The Nainital Bank Ltd. issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) dated 16 May 2026 inviting applications from eligible Chartered Accountant firms for empanelment and appointment as Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs) for a three-year term beginning from FY 2026-27. The RFP prescribed detailed eligibility criteria in line with RBI guidelines, including minimum partner strength, banking audit experience, qualified professional staff, and independence requirements. The Bank clarified that firms must have at least three full-time partners, eight years of banking audit experience, and minimum professional staff strength, while firms with disciplinary proceedings, conflicts of interest, or RBI restrictions would be disqualified. The scope of work includes statutory audit of financial statements, quarterly limited reviews, verification of asset classification, provisioning, treasury operations, regulatory compliance, tax audit, INDAS review, and reporting of frauds or irregularities. The RFP also provided a structured evaluation mechanism based on technical and financial scores, with the highest combined score determining selection. Minimum professional fees were fixed at Rs.7.25 lakh for annual statutory audit, excluding GST and expenses. The Bank rrbieserved the right to reject proposals for incomplete information, misrepresentation, or non-fulfilment of eligibility conditions.
Nainital Bank Ltd.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
Inviting Applications from Eligible Chartered Accountant Firms for Empanelment and Selection as Statutory Central Auditors (SCA) – Nainital Bank Ltd.
RFP Ref. No.: RFP / HOACNTS / SCA / 01 / 2026-27
Date of Issue of RFP: 16 May 2026
1. Purpose of the RFP
i. The objective of this RFP is to invite proposals from eligible Chartered Accountant firms for empanelment and appointment as Statutory Central Auditor(s) (SCA) of The Nainital Bank Ltd. for a period of three years commencing from Financial Year 2026-27.
ii. The RFP is being hosted on the Bank’s official website and is open to audit firms fulfilling the eligibility criteria prescribed in this document and the applicable RBI Guidelines on Appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs) of Commercial Banks.
iii. The last date for submission of proposal is 8 June 2026 up to 5:00 PM.
iv. No proposal shall be accepted after the prescribed deadline. Incomplete applications or applications not accompanied with the required supporting documents shall be liable for rejection.
v. The Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without assigning any reason whatsoever. The decision of the Bank in this regard shall be final and binding.
vi. The appointment of Statutory Central Auditor(s) shall be subject to approval of the competent authority and regulatory guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time.
2. About the Bank
The Nainital Bank Limited was established in the year 1922 with the objective of catering to the banking needs of the people of the region. Bank of Baroda, a premier Public Sector Bank, has been managing the affairs of The Nainital Bank Limited since 1973.
The Bank presently operates through its branch network across multiple states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. The Bank’s Head Office is situated at Nainital, Uttarakhand.
The Bank is committed towards strengthening governance, transparency, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency through robust audit and assurance practices.
3. Submission and Assessment of Proposals
3.1 Mode of Submission
The proposals shall be submitted duly signed by the authorized signatory of the audit firm along with the firm seal.
Soft Copy Submission
The complete proposal shall be emailed with the subject line:
“RFP for Statutory Central Auditor of The Nainital Bank Ltd.”
to the following email addresses:
- accounts@nainitalbank.co.in
- accounts@nainitalbank.co.in
3.2 Hard Copy Submission
In addition to the email submission, the eligible audit firm shall submit hard copies in the following manner:
Envelope – 1 : Technical Proposal
The envelope shall be superscribed:
“TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FOR STATUTORY CENTRAL AUDITOR OF THE NAINITAL BANK LTD.”
The envelope shall contain:
- Profile of the Audit Firm
- Details of partners and professional staff
- Experience details
- Eligibility related documents
- Annexure A and supporting documents
- Copy of ICAI Firm Registration Certificate
- PAN, GST Registration, Peer Review Certificate and other relevant documents
Envelope – 2 : FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
The envelope shall be superscribed:
“FINANCIAL BID FOR STATUTORY CENTRAL AUDIT OF THE NAINITAL BANK LTD.”
