Appointment of - Signing of Form 23B by auditors in firm’s name without disclosing identity of signatory - Companies Law - Letter : No. 7/26/76-IGC,

Letter : No. 7/26/76-IGC, dated 31 ‑ 10 ‑ 1977. Subject:- Auditors ‑ Appointment of - Signing of Form 23B by auditors in firm s name without disclosing identity of signatory ‑ Whether permissible The Department is of the view that the intimation in token of acceptance or refusal to accept the appointment is only a ministerial act which can be performed by a duly authorised person on behalf of the firm. No doubt, a partner of a firm is authorised under the law to sign any document on behalf of the firm, but even a clerk of the concerned firm can also sign such intimations on behalf of the firm, if he is specially authorised to do so. It is, however, necessary that the identity of person who signs Form 23B, whether he be a partner or a clerk of the firm must be disclosed as such, as it will not be enough if the form is signed only in the firm s name, without disclosing the identity of the signatory since the firm has no locus standi of its own in the eye of law. Further, since Form 23B is a statutory document, it is all the more necessary that a person duly authorised by the concerned firm should be the signatory and his name must be disclosed therein, in addition to the name of the firm. This will help to fix up responsibility on any wrong or false statement made in such a document.