025 and practising in individual name

Please Note: The above is the eligibility criteria for filing the MEF only. The eligibility criteria of each auditee for allotment of audit may differ. Please refer to Guidelines of the respective auditees for further information.

📝 Procedure of filing MEF

• Green Fields: Non-editable fields fetched from the ICAI Self-Service Portal (SSP) for Firms/Members/Partners/CA Employees.
• White Fields: Editable fields prefilled from last year’s MEF to be updated by Applicants.
• Grey Fields: Indicate changes requested to SSP data (changes count in MEF only when reflected in SSP).
• MEF allows page-wise saving and is editable any number of times before submission.
• PLEASE NOTE THAT ONCE SUBMITTED, IT CANNOT BE EDITED.

⭐ Important Parameters – Grant of Credit

The Applicant will get the credit of the partner/proprietor only if she/he is exclusively associated with the Applicant on 1st July, 2025 until the date of second verification.

Second verification is the subsequent verification of the records of the Member/Firm as on 1st July with the latest SSP records, normally done in October/November.

Exclusiveness of Partner/Proprietor / Member practising in individual name

Partner:

• Must hold full-time Certificate of Practice (CoP) on 1st July, 2025 until the date of the second verification.
• Must not have sole practice (individual) during the above period.
• Should not be associated with any other firm as Partner/Proprietor/CA employee during the above period.
• Should not be employed during the above period.

Proprietor / Member practising in individual name:

• Must hold Full-time CoP on 1st July, 2025 until the date of the second verification.
• Must not be associated with any other firm as Partner/Proprietor/CA employee during the above period.
• Should not be employed during the above period.

👥 Common Partner – Treatment in MEF

• Details of common partner(s) and their associations appear after login.
• If multiple firms with common partners apply, the MEF of all such firms will be rejected.
• If firms have common partner(s)/proprietor(s) as on 1st July, 2025 and only one firm applies, that firm is eligible, but credit of common partner(s)/proprietor(s) will not be given.

🔢 Unique Code Number (UCN)

• UCN will be allotted to all first-time eligible Applicants for Bank Branch Auditor’s panel.
• Applicants not eligible for Bank Branch Auditor’s panel will also be allotted UCN if any partner/proprietor/individual Member is exclusively associated with the Applicant as on 1st July, 2025.
• A Member allotted UCN while practising in individual name should continue to use the same UCN even on forming a Proprietary concern.
• A partnership firm allotted UCN should continue to use the same UCN even on conversion to LLP.

📊 Audit Experience

General: A Member will be considered to have such experience only if he/she has signed the Audit Report/conducted the Audit. Experience as Articled/Audit Assistant or CA employee/assistant is not to be included.

Bank Audit Experience – MEF Panel (including Bank Branch Auditors’ Panel)

• Mention experience of branch audit of a Public Sector Bank (PSB) or a Private Sector Bank (PVB). (Statutory Central Audit of J&K Bank is reckoned as PSB audit experience.)
• If both PSB and PVB are audited in the same year, experience is counted as 1 year only.

Additional Parameter — NABARD Panel (Statutory Auditors of StCBs/CCBs)

• Audit experience means experience as Statutory Central/Branch Auditor of Commercial Banks / UCBs / NBFCs (including HFCs) / AIFIs / and Statutory Auditor of StCBs / CCBs / RRBs.
• In case of merger of audit firms, merger effect after two years; in case of demerger, effect is immediate.
• If more than one of the above entities is audited in the same year, experience is counted as 1 year only.
• Refer detailed guidelines dated 15.01.2024 for further clarification.

👨‍💼 Professional Staff

MEF Panel (including Bank Branch Auditors’ Panel): Professional Staff excludes typists/stenographers/computer operators/secretaries/subordinate staff etc., and implies audit and articled clerks engaged in audit with knowledge of bookkeeping and accountancy.

NABARD Panel (StCBs/CCBs): Professional Staff includes audit and articled clerks engaged in on-site audits with bookkeeping/accountancy knowledge, excludes typists/stenos/computer operators/secretaries/subordinate staff, etc. There shall be at least one year of continuous association with the firm (as per NABARD Guidelines).

