If you are a Chartered Accountant in India, April 1, 2026 was the most
significant day for your marketing and professional visibility in over
18 years.
The ICAI Council approved pivotal amendments to its Advertisement and
Website Guidelines through the revised 13th Edition of the Code of
Ethics, effective from April 1, 2026. The previous framework was
written in 2008, before LinkedIn existed in India, before Instagram,
before the idea of a CA firm having a content strategy was even
conceivable.
This post is a plain English breakdown of what actually changed, what
it means for your practice, and what still remains off limits.
The old rules, briefly
Under the 12th Edition, CA firms could have websites but only in pull
mode, meaning a potential client had to find you themselves. You could
not proactively push information to people. Your website could list
your services but the content had to be restrained, text-heavy, and
non-promotional. Phrases like "leading CA firm" or "trusted by 500
clients" were grey areas at best. Comparative claims were prohibited.
Testimonials were out. Anything that looked like advertising was viewed
with suspicion.
The result was a profession of 3.3 lakh qualified CAs, most of whom
had no meaningful digital presence and grew their practice entirely
through referrals and word of mouth.
What actually changed
Push technology is now permitted for non-exclusive services
Members and firms are now allowed to use push technology for any
service not unique to the CA profession, such as accounting or
consultancy. In practical terms this means you can now proactively
publish content on LinkedIn, send newsletters to potential clients,
run educational campaigns, and maintain an active social media
presence, as long as it relates to services that are not exclusive
to CAs by statute.
GST consulting, accounting, business advisory, tax planning, financial
consulting: all permitted for push marketing. Statutory audit, company
audit, tax audit: still pull only. The line is between services only
CAs can legally provide versus services that CAs provide but others
can too.
More flexibility in advertising write-ups
The revisions in the scope of the write-up of advertisement give
greater creative flexibility to members, enabling CAs to present their
professional services in a more effective and modern manner. The 2008
definition of a write-up was narrow and text-heavy. The 2026 definition
allows for contemporary formats including visual content, digital
campaigns, and modern presentation styles.
Website guidelines updated for the digital era
CA firms can use push technology for services not exclusive to the
profession, such as consulting and IT advisory. The introduction of
the term contemporary in advertisement guidelines allows CA firms to
adopt more modern and visual modes of advertisement and move beyond
the text-heavy write-ups prescribed earlier.
Network firms can now have their own websites
Previously, network firms and associated practices had limited
visibility online. The revised code explicitly enables network firms
to build and maintain their own websites, improving visibility and
collaboration across larger practices.
New services formally recognised
New ethical standards covering sustainability assurance and an expanded
scope of contemporary services including forensic accounting, social
impact assessment, and artificial intelligence related advisory are
incorporated to reflect the evolving role of the profession. If your
practice includes any of these newer service lines, they now have
formal recognition under the Code and can be promoted accordingly.
What did not change
The 13th Edition is a relaxation, not an open door. Several things
remain firmly prohibited.
Comparative claims are still not permitted. You cannot say you are
better than another firm, more experienced than a competitor, or ranked
higher than anyone else.
Audit and assurance services remain pull only. You cannot run a
campaign to attract audit clients. Statutory audit, tax audit, company
audit: clients must come to you for these. You cannot go to them.
Testimonials and client endorsements remain a grey area. The Code
has not explicitly permitted these and the safest interpretation is
still to avoid them unless you have specific legal advice saying
otherwise.
Misleading claims remain prohibited. Everything you publish must be
truthful, professional, and not designed to create a false impression
of your practice.
The aggregator restriction remains. The safest approach is to
remain cautious because ICAI's existing website advisory clearly lists
several prohibited website contents and warns that non-compliance can
be treated seriously.
What this means practically for your practice
If you are a CA who has been waiting for clarity before doing anything
online, the wait is over.
You can now write LinkedIn posts about GST deadlines and tag your firm.
You can send a monthly newsletter to your existing clients about
upcoming compliance dates. You can create educational content about
business advisory topics and build a reputation for expertise in your
chosen area. You can have a proper website with a clear description of
your services, your team, and your approach.
None of this was unambiguously permitted before April 1, 2026. All of
it is now.
The question is no longer whether you can market yourself. It is
whether you are willing to start.
A practical starting point
The safest and most effective first step is educational content tied to
compliance events. A post about GSTR-1 being due next week, an
explainer about what the DIR-3 KYC changes mean for your clients, a
short note about advance tax deadlines: all of this is permitted,
genuinely useful to your audience, and builds your reputation as
someone who knows their practice inside out.
That is where Adysor comes in. The platform is built to help CA firms
get discovered by clients who need them, and stay visible through
compliant content tied to real compliance events. If you are thinking
about how to make use of the new rules, that is a good place to start.
Learn more at adysor.com/for-ca
This post is based on ICAI's 447th Council decisions and the revised
13th Edition of the Code of Ethics effective April 1, 2026. Always
refer to the official ICAI Code for authoritative guidance.