The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has opened the Multipurpose Empanelment Form (MEF) for 2026-27, with August 29, 2026, set as the deadline for submission of the online form and declaration.
The exercise is significant for the cooperative banking sector as the MEF includes the panel for appointment/re-appointment of statutory auditors of State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and Central Cooperative Banks (CCBs) for submission to NABARD.
For this panel, audit-firm experience as a statutory central or branch auditor of commercial banks, Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), NBFCs including HFCs, AIFIs, StCBs, CCBs and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will be considered. If an applicant has audited more than one of these entities in the same year, the experience will be counted as one year.
The advisory also prescribes professional-staff requirements, including at least one year of continuous association with the firm.
Partnership/LLP firms, proprietary firms and members practising in their individual names, subject to the prescribed conditions, are eligible to file the MEF.
ICAI clarified that MEF filing is an empanelment exercise and does not itself guarantee audit allotment.
