Chartered Accountant

A Chartered Accountant (CA) is a qualified accounting and audit professional who is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the statutory body constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. A CA holding a valid Certificate of Practice (COP) is legally authorised to sign statutory audits, tax audits, and other attestations that Indian law reserves exclusively for the profession. Beyond audit, CAs handle direct and indirect tax planning, GST and MCA compliance, financial reporting, valuations, and business advisory.

Functions reserved for a practising CA

• Statutory audit of companies, appointed under Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013, with the audit report signed under Section 143.
• Tax audit under Section 63 (the old Section 44AB) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
• Certification of net-worth certificates, and forms filed on the MCA, GST, and income-tax portals.

Every certificate or attestation issued must carry a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) generated on the ICAI portal, so it can be verified as authentic.

How you become one

A candidate clears ICAI's three-tier examinations (Foundation, Intermediate, and Final) and completes practical training (articleship) before being admitted to membership and allotted a membership number. Auditors of listed and large companies are additionally overseen by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

Tax audit thresholds (Section 63, old Section 44AB)

Taxpayer	Turnover / gross receipts limit
Business	Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 crore if cash receipts and payments are each 5% or less)
Profession	Rs 50 lakh

Failure to get accounts audited attracts a penalty under Section 446 (the old Section 271B) of 0.5% of turnover, capped at Rs 1,50,000.