ICAI Defers Phase IV Peer Review Mandate By One Year, New Date December 2026

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has given a one-year extension to Phase IV of the Peer Review Mandate, giving the chartered accountancy practices a reassuring reprieve. What would start coming into play from January 1, 2026, is now to become operational from December 31, 2026. According to the official notice, it is setting in motion its plans to provide the necessary breather to practices to prepare for the peer review structure.

The Peer Review was introduced by the ICAI to standardise the audit and accounting work done by the members. The objective is to improve the standard of attestation and audit by evaluating the units’ conformity to the set standards and code of conduct. The program was implemented gradually as it covers an increasing number of types of firms in the industry.

Read the official notice here

Phase IV affects two categories of practice units. Firstly, all those firms intending to conduct an audit of Public Sector bank branches must have a valid Peer Review Certificate before carrying out or continuing such engagement work. Secondly, all firms providing attestation services involving three or more partners must obtain a Peer Review Certificate before accepting any statutory audit engagement. Both were initially required to implement from January 1, 2026.

Under the updated plan, the Council has extended the applicable dates by a period of exactly a year, meaning that peer reviews in Phase IV are now mandatory from December 31, 2026, while those of Phases I-III remain the same.

This is significant since peer review is a process involving documentation and interaction with the reviewers. Small to mid-sized firms had raised concerns about preparedness. The deadline has shifted, but the need to comply has remained in effect, and it is recommended that the firms make use of this reprieve to complete the process before the new deadline.