The financial bid shall contain the lump sum fee quote for the entire assignment. The quoted fee shall be exclusive of:
- Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Both envelopes shall be placed inside a third sealed envelope superscribed:
“APPLICATION FOR STATUTORY CENTRAL AUDITOR”
and addressed to:
Chief Financial Officer
The Nainital Bank Limited
Head Office, Naini Bank House
Mallital, Nainital – 263001
Uttarakhand
The proposal must reach the above address on or before the prescribed last date.
3.3 Documents to be Submitted
The following documents shall be submitted:
a. Profile of the Audit Firm including:
-
- Constitution of the firm
- Details of partners
- Banking audit experience
- Areas of specialization
- Infrastructure and manpower details
- Branch network
- Contact details
b. Annexure A duly filled and signed on the letterhead of the firm.
c. Self-certified copies of supporting documents.
d. Commercial Bid as per Annexure B.
4. Scope of Work
The scope of work of the Statutory Central Auditor(s) shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
i. Audit of annual financial statements of the Bank and issuance of reports as required under the Companies Act, 2013, Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and RBI Guidelines.
ii. Quarterly Limited Review of standalone financial results for the first three quarters of the financial year.
iii. Audit of Head Office, Treasury Operations, Administrative Offices, Centralized Processing Units, Loan Processing Centers and allotted branches/offices.
iv. Issuance of Long Form Audit Report (LFAR), Tax Audit Report, certificates and regulatory reports as prescribed by RBI or any other statutory authority.
v. Verification of:
-
- Asset Classification and Income Recognition
- Provisioning requirements
- Investment portfolio
- Treasury operations
- DICGC returns
- DEAF returns
- Internal Financial Controls
- Compliance with RBI prudential norms
- Compliance with Income Tax provisions
vi. Validation/certification of various returns and disclosures required by regulators.
vii. Reporting on frauds, diversion of funds, suspicious transactions or any irregularities observed during the course of audit.
viii. Any other work related to statutory audit assigned by the Bank or mandated by RBI, SEBI, ICAI, Companies Act or any other regulatory/statutory authority such as DICGC, SEBI, NABARD, SIDBI, Ministry of HRD, Ministry of Rural Development etc.
ix. Tax Audit of accounts as per Income Tax Act 2025 and filing of Income Tax return within due dates.
x. Implementation of INDAS in the Bank when made applicable by RBI, currently the RBI has prescribed the INDAS compliant financial statements on half yearly basis for regulatory analysis purpose only, the SCA should review the same and suggest improvement (if any).
xi. Auditing the Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS) and other statements as required to be furnished to Bank of Baroda (Parent Bank) on quarterly and annual basis and issuing reports/certificates as required.
5. Minimum Eligibility Criteria
The Audit firm shall have
i. Minimum 3 full time partners exclusively associated* with the firm for a period of at least three (3) years, out of which a minimum 2(Two) should be full time FCA associated with firm for a period of at least three (3) years.
ii. Out of the Partners/Paid CAs of the firm, at least 1 such partner/paid CA should be CISA/ISA qualified and he/she should have at least one-year continuous association with the firm as on date of empanelment.
iii. Audit experience of minimum 8 years (audit experience shall mean experience of the audit firm as Statutory Central/Branch Auditor of Commercial Banks. Further at least two partners of the firm shall have continuous association with the firm for at least 10 years.
iv. Minimum number of 12 professional staff (excluding typists, stenographers, computer operators, secretary/ies and sub-ordinate staff etc.) consisting of audit and articled clerks with knowledge in book-keeping and accountancy and are engaged in on site audits, they must be associated for at least 1 year with the firm.
v. In the case of a group of audit firms having common partners, only one firm will be considered for allotment of statutory audit. Accordingly, a group of firms having common partners will be considered as one entity.
* The definition of ‘exclusive association’ will be based on the following criteria:
a. The full time partner should not be a partner in other firm/s
b. He/she should not be employed full time / part time elsewhere
c. He should not be practicing in his own name or engaged in practice otherwise or engaged in other activity which would be deemed to be in practice under Section 2(2) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 An Audit