Sections 7 and 8 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 7 decides who uses the designation "chartered accountant" and says that a member using it should not use any other description in its place or in addition to it, with one proviso. Section 8 lists the disabilities that stop a person from having a name entered in, or borne on, the Register of members, even if section 4 would otherwise entitle him.
This article is as per the Act as printed in the ICAI edition of 2022 (amended up to the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2022). Later amendments and notifications should be checked.
Section 7: every member in practice shall, and any other member may, use the designation of a chartered accountant, and a member using it shall not use any other description in addition or in substitution, subject to the proviso. Section 8: despite section 4, a person is not entitled to have his name entered in or borne on the Register of members if he is under twenty-one, of unsound mind, an undischarged insolvent or bankrupt, declared bankrupt under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, a discharged insolvent without the Court's certificate, convicted as the clause describes, or removed from membership for misconduct. The bankruptcy words were added in 2022 and are in force from 10 May 2022.
Section 7: the designation
The section is headed "Members to be known as Chartered Accountants". Its main rule says: "Every member of the Institute in practice shall, and any other member may, use the designation of a chartered accountant and no member using such designation shall use any other description, whether in addition thereto or in substitution therefor."
Read the words in two halves:
- Who uses the designation. A member in practice (see section 2(2)) shall use it. Any other member, for example one in service, may use it. The 1959 Amendment Act put the rule into this form.
- No other description. A member using the designation shall not add another description or use one instead. The aim is a single, recognisable title for the profession.
The proviso
The proviso says nothing in section 7 prohibits a member from:
- adding any other description or letters to his name, if entitled to them, to indicate membership of such other Institute of accountancy, whether in India or elsewhere, as may be recognised by the Council, or any other qualification he may possess; or
- a firm, all the partners of which are members of the Institute and in practice, being known by its firm name as Chartered Accountants.
So letters such as a degree or a foreign accountancy membership may be added where the Council recognises the body, and a firm may carry "Chartered Accountants" in its name only if every partner is a member in practice. The edition points to Appendix No. (11) for the Council's resolution on recognition. That Appendix is a compilation by ICAI and is not part of the Act; the resolution should be read at source.
Section 8: disabilities
Section 8 begins "Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 4, a person shall not be entitled to have his name entered in or borne on the Register of members if he" falls in any of the clauses below. The words "entered in or borne on" matter. The section bars a person from getting onto the Register and also from staying on it. The words "Register of members" replaced "Register" from 10 May 2022. Whether a disability fits a particular case often needs a careful reading of the clause; a legal consultation can help where the facts are not straightforward.
| Clause | Disability |
|---|---|
| (i) | has not attained the age of twenty-one years at the time of his application for entry |
| (ii) | is of unsound mind and stands so adjudged by a competent Court |
| (iii) | is an undischarged insolvent or an undischarged bankrupt (the words "or an undischarged bankrupt" added in 2022) |
| (iiia) | is declared bankrupt under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (inserted in 2022) |
| (iv) | being a discharged insolvent, has not obtained from the Court a certificate that his insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part |
| (v) | has been convicted by a competent Court, within or outside 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 pardoned or the Central Government has removed the disability by an order in writing on his application |
| (vi) | has been removed from membership on being found on inquiry to have been guilty of professional or other misconduct |
Clause by clause
Clause (i), age. The test is age at the time of the application for entry: twenty-one years.
Clause (ii), unsound mind. The person must be of unsound mind and stand so adjudged by a competent Court. An informal view of a person's health is not enough.
Clauses (iii) and (iiia), insolvency and bankruptcy. Clause (iii) covers an undischarged insolvent and, since 2022, an undischarged bankrupt. Clause (iiia) covers a person declared bankrupt under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The Act does not describe how that Code works; it only names the declaration as a disability.
Clause (iv), discharged insolvents. A discharged insolvent is still barred unless the Court has certified that the insolvency was caused by misfortune without any misconduct on his part.
Clause (v), convictions. Two kinds of conviction qualify: an offence involving moral turpitude punishable with imprisonment, and an offence, not of a technical nature, committed in his professional capacity. The conviction may be by a competent Court within or outside India; the words "outside India" replaced "without India" in 2022. The word "transportation" before "imprisonment" was omitted in 2022. The disability can be lifted in two ways: a pardon for the offence, or an order in writing by the Central Government removing it on the person's application.
Clause (vi), removal for misconduct. A person removed from membership after an inquiry found him guilty of professional or other misconduct is barred. The proviso says that a person removed for a specified period shall not be entitled to have his name entered until the period ends. This links to the disciplinary orders under Chapter V and to the Schedules, which the later articles explain.
What this means in practice
A person who passes the prescribed examination under section 4(1)(ii) and applies for entry is still tested against section 8 at the time of application. A member already on the Register who later becomes an undischarged bankrupt, or is convicted in the way clause (v) describes, falls within "borne on". How and when a name is actually removed from the Register is for sections 19 and 20, and the entry route is in section 4.
A worked example
Rohan, a member in practice, is in a partnership with two other members. They want the firm to be known as "Rohan and Co, Chartered Accountants". Under the proviso to section 7, that is permitted because all the partners are members of the Institute and in practice. If a fourth partner who is not a member joined, the proviso would no longer cover the use of "Chartered Accountants" in the firm name. Separately, if Rohan were declared bankrupt under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, clause (iiia) of section 8 would stand in the way of his name being borne on the Register.
Need help with a membership or title question?
Questions about whether a firm name, a set of letters or a past event affects your standing on the Register are usually fact-heavy. Our legal consultation service can look at the clause that applies, the order or conviction and the steps still open to you.
Key takeaways
- A member in practice shall, and any other member may, use the designation chartered accountant; no other description is to be used in addition or substitution.
- The proviso allows other recognised memberships and qualifications, and a firm name as Chartered Accountants if all partners are members in practice.
- Section 8 bars entry to, and continuance on, the Register of members.
- The disabilities include age under twenty-one, unsoundness of mind as adjudged, insolvency, bankruptcy under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, certain convictions and removal for misconduct.
- The 2022 bankruptcy words and the change to "outside India" are in force from 10 May 2022.
- A pardon or a Central Government order can remove the conviction disability.
Read next
- Section 4 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949: entry in the Register of members
- Sections 19 and 20 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949: the Register and removal of names
- Section 22G of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949: appeal to the Appellate Authority
- Sections 6 to 8 of the Cost Accountants Act, 1959: certificate of practice, designation and disabilities
Disclaimer: Based on the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 as printed in the ICAI edition of 2022 (amended up to Act 12 of 2022), read with S.O. 2184(E) dated 10 May 2022, which brought only part of the 2022 amendments into force, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Regulations, rules, Council guidelines, later amendments and commencement notifications should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.