Incorporation of the Institute.
3. (1) All persons whose names are entered in the Register at the commencement of this Act and
all persons who may hereafter have their names entered in the Register under the provisions of
this Act, so long as they continue to have their names borne on the said Register, are hereby
constituted a body corporate by the name of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India,
and all such persons shall be known as members of the Institute.
(2) The Institute shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall have power to
acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and shall by its name sue or
be sued.
Entry of names in the Register.
4. (1) Any of the following persons shall be entitled to have his name entered in the Register,
namely :—
(i) any person who was an associate or a fellow of the dissolved company (other than an
honorary associate or honorary fellow thereof) immediately before the commencement of
this Act, except any such person who is not a permanent resident of India and is not at such
commencement practising as a cost accountant in India;
(ii) any person who has passed such examination and completed such training as may be
prescribed for members of the Institute;
(iii) any person who, at the commencement of this Act, is engaged in the practice of cost
accountancy in India and who fulfils such conditions as the Central Government or the
Council may specify in this behalf;
(iv) any person who has passed such other examination and completed such other training
without India as is recognised by the Central Government or the Council as being equivalent
to the examination and training prescribed for members of the Institute :
Provided that in the case of any person who is not permanently residing in India, the Central
Government or the Council may impose such further conditions as it may deem fit;
(v) any person domiciled in India, who at the commencement of this Act is studying for any
foreign examination and is at the same time undergoing training, whether within or without
India, or, who, having passed such examination, is at such commencement undergoing
training whether within or without India :
Provided that such foreign examination and training are recognised by the Central
Government or the Council in this behalf :
Provided further that the person passes the examination and completes his training within
five years from the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every person belonging to the class mentioned in clause (i) of sub-section (1) shall have his
name entered in the Register without the payment of any entrance fee.
6
1
[(3) Every person belonging to any of the classes mentioned in clauses (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of
sub-section (1) shall have his name entered in the Register on application being made and
granted in the prescribed manner and on payment of such fees, as may be determined, by
notification, by the Council, which shall not exceed rupees three thousand:
Provided that the Council may with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the
fee exceeding rupees three thousand, which shall not in any case exceed rupees six thousand.]
(4) The Central Government shall take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of having
the names of all persons belonging to the class mentioned in clause (i) of sub-section (1) entered
in the Register at the commencement of this Act.
Fellows and Associates.
5. (1) The members of the Institute shall be divided into two classes designated respectively as
associates and fellows.
(2) Any person other than a person to whom the provisions of sub-section (3) apply shall, on his
name being entered in the Register, be deemed to have become an associate member of the
Institute and so long as his name remains so entered, shall be entitled to use the letters AICWA
after his name to indicate that he is an associate member of the Institute of Cost and Works
Accountants.
(3) Any person who was a fellow of the dissolved company and who is entitled to have his name
entered in the Register under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 4, shall be entered in the
Register as a fellow of the Institute.
2
[(4) A member, being an associate who has been in continuous practice in India for at least five
years, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, or whether partly before and partly
after the commencement of this Act, and a member who has been an associate for a continuous
period of not less than five years and who possesses such qualifications as the Council may
prescribe with a view to ensuring that he has experience equivalent to the experience normally
acquired as a result of continuous practice for a period of five years as a cost accountant shall, on
payment of such fees, as may be determined, by notification, by the Council, which shall not
exceed rupees five thousand, and on application made and granted in the prescribed manner, be
entered in the Register as a fellow of the Institute:
__________________________
1Substituted by the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006, w.e.f. 8-8-2006. Prior to its substitution, subsection (3) read as under :
“(3) Every person belonging to any of the classes mentioned in clauses (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of sub-section (1) shall have
his name entered in the Register on application being made and granted in the prescribed manner and on payment of the
prescribed entrance fee, which shall not exceed rupees three hundred in any case.”
2Substituted by the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006, w.e.f. 8-8-2006. Prior to its substitution, subsection (4) read as under :
“(4) A member, being an associate who has been in continuous practice in India for at least five years, whether
before or after the commencement of this Act, or whether partly before and partly after the commencement of this
Act, and a member who has been an associate for a continuous period of not less than five years and who
possesses such qualifications as the Council may prescribe with a view to ensuring that he has experience
equivalent to the experience normally acquired as a result of continuous practice for a period of five years as a cost
accountant shall, on payment of the prescribed entrance fee, which shall not exceed rupees two hundred in any
case, and on application made and granted in the prescribed manner, be entered in the Register as a fellow of the
institute.
