Certain Issues on MEF

Dear Members,

Certain issues raised by members on Filling of Empanelment Forms online for Banks, I am giving my personal opinion and personal interpretation of the same as below by summing up the major queries of the members:

1. Last date for submission of applications on the website: 31st May, 2006 (5:30P.M.). Last date for receipt of hard copy of duly signed declaration: 10th June, 2006 (5:30P.M.)
2. When you click in part I, the message "Active X control" appears. You are required to click Yes. If you say No, the data for last year will not appear in the browser.
3. This form is to be filled by all applicants, new and old, though last year s empanlement was for 2 years, it is decided to make afresh empanelment so everybody desirous has to file this form.
4. It appears that there is a requirement of atleast one exclusive partner who is not associated with any other concern, otherwise the form will be rejected. Even in case of propreitor, one should be exclusive, meaning not to be partner anywhere. Certain examples of new norms are as follows, as provided by the ICAI:
5. A & Co. is a partnership firm of 2 partners B & C. B has a proprietorship firm of his own, B & Co. A & Co. and B & Co. both apply – B & Co. will be rejected and A & Co. will be treated as a proprietorship firm. Only A & Co. applies – A & Co. will still be treated as proprietorship firm.
6. ABC is a partnership firm of 3 partners, and all 3 have proprietorship firms A & Co, B & Co. and C & Co. – All applications (ABC, A & Co., B & Co., C & Co. or any combination thereof, or of the individual firms) will be rejected.
7. A has 2 proprietorship firms. A should apply in one of the firms; he should indicate `Y’ in the column for `association’, and he should mention that he has one more proprietorship firm in the hard copy of the Declaration. The problem will be sorted out by PDC Secretariat.
8. Members getting error message on website or it was not being available was due to technical problem and now it is available for filling.
   
9. Hope this information will be helpful to you,
   

• The direct helpline No. of ICAI for Empanelment probelm is:
  011-39893989 (Extn. 444), 011-23378413 and email: mefpdc@icai.org
  Regards,
  Ashwin Nagar
  FCA, DISA, LL.B., M.Com.
  In Ahmedabad 09825781065
  
  
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The website www.meficai.org is down for maintenance

The website www.meficai.org is down for maintenance. You are requested to kindly log on to the website after 04:00 p.m. today i.e. 18th May, 2006.

However, no extension has been made in the last date as of now since the problem is purely temporary and maintenance is a routine matter. Hence, the last date for submission of application on the above website is 25th May, 2006 (5.30 P.M.) and the last date for receipt of duly signed hard copy of declaration (alongwith the acknowledgement of soft submission of application) at the Institute’s Delhi office is 5th June, 2006 (5.30 P.M.).

Multipurpose Empanelment Application Form for the year 2006-07

As members are aware, the Multipurpose Empanelment Form has been made available again this year from the 26th of April, 2006. The form will be available on the Portal till the 25th of May, 2006. The Institute has been receiving communication from the members with regard to the Empanelment Form and therefore, the Council, after discussion, has decided to inform the members as follows:

All members who wish to apply for Bank Branch Audit, or Empanelment with other organizations must open the MEF, and (i) edit and update last year’s data (if the firm had applied last year), (ii) fill in the form afresh if the firm is applying for the first time, (iii) fill in the columns which have been newly introduced this year and which will of course, appear blank on the screen whether the firm applied last year or not.

Members are informed that although it had earlier been announced that last year’s panel would be valid for two years, in view of the fact that last year, the firms which did not fulfill the `3 years standing’ requirement were left out, and some of them would have completed 3 years by now and therefore, eligible to be on the panel, and within the last one year, most applicant firms have added to their experience, the Council has felt that updating is necessary.

Besides, considering that this empanelment is not only for Bank audit, but for empanelment with other organisations also, and to ensure that this facility of updating is applicable across the board, the Council has decided that all applicants must either update or submit the form afresh, as the case may be.
Members are enjoined to read the detailed instructions published in the Journal and available in the MEF Portal, www.meficai.org. The last date for submission of new/updated application on the above website is 25th May, 2006 (5.30 PM) as announced, and the last date for receipt of duly signed hard copy of the declaration portion of the form along with the acknowledgement of the soft submission of application at the ICAI’s Delhi office is 5th June (5.30 PM). Please note that hard copy of the entire application form is not required to be sent.