NOC Letter from Previous Auditor – Generator + Word Formats (2026)

No. Clause (8) requires prior communication in writing and a reasonable wait – not the previous auditor’s permission. The Code of Ethics itself says the requirement is not intended to prevent or obstruct the change, and disciplinary rulings have confirmed that the law mandates communication, not consent. The letter this generator produces is that communication.

By a mode giving positive evidence of delivery: Registered or Speed Post with Acknowledgement Due, hand delivery against a written acknowledgment, or e-mail to the previous auditor’s ICAI-registered (or last known official) e-mail address with an acknowledgment received – the e-mail route was recognised by the Council in May 2020. A certificate of posting is not sufficient, and courier without acknowledgment, WhatsApp or SMS are not valid modes.

A reasonable time – the Code does not fix a number of days. Practice treats 7 to 15 days as reasonable in ordinary circumstances. Once that time passes without a reply, the incoming auditor is free to accept; the previous auditor’s silence cannot create a deadlock.

The incoming auditor weighs the objection on its merits. Valid professional reasons – such as undisputed fees remaining unpaid – should give real pause; a mere sense of grievance at losing the client does not. The decision on acceptance remains with the incoming auditor.

Yes. The Code of Ethics applies Clause (8) to all types of audit – statutory, tax audit under section 44AB, GST, internal and concurrent – and the Guidance Note on Tax Audit (Revised 2025) says the incoming tax auditor should communicate with the member who did the tax audit for the earlier year. The only relaxation: if no tax audit was conducted for the earlier year, there is no previous tax auditor to write to.

When the undisputed audit fees of the previous auditor for a statutory audit remain unpaid, the incoming auditor must not accept – now Chapter IV of the Guidelines on Ethical Issues, 2026, which replaced the 2008 Council General Guidelines from 1 April 2026. The bar applies to all entities, and the 2026 Guidelines define the fee to include applicable taxes and audit expenses. Exceptions: a sick unit (registered five years or more with accumulated losses equal to or exceeding its net worth) and a company under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

Broadly, a fee whose liability the client has accepted – classically where the audit fee provision appears in accounts signed by both the auditee and the auditor. A genuine, documented dispute over the fee takes it outside the bar; an invented one does not.

Yes – during the first year of articles, termination for transfer is permitted with the mutual consent of the principal and the articled assistant, without any ground and without the Institute’s prior permission. Form 109, the certificate of service under Regulation 61(2), is filed on the Self Service Portal with the principal’s consent.

Restricted grounds requiring the Institute’s prior consent before Form 109 is signed: medical grounds requiring discontinuance for a minimum of three months (Government hospital certificate), transfer of a working parent to a city 50 km or more away, relocation on marriage of 50 km or more, the principal shifting office beyond 50 km, misconduct or cessation or death of the principal, stipend grounds under Regulation 67, industrial training, and other justifiable circumstances with self-attested evidence.

The articled assistant is not stranded: ICAI’s helpdesk procedure routes the matter through Form 120 and the regional office, with reminders to the principal. But in the ordinary course, the principal’s consent letter – which this generator drafts – accompanies the request, and the period served, leave availed and stipend paid are certified in Form 109 itself.