The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has provided guidelines for members in practice for responding to tenders issued by various companies for claiming professional services on October 12, 2026, u/s 15(2)(fa) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The guidelines will be effective with immediate effect and stipulate conditions regulating participation by practising chartered accountants in tender processes.
In the guidelines, a member in practice cannot respond to a tender that does not specify minimum fees for professional services, which are reserved only for CAs under a statute. A member may participate in a tender where a minimum fee for such services is specified, provided that the quoted fee is not lower than the prescribed minimum fee. The guidelines also state that the fees quoted by members should not be unduly low, even if the services are exclusively for Chartered Accountants; fees should be commensurate with the scope, value, volume, manpower requirements, and nature of the work.
Members responding to tenders should keep a cost sheet mentioning the estimated costs, including the manpower involved and time needed to be spent. The institute can ask for these documents concerning submitted bids. The term minimum fees comprises estimated fee, professional fee, or any similar amount.
Distinct conditions can be applied to services not exclusively reserved for CAs, for which members can respond regardless of whether minimum fees are mentioned or participation is barred to Chartered accountants. The guidelines did not include quotations sought via individual letters from practising members or firms and restrict reverse bidding which is less than the minimum fee. The guidelines must be read with Guideline No. 1-CA(7)/03/2016 dated April 7, 2016.
The complete PDF can be accessed at the link https://resource.cdn.icai.org/94550pdc-aps6501-tdm-cg.pdf
The statement released by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in Part III or Section 4 of the Gazette of India depicts the way CA firms should deal with tenders (not about Audit Tenders which don’t follow Minimum Fee Guidelines).
Read Also: ICAI Unveils New CA Logo with Guidelines at GloPAC
Mentioned below are some FAQs answered by ICAI in order to solve the queries of CA Firms who are lost or confused about the way of Responding to Tenders (FAQs are prepared for general reference. Members must make their judgments clear before responding to any tender).
FAQs answered by ICAI in order to solve the Queries of CA Firms
Q.1 – From when this notification/statement came in effect?
Ans.1 – The statement was published on 7 April 2016 depicting the guidelines on the way CA Firms should respond to the tender. That means all the tenders after 7 April will be handled allied to the notification/statement issued by ICAI.
Q.2 – Can an ICAI certified member accept assignment for the where the advertisement of tender was issued prior to 7 April 2016?
Ans.2 – The notification by ICAI is valid for tenders isssued on or after 7 April 2016. Therefore, the practicing ICAI member can also accept assignments where the advertisement of tender was issued before 7 April 2016.
Q.3 – Is an ICAI member Eligible to respond to the tenders that are reserved for a Chartered Accountant?
Ans.3 – No, an ICAI certified member is not eligible to respond to any tender issued by an organization in the areas of service specific for Chartered Accountants. Like audit and attestation services, audit under Companies Act 2013, Income Tax Act 1961 and so on.
However, the member can respond to the about mentioned tenders only if the fee of the assignment is mentioned in tender documents.
Q.4 – Is an ICAI member eligible for dealing with tenders that come under the services-criteria of professionals other than a CA? Mostly CAs are seen responding to tender documents?
Ans.4 – Practicing members of ICAI can respond to the tenders that come under the services-criteria of professionals other than a CA.
Q.5 – Is an ICAI member eligible for dealing with tenders that come under the service-criteria of CAs as well as other professionals and in which they are together invited to respond?
Ans.5 – ICAI member is eligible for responding to tenders that come under the service-criteria of CAs as well as other professionals and in which they are together invited to respond.
Read Also: ICAI Significance And 14 FAQ For CA Firm Registration on The Portal
Q.6 – Is an ICAI certified practitioner eligible to respond to assignments where the quotations are received from institute members or firms via individual letters?
Ans.6 – ICAI certified member is eligible to respond to assignments that rely on individual letters issued.
Q.7 – Is an ICAI certified member or firm eligible to respond to tenders in which only technical bid has been asked for from the members after financial quotations request from shortlisted members through individual letters?
Ans.7 – A member of the Institute in practice can respond to the above-mentioned tenders.
Q.8 – What are the consequences of not following the guidelines on tenders issued by ICAI?
Ans.8 – Not following such guidelines will lead to authority taking strict action as it is a decision of the ICAI Council.
Q.9 – Is it possible that ICAI demands documents of technical bids submitted by members?
Ans.9 – ICAI has full authority to demand such documents.
Contact Us