👔 Full Time Chartered Accountant Employee

• Active on 1st July, 2025 until the date of the second verification.
• Not a Partner/Proprietor in any other Firm(s) during the above period.
• Not practising in individual name during the above period.
• Not a full-time/part-time CA Employee in any other Firm during the above period.
• Not employed full-time/part-time elsewhere during the above period.

📧 Submission of Declaration

• The Declaration is to be validated with a One Time Password (OTP).
• OTP will be sent to the Email ID and Mobile Number registered in SSP of ICAI. Modify these in SSP; updates reflect in MEF in real time via “Refresh Mobile and E-mail from SSP”.
• The Declaration is to be validated by all partners/proprietor/individual, as applicable.
• OTP is not required for partner(s) who retire/expire before submission (if updated in SSP). Mention the reason in MEF. No credit will be given for such partners.
• It is advisable to share the draft MEF internally with all partners before submission so they can validate via OTP.

📂 Submission of Financial Documents (FY 2023-24)

The Financial Documents are to be uploaded by all Applicants of MEF (Firm and continuing Partners); otherwise, the application cannot be submitted.

For Firms (Partnership Firms):

• Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format
• Income Tax Return Acknowledgement in PDF
• Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Firm in PDF
• Balance Sheet as on 31st March 2024 with Schedules (if applicable) in PDF
• Income & Expenditure Account for FY 2023-24 with Schedules (if applicable) in PDF

For Partners:

• Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format
• Income Tax Return Acknowledgement in PDF
• Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Partner in PDF

Sole Proprietor / Individual practising in individual name:

• Complete Income Tax Return in JSON format
• Income Tax Return Acknowledgement in PDF
• Statement of Computation of Total Income of the Member in PDF
• Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2024 with Schedules (if applicable) in PDF
• Income & Expenditure Account for FY 2023-24 with Schedules (if applicable) in PDF

Applicants under the Presumptive Taxation scheme under Section 44ADA who filed ITR accordingly for FY 2023-24 need not submit Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Account.

All Financial Information shall be filled in absolute numbers only (e.g., ₹2,56,256 and not “2.56 lakhs”).

📌 Final Preparation of Panel — Important Points

• No credit if any Partner(s)/CA employee retires/expires/leaves between 1st July 2025 and the date of second verification.
• No credit for Partners/CA employees who joined after 1st July 2025, even through merger.
• If the Firm is closed/merged between 1st July 2025 and the date of second verification, its name will not be included in the Panel.
• If COP status of an individual applicant changes from full-time to Part-time/No COP between 1st July 2025 and the date of second verification, such applicant will not be included in the Panel.

📞 Complaint filing Mechanism

For any clarification/query/complaint regarding MEF 2025-26, lodge it under the tab “MEF Complaint Entry” at meficai.org. A Complaint Number will be generated for future reference. Applicants can view complaint status using MRN/FRN or by logging in to MEF.

If unresolved within 3 working days, write to mefpdc[at]icai[dot]in mentioning the Complaint Number or call between 2 PM – 5 PM on working days:

• Ms. Priya Duggal / Ms. Garima Khurana — 92055 59866
• Mr. Manish Bhardwaj — 92055 59865

📍 Others

• To calculate Category as per Guidelines for appointment/re-appointment of Statutory Branch Auditors of PSB, use the calculator: https://meficai.org/Cats.
• PDC generally hosts the draft MEF Panel in October/November for verification by applicants.
• Information provided in MEF may be used by ICAI for empanelment by RBI, NABARD, PSBs or other authorities. Applicants must give voluntary consent and undertake compliance with Section 15 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and applicable Rules/Regulations (consent checkboxes provided in MEF).
• The Institute reserves the right to call for additional information/documents as appropriate.
• While all efforts are made in preparing the panel, the Institute will not be responsible for inadvertent mistakes or omissions.
• The Institute does not undertake responsibility regarding allotment of audit.
• Any modification in MEF will be accepted in compliance with MEF/RBI/NABARD Guidelines applicable at the time of preparation of the Panel.
• Members are advised not to correspond directly with authorities like RBI, NABARD, PSBs, etc. on empanelment matters.