The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has introduced a ceiling of 60 tax audit assignments per chartered accountant (CA), effective from the financial year 2026–27 (FY26–27), the Times of India reported.
The ceiling will apply to all tax audits conducted under Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and is effective from 1 April 2026.
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The limit is designed to tighten control over how audit work is allotted and executed within partnership structures, particularly in larger companies.
Under the new rule, the cap of 60 will function as a consolidated annual limit for each ICAI member.
It will apply irrespective of whether the chartered accountant signs reports as an individual practitioner or as a partner in one or more companies.
As a result, even if a CA is associated with several practices, the total number of tax audits that can be signed by that individual in a single financial year cannot exceed 60.
The ICAI has also made it clear that partners in a company will not be allowed to pool, transfer or utilise the unexhausted quota of other partners.
The move is directed at curbing practices observed in some large companies, where the apparent audit capacity was expanded by using the names of multiple partners, including “so-called namesake partners”, while most of the audit work was effectively carried out by a smaller group.
The ICAI has further clarified that revised tax audit reports and tax audits conducted under presumptive taxation schemes will be excluded from the count of 60 assignments.
Earlier this month, the ICAI expanded the scope of mandatory implementation for its Audit Quality Maturity Model.
