No Silent Auditor Changes: ICAI Releases UDIN Portal Manual with Mandates [Get Full Manual Here]

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has released an updated UDIN Portal User Manual. The primary focus was that it mandated auditor appointments should be properly communicated to the previous auditor and the same shall be updated in the portal.

The updated UDIN Portal Manual (Version 1.2, reviewed on 15 December 2025) introduces a mandatory functionality for capturing preceding auditor details during UDIN generation, particularly under the GST & Tax Audit and Audit & Assurance Functions categories.

As per the manual, when generating a UDIN, the portal specifically asks whether “capturing details of the preceding auditor is applicable”. If the answer is “Yes,” the succeeding auditor must disclose whether the previous year’s audit report was issued and, where applicable, enter the UDIN of the previous auditor’s report.

In cases where the report was not issued by the same auditor, the system requires entry of the Member Registration Number (MRN) of the previous auditor and a declaration on whether communication regarding the new appointment has been made, along with the date of such communication.

Furthermore, the portal also asks the new auditor to declare whether there are any unpaid professional fees (Yes/No/Not Known). This is in keeping with the established ethical standards of ICAI, that discourage accepting audit assignments without taking into account the position of the previous auditor. The ICAI has access to these facts for regulatory and disciplinary control even though they are encrypted and hidden from third-party verifiers.

ICAI has made it clear that this change is more than just a procedural one. The Institute hopes to prevent sudden or arbitrary auditor replacements, improve audit quality, and protect members' professional dignity. Additionally, this lessens disputes resulting from incorrect appointments, especially in high-risk domains like tax, GST, and statutory audits.

The complete UDIN procedure, including SSP login, UDIN production, bulk UDIN facilities, revocation, grievance redressal, and verification mechanisms, is further explained in the updated handbook.

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