ICAI releases Guidance Note on Reports in Company Prospectuses

The Guidance Note on Reports in Company Prospectuses provides guidance to the practitioners in case of engagements which require them to issue their reports on financial information related to the prospectuses for issue of securities by the companies.

Applicability of the ICAI Guidance Note

1.1 This Guidance Note is issued for providing guidance to the practitioners in reporting requirements relating to financial information to be included in the prospectus in case of initial public offer (IPO) in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the ICDR Regulations). This Guidance Note, apart from the IPO, is also applicable to other type of filings for the issue of securities (equity shares, debentures and notes etc.) such as letter of offer (in case of right issue), placement document (in case of Qualified Institutions Placements QIPs) etc. and filings for the issue of units under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, as amended and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, as amended to the extent applicable. The Guidance Note is developed considering the offer or sale of the securities in India. Accordingly, the guidance and formats included in the Guidance Note may need to be modified based on other international guidance or practices, in case an offer or sale of the securities is made outside India. This Guidance Note will be applicable in relation to initial offer document such as DRHP/ DLoF/ PPD/ others and related subsequent filings which are filed on or after January 21, 2019. Earlier application is voluntary.