Amendments to Rule 11(g) of Companies (audit and auditors) rules

Introduction to Amendments to Rule 11(g) of Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014

1. Section 143(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 provides various matters on which auditors are required to report in their auditor’s report. Clause (j) of Section 143(3) states that auditor’s report shall also state such other matters as may be prescribed. Rule 11 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 specifies such other matters that are to be reported by the auditor.
   
2. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide its notification No. GSR 206(E) dated March 24, 2021 has issued the ‘Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2021’ (hereinafter referred as “the Audit Rules”) read with sub-section 3 of Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred as “the Act”) introducing new Rule 11(e), new Rule 11(f) and new Rule 11(g) and deleting Rule 11(d). Rule 11(g) is reproduced below:
   “Whether the company, in respect of financial years commencing on or after the 1st April, 2022, has used such accounting software for maintaining its books of account which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has been operated throughout the year for all transactions recorded in the software and the audit trail feature has not been tampered with and the audit trail has been preserved by the company as per the statutory requirements for record retention.”
   
3. The requirement was initially made applicable for the financial year commencing on or after the 1st day of April 2021 vide notification G.S.R. 206(E) dated March 24, 2021. However the applicability was deferred to financial year commencing on or after April 1, 2022, vide MCA notification G.S.R. 248(E) dated April 1, 2021. It may be noted that a new requirement for companies has been prescribed under the proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 requiring companies, which use accounting software for maintaining their books of account, to use only such accounting software which has audit trail feature. This requirement for companies was initially made applicable for financial year commencing on or after April 1, 2021. However, its applicability has been deferred two times and this requirement is finally applicable from April 1, 2023.

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