ICAI MEF 2026-27: Key Highlights & Summary

The Professional Development Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has opened the Multipurpose Empanelment Form 2026-27 for Chartered Accountants and CA firms seeking empanelment for various professional assignments, including bank audits and other audit opportunities. The online filing process commenced on 7 August 2026 and can be accessed through the official MEF portal at www.meficai.org.

Eligibility for Filing MEF

The following are eligible to file MEF 2026-27:

• Partnership Firms / LLPs existing on 1 July 2026
• Proprietorship Firms existing on 1 July 2026
• Individual Chartered Accountants holding a Full-Time Certificate of Practice (COP) on 1 July 2026

Note: Eligibility for filing MEF does not automatically mean eligibility for audit allotment. Separate conditions apply for RBI, PSBs, NABARD, etc.

Filing Process of MEF 

Color Coding in MEF

• Green Fields: Auto-fetched from the ICAI SSP portal. and non-editable.
• White Fields: Editable fields. and update the previous year’s information.
• Grey Fields: Used for providing information where SSP records are yet to be updated.
• MEF can be saved and edited multiple times before submission. Once submitted, MEF cannot be edited.

Exclusive Association Requirement

Credit for a partner, proprietor, or individual member will be available only if they are exclusively associated with the applicant firm from 1 July 2026 up to the Second Verification Stage (generally October-November 2026).

Partner Eligibility

The Partner must:

• Hold a Full-Time COP.
• Not practice individually.
• Not be a partner/proprietor/CA employee in another firm.
• Not be employed elsewhere.

Proprietor / Individual Practice

The member must:

• Hold Full-Time COP.
• Not be associated with another CA firm.
• Not be employed elsewhere.

Unique Code Number (UCN)

Important Points

✅ New eligible firms receive UCN.

✅ Existing UCN remains unchanged:

• Individual practice converting into Proprietorship.
• Partnership converting into LLP.

✅ UCN is retained throughout structural changes.

Audit Experience

General Rule : Only experience where the member signed the audit report OR conducted the audit will be counted. Experience as an article assistant, audit assistant, and CA employee will not be considered.

Bank Audit Experience

Bank Branch Auditors’ Panel: Recognized experience

• Public Sector Bank Branch Audit
• Private Sector Bank Branch Audit
• Statutory Central Audit of J&K Bank

If both PSB and private bank audits were conducted in the same year, only 1 year of experience will be counted.

NABARD Panel (StCBs & CCBs)

Eligible experience includes audit of:

• Commercial Banks
• UCBs
• NBFCs/HFCs
• AIFIs
• RRBs
• State Co-operative Banks
• Central Co-operative Banks

Merger/Demerger Rules

• Merger benefit after 2 years.
• Demerger benefit immediately.

Professional Staff

For MEF purposes:

• Includes: Audit Clerks, article assistants, and Personnel engaged in audit work
• Excludes: Typists, Stenographers, Computer Operators, Secretaries and Subordinate Staff
• For NABARD Panel: At least 1 year continuous association is required.

Full-Time CA Employee Criteria

A Full-Time CA Employee must:

• Be an active ICAI member.
• Who is not be a partner/proprietor elsewhere.
• Not practice individually.
• Who is not be CA employee in another firm.
• Not be employed elsewhere.

This condition must continue from 1 July 2026 till Second Verification.

Declaration & OTP Verification

Important

Declaration must be validated through OTP.

OTP will be sent to:

• Registered Mobile Number
• Registered Email ID in SSP

All partners/proprietors/individual applicants must authenticate the declaration.

Recommendation: Share draft MEF internally before final submission.

Financial Documents Required (FY 2024-25)

Partnership Firms

Firm Documents

• ITR (JSON)
• ITR Acknowledgement (PDF)
• Computation of Income (PDF)
• Balance Sheet (PDF)
• Income & Expenditure Account (PDF)

Partner Documents

• ITR (JSON)
• ITR Acknowledgement
• Computation of Income

Proprietorship / Individual Practice

• ITR (JSON)
• ITR Acknowledgement
• Computation of Income
• Balance Sheet
• Income & Expenditure Account

Exception : Applicants filing under Section 44ADA need not upload: Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Account

Important Post-Submission Checks

Credit will not be given if:

• Partner/CA employee leaves after 1 July 2026 but before the second verification.
• A new partner joins after 1 July 2026.
• The firm gets closed or merged.
• Full-time COP changes to part-time or No COP.

Complaint & Helpdesk

For any issue, use: MEF Complaint Entry at www.meficai.org. If unresolved within 3 working days: Email: mefpdc@icai.in and  Helpdesk : Mr. Manish Bhardwaj: 92055 59865 and Ms. Priya Duggal / Ms. Garima Khurana: 92055 59866 (Available on working days from 2 PM to 5 PM).

Important Deadline: Last date for online submission of MEF 2026-27 and Declaration: 29 August 2026

Key Takeaways for CA Firms

1. Submit MEF before 29 August 2026.
2. Ensure all SSP records are updated before filing.
3. Maintain exclusive status of partners and CA employees until second verification.
4. Keep FY 2024-25 financial documents ready.
5. Verify audit experience carefully; article/employee experience is not counted.
6. Complete OTP validation from all partners before final submission.
7. Once submitted, MEF cannot be modified.

MEF eligibility and partner exclusivity as on 1 July 2026 remain the most critical factors for empanelment and audit panel consideration.