Explanation I : For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be deemed to have practised in India for any
period for which he has held a certificate of practice under section 6, notwithstanding that he did not actually practise
during that period.
Explanation II: In computing the continuous period during which a person has been an associate of the Institute,
there shall be included any continuous period during which the person has been an associate of the dissolved
company immediately before he became an associate of the Institute.”
7
Provided that the Council may with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the
fee exceeding rupees five thousand, which shall not in any case exceed rupees ten thousand.
Explanation I.—For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be deemed to have practised
in India for any period for which he has held a certificate of practice under section 6,
notwithstanding that he did not actually practise during that period.
Explanation II.—In computing the continuous period during which a person has been an
associate of the Institute, there shall be included any continuous period during which the person
has been an associate of the dissolved company immediately before he became an associate of
the Institute.]
(5) Any person whose name is entered in the Register as a fellow of the institute and so long as
his name remains so entered, shall be entitled to use the letters FICWA after his name to indicate
that he is a fellow of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants.
Certificate of practice.
6. (1) No member of the Institute shall be entitled to practise, whether in India or elsewhere,
unless he has obtained from the Council a certificate of practice.
1
[(2) Every such member shall make an application in such form, and pay such annual fee, for his
certificate as may be determined, by notification, by the Council, which shall not exceed rupees
three thousand and such fee shall be payable on or before the 1st day of April in each year:
Provided that the Council may with the prior approval of the Central Government, determine the
fee exceeding rupees three thousand, which shall not in any case exceed rupees six thousand:
Provided further that if a member of the Institute, who was in practice immediately before the
commencement of this Act, has made within one month of such commencement an application
for the grant of certificate of practice, he shall not be deemed to have contravened the provisions
of sub-section (1) by reason of his having practised during the period between such
commencement and the disposal of the application.]
2
[(3) The certificate of practice obtained under sub-section (1) may be cancelled by the Council
under such circumstances as may be prescribed.]
Members to be known as cost accountants.
7. Every member of the Institute in practice shall, and any other member may, use the
designation of a cost accountant and no member using such designation shall use any other
description, whether in addition thereto or in substitution therefor :
____________
1Substituted by the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006, w.e.f. 8-8-2006. Prior to its substitution, subsection (2) read as under :
“(2) Every such member shall make application in such form and pay such annual fee, for his certificate as may be
prescribed, and such fee shall be payable on or before the 1st day of April in each year :
Provided that if a member of the Institute who was in practice immediately before the commencement of this Act
has made within one month of such commencement an application for the grant of certificate of practice, he shall
not be deemed to have contravened the provisions of sub-section (1) by reason of his having practised during the
period between such commencement and the disposal of the application.”
2
Inserted by the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006, w.e.f. 8-8-2006.
8
Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any such member from adding
any other description or letters to his name, if entitled thereto, to indicate membership of such
other Institute of accountancy, whether in India or elsewhere, as may be recognised in this behalf
by the Council, or any other qualification that he may possess, or to prohibit a firm, all the
partners of which are members of the Institute and in practice, from being known by its firm name
as cost accountants.
Disabilities.
8. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 4, a person shall not be entitled to have his
name entered in, or borne on, the Register if he—
(i) has not attained the age of twenty-one years at the time of his application for the entry of his
name in the Register; or
(ii) is of unsound mind and stands so adjudged by a competent court; or
(iii) is an undischarged insolvent; or
(iv) being a discharged insolvent, has not obtained from the court a certificate stating that his
insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part; or
(v) has been convicted by a competent court whether within or without India, of an offence
involving moral turpitude and punishable with imprisonment or of an offence, not of a
technical nature, committed by him in his professional capacity unless in respect of the
offence committed he has either been granted a pardon or, on an application made by him
in this behalf, the Central Government has, by an order in writing removed the disability; or
(vi) has been removed from membership of the Institute on being found on inquiry to have been
guilty of professional or other misconduct :
Provided that a person who has been removed from membership for a specified period, shall not
be entitled to have his name entered in the Register until the expiry of such period.