REVISED GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING OF ARTICLED ASSISTANTS OUTSIDE INDIA

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

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

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

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

       Category            Period of continuous practice                Entitlement of
                                                                     articled assistant or
                                                                           assistants
          (i)     An associate or fellow in continuous practice                 1
                  for a period up to 3 years
         (ii)     An associate or fellow in continuous practice                2
                  for any period from 3 years to 5 years
         (iii)    An associate or fellow in continuous practice                4
                  for any period from 5 years to 10 years
         (iv)     An associate or fellow in continuous practice                5
                  for any period from 10 years

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

         Further where an Indian Chartered Accountant is working as paid assistant in a firm
         where there is no Indian CA as a partner such paid assistant shall not be entitled to
         train any articled assistant
 iv.     The members shall provide a professional address as envisaged in Regulation
        2(1)(xiii) as well as an address in India.






      (As per the said Regulation, professional address means: -
      a. an address of the place where the member is carrying on his profession ( or
          where he is carrying on his profession at more than one place, the principal
          place), or
      b. if a member is employed, the place of employment or at his option the place of
          his residence
      c. the place of residence, if the member neither carried on the profession nor is
          employed.
 It may please be noted that an address in India is essential in any of the situation)

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

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

 vi.    The period of practical training shall be 3 years or 3 ½ years, as applicable, under
        a practising chartered accountant abroad. However, the articled / audit assistants
        should have an option to undergo industrial training in accordance with the
        Regulations 51 & 72 of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 during the
        last one year of training.

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

viii.   The terms & conditions contained in Regulation 54 and Regulation 54A dealing
        with secondment shall be applicable to the articled assistants receiving training
        abroad.
ix.     The Principal shall send training reports as prescribed alongwith the service
        certificate to be issued in Form 109 & 108 as the case may be.

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

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

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

       a.The working hours for the articled assistants shall be 35 hours in a
          week excluding the lunch break.
       b.The office hours of the Principal for providing article training to the
          articled assistant shall not be generally before 9.00 a.m. or after 7.00
          p.m.
       c.The normal working hours for the articled assistant shall not start after
          11.00 a.m. or end before 5.00 p.m.
       d.The working hours for the articled assistants should not exceed 35
          hours in a week excluding the lunch break and normally an articled
          assistant be required to work during the normal working hours fixed for
          articled assistants.
       e.In case of exigencies of work with Principal, an article assistant may be
          required to work beyond his / her normal working hours. However, under
          such circumstances, the aggregate number of working hours shall not
          exceed 45 hours per week. The requirement to work beyond 35 hours in
          a week should not be a practice but only in exceptional
          circumstances.

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

Further conduct of training will be regulated as per provisions of the relevant
Regulations as follows: -
Regulation 60: Working hours of an Articled Assistant
"Subject to such directions as may be issued by the Council, the working hours of an
articled assistant shall be 35 hours per week to be regulated by the Principal from
time to time".

Regulation 65: Articled assistant not to engage in any other occupation
"Without the previous permission of the Council, obtained on application made in the
*approved form, no articled assistant shall, during the period of his service as an
articled assistant, take any other course of study or training, whether academic or
professional, or engage in any business or occupation."






Regulation 66: Enquiries against articled assistant
"(1) Where a complaint or information of any misconduct or breach of Regulation 65 or
breach of any of the covenants contained in the articles is received against an
articled assistant from his principal or any other person, the President or the Vice-
President as the Executive Committee may decide from time to time, may cause an
investigation to be made
(2) The Executive Committee may, on a consideration of the report of the investigation
and after giving the articled assistant an opportunity of being heard, make any of the
following orders, namely;-
i. direct that the papers be filed and the complaint be dismissed, if the Executive
Committee finds that the articled assistant is not guilty of any misconduct of breach of
Regulation 65 or breach of any of the covenants contained in the articles; or
ii. if the articled assistant is found guilty, reprimand the articled assistant or cancel
the registration of articles or direct that any period already served under such
articles shall not be reckoned as service for the purpose of the period of practical
training specified in Regulation 50.
(3) The articled assistant, the registration of whose articles has been cancelled under
this regulation, shall not, except with the permission of the Executive Committee be
retained or taken as an articled assistant or audit assistant by any member".

Regulation 67: Complaint against the Principal
1) Where an articled assistant makes a complaint against his principal on a matter
    concerning his training as an articled assistant, the President or the Vice- President
    as the Executive Committee may decide from time to time, may cause
      an investigation to be made and submit a report to the Executive Committee.
2) The Executive Committee shall submit the report of the investigation to the
    Council with its recommendations.
3) The Council may, on a consideration of the report of the Executive Committee, pass
    such order as it may consider expedient, including an order withdrawing the
    entitlement of the principal to train one or more articled assistants either
    permanently or for a specified period:
4) The President or the Vice-President as the Executive Committee may decide from
    time to time, may, pending an investigation of the complaint, either terminate or
    suspend the articles and allow the articled assistant to be accepted as additional
    articled assistant by a member, notwithstanding anything contained in Regulation
    43.