ICAI’s 13th Code of Ethics Edition Takes Effect: Practice Review Priorities for CAs

Revised ethics framework now applicable

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has released the revised 13th edition of its Code of Ethics, with most provisions applicable from 1 April 2026. The announcement, issued by ICAI’s Ethical Standards Board on 30 May 2026, makes the new edition immediately relevant to practising chartered accountants, audit firms and their internal compliance teams.

ICAI has divided the revised Code into three volumes covering domestic professional requirements, internationally converged ethical requirements and sustainability-assurance standards. The official ICAI announcement provides access to all three volumes and specifies their effective dates.

The publication should prompt more than a routine replacement of reference material. Firms need to determine how the revised requirements affect client acceptance and continuance, independence checks, services provided to audit clients, escalation of suspected non-compliance, public communications and work in emerging advisory and sustainability-related areas.

Effective date and limited exception

The 13th edition is generally applicable from 1 April 2026. ICAI has, however, identified a separate effective date for serial number (xxxi) in the list of Management Consultancy and Other Services under Section 2(2)(iv) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

That entry covers the assessment and evaluation of social impact, corporate social responsibility impact, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting, and similar work. ICAI states that this entry, appearing in Volume I, is effective from 11 December 2025.

Firms should therefore avoid treating 30 May 2026—the date of the announcement—as the commencement date for the entire revised Code. Compliance reviews should be mapped to the applicable dates stated by ICAI, including the earlier date for the specified management consultancy service.

Three-volume structure

Volume I contains the domestic framework: provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the related regulations, together with Council guidelines and decisions. This is the volume against which firms should review India-specific restrictions, permissions and professional-conduct requirements.

Volume II is converged with the 2024 edition of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics. ICAI has presented this convergence as part of its approach to international ethical requirements and auditor independence. For firms serving public-interest, listed or multinational clients, the interaction between the converged requirements and domestic provisions deserves particular attention.

Volume III contains ethics standards for sustainability assurance, including independence standards. Its publication gives sustainability-assurance work a dedicated ethical framework rather than leaving firms to rely only on policies designed for conventional financial-statement audit or advisory assignments.

Independence and non-assurance services

One of the most consequential areas for audit practices is the treatment of non-assurance services supplied to audit clients. ICAI’s earlier press release on the Council’s approval of the 13th edition stated that the revised provisions further restrict such services and introduce express prohibitions.

The release specifically said that an audit firm cannot accept the audit of a public interest entity where it previously provided a non-assurance service that could create a self-review threat in relation to the financial statements. This makes the pre-acceptance inquiry especially important: the audit team must understand not only current services but also relevant work already performed by the firm.

A firm-wide review is preferable to an engagement-level check conducted in isolation. Information about advisory, accounting, valuation, technology, tax and other assignments may sit with different teams or offices. Acceptance systems should capture the nature and timing of those services, the entity receiving them and whether the resulting work could be subject to evaluation during the proposed audit.

Practices should also revisit approval matrices for new assignments involving existing audit clients. Commercial acceptance of a service should not precede the ethics and independence assessment. Where group entities or network arrangements are involved, the review may require information extending beyond the immediate engagement team.

Wider NOCLAR coverage

The revised framework also changes the reach of provisions dealing with non-compliance with laws and regulations, commonly referred to as NOCLAR. ICAI’s press release stated that the requirements arising during audit engagements have been extended to all listed entities and their material subsidiaries.

Audit firms should identify engagements newly falling within this scope and ensure that their procedures address the expanded coverage. This may require changes to engagement planning, internal consultation routes, documentation templates and escalation processes. Partners and staff also need clarity on how a suspected instance is assessed and handled under the applicable provisions of the revised Code.

The extension should not be reduced to a checklist amendment. A workable NOCLAR process depends on timely communication within the engagement team, access to appropriate technical consultation and clear records of the facts considered and the professional response taken.

Sustainability assurance becomes a distinct review area

The introduction of Volume III is particularly significant for firms undertaking, or planning to undertake, sustainability-assurance engagements. ICAI says the volume incorporates ethics and independence standards for sustainability assurance based on the international standards issued by IESBA.

Firms entering this area should not assume that existing financial-audit independence systems automatically cover every relevant relationship or threat. Before accepting sustainability-assurance work, they should compare their client and engagement information requirements with Volume III, identify the personnel and related parties within scope, and determine whether other services create ethical or independence concerns.

The earlier effective date for the specified social-impact, CSR-impact and BRSR assessment service should also be considered separately. Permission to provide a category of management consultancy service does not, by itself, settle whether that service is compatible with an assurance engagement for the same client. The relevant independence requirements still need to be applied to the particular facts.

Advertising, websites and digital communications

ICAI’s December 2025 press release described amendments to the Advertisement and Website Guidelines as another major feature of the revised edition. It said the scope of permissible write-ups and related requirements was revised to give members greater flexibility in presenting their services.

The release also referred to the use of push technology for services that are not exclusive to the CA profession, such as consultancy and accounting, and to permission for network firms registered with ICAI to develop and maintain their own websites.

These developments should be implemented against the exact conditions in the revised Code. Firms should review websites, social-media activity, email campaigns, service descriptions and network branding before expanding promotional activity. Marketing teams and external agencies should work from an approved communications policy rather than from a broad assumption that professional advertising restrictions have been removed.

Emerging professional services

ICAI has also expanded the stated range of Management Consultancy and Other Services to reflect newer areas of practice. Its press release identified social-impact assessment, artificial-intelligence-related services and forensic accounting among the contemporary services covered.

For practising CAs, this creates commercial opportunities but also requires disciplined engagement scoping. Firms should confirm that the proposed work falls within the permitted professional framework, that the team has appropriate competence and resources, and that accepting it would not conflict with an existing audit or assurance relationship.

Immediate firm-level review

Practices should first circulate the three volumes to partners and designated ethics personnel, then prepare a documented gap analysis rather than relying solely on general awareness sessions. Client and service inventories should be tested against the revised independence, NOCLAR and sustainability-assurance provisions.

Engagement acceptance forms, conflict and independence declarations, consultation protocols, website approval procedures and training material may all require revision. Firms should separately flag public interest entities, listed entities and material subsidiaries because the revised provisions identified by ICAI may affect them directly.

The review should also record the relevant commencement date for each affected requirement. That will help distinguish engagements governed from 1 April 2026 from the specified management consultancy entry effective from 11 December 2025.

Key takeaway

The 13th edition is an operative three-volume ethics framework, not merely a publication update: practising CAs should promptly test their independence systems, client and service acceptance controls, NOCLAR procedures, sustainability-assurance processes and public communications against the exact revised provisions and applicable effective dates.