Sections 37 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 37 requires every office of a cost accountant in practice, beyond the first, to be in the separate charge of a member of the Institute, and requires a list of offices to be sent to the Council. Section 38 deals with countries that discriminate against Indian cost accountants, and section 38A lets the Central Government make rules. The 2022 Amendment Act changed section 38(2) and section 38A(2), and those changes are in force. The Act was called the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 until 10 May 2022.
A cost accountant in practice or a firm with more than one office in India must keep each office in the separate charge of a member of the Institute, unless the Council exempts the practice, and must send the Council a list of offices and persons in charge, keeping it updated. Where a notified country bars or discriminates against Indians, its subjects may be refused membership or practice in India. The Central Government makes rules under section 38A; the 2022 heads (c), (d) and (da) are in force but serve procedure sections that are not in force.
How this article reads the Act
This article follows the Act as printed by the Institute (as amended in 2011), read with the 2022 Amendment Act to the extent brought into force by S.O. 2184(E) dated 10 May 2022. Sections 69 and 70 of that Act, which amend sections 38(2) and 38A(2), are in force. Later amendments and notifications should be checked.
Section 37: maintenance of branch offices
Section 37(1). Where a cost accountant in practice or a firm of such cost accountants has more than one office in India, each such office shall be in the separate charge of a member of the Institute.
Proviso. The Council may, in suitable cases, exempt any cost accountant in practice or firm of such cost accountants from the operation of this sub-section. The Act does not define "suitable cases", so the Council decides.
Section 37(2). Every cost accountant in practice or firm maintaining more than one office shall:
- send to the Council a list of offices and the persons in charge of them; and
- keep the Council informed of any changes in relation to that list.
Three points are worth noting. First, the duty is on offices in India, and it applies once there is more than one. Second, the person in charge must be a member of the Institute, which echoes section 27's rule that only members may sign documents for a practice; see our article on sections 26 and 27. Third, the list is a continuing obligation: changes must be reported.
Section 38: reciprocity
Section 38(1). Where any country, specified by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette, does any of the following:
- prevents persons of Indian domicile from becoming members of any institution similar to the Institute,
- prevents them from practising the profession of cost accountancy, or
- subjects them to unfair discrimination in that country,
then no subject of that country is entitled to become a member of the Institute or practise the profession of cost accountancy in India.
Section 38(2), as amended in 2022. Subject to sub-section (1), the Council may prescribe the conditions, if any, subject to which foreign qualifications relating to cost accountancy are recognised for the purposes of entry in the Register of members (the words "of members" were added in 2022 by section 69). This connects with the route in section 4(1)(iv) for persons with equivalent qualifications from outside India; see our article on sections 4 and 5.
Reciprocity works only through a notification. Until the Central Government specifies a country, the bar in section 38(1) does not apply to its subjects.
Section 38A: power of the Central Government to make rules
Section 38A(1). The Central Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act.
Section 38A(2). Without prejudice to the generality of that power, the rules may provide for:
| Clause | Matter |
|---|---|
| (a) | The manner of election and nomination of members to the Council under section 9(2) |
| (b) | Terms and conditions of service, place of meetings and allowances of the Presiding Officer and Members of the Tribunal under section 10B(3) |
| (c) (2022) | The form and fee for filing an information or complaint under section 21(1), the manner of deciding a complaint as actionable or non-actionable under section 21(2) and the procedure of investigation under section 21(7) |
| (d) (2022) | The procedure of the Board of Discipline under section 21A(2) and the time limit for payment of fine under section 21A(7) |
| (da) (2022) | The procedure of the Disciplinary Committee under section 21B(2) and the time limit for payment of fine under section 21B(7) |
| (e) | The procedure to be followed by the Quality Review Board in its meetings under section 29C |
| (f) | The terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and members of the Board under section 29D(1) |
The flag. Section 70 of the 2022 Act, which substitutes clauses (c) and (d) and inserts (da), is in force. But those clauses refer to sub-sections of the new sections 21, 21A and 21B, which are enacted but not in force as per S.O. 2184(E). In the text in force today, the references in clauses (c), (d) and (da) therefore point to provisions that are not yet operative. The in-force sections 21 and 21B (the 2006 text) have their own "specified" procedure provisions in sections 21(4) and 21B(2); see our articles on section 21 and section 21B. A later commencement notification should be checked.
The rules themselves are not in the sources used for this series and no rule is quoted here.
A short example
Ramesh Iyer and Associates, a firm of cost accountants, has its head office in Chennai and opens a second office in Pune. Under section 37(1) the Pune office must be in the separate charge of a member of the Institute. The firm sends the Council a list showing both offices and the member in charge of each, and informs the Council when the Pune in-charge changes. If, for good reason, the firm wants to run the Pune office without a member in charge, it may ask the Council for an exemption under the proviso.
A multi-office practice that wants to review who is in charge of each office and what it must report can use firm registration and structuring support to tidy its records and constitution.
The same rule for chartered accountants
See Section 27 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 on branch offices and Sections 29 and 29A on reciprocity and rules. The cost accountants' rule-making heads mirror their own Chapters.
Need help with a multi-office practice?
If your practice runs or plans several offices and you want to confirm who must be in charge and what must be reported, our firm registration and structuring support can help you organise the arrangement.
Key takeaways
- Each office of a practice with more than one office in India must be in the separate charge of a member, subject to Council exemption.
- The practice must send the Council a list of offices and persons in charge and report changes.
- Reciprocity bars subjects of notified countries that discriminate against Indians.
- The Central Government makes rules under section 38A; heads (c), (d) and (da) of 2022 are in force.
- Those heads refer to new sections 21 to 21B, which are not in force.
Read next
- Sections 33 to 36A: Coordination Committee, directions and protection
- Sections 39 and 40: regulations and laying before Parliament
- Sections 26 and 27: companies and unqualified persons signing documents
Disclaimer: Based on the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (now the Cost Accountants Act, 1959) as printed by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (as amended in 2011), read with the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2022 to the extent brought into force by S.O. 2184(E) dated 10 May 2022, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Regulations, rules, later amendments and commencement notifications should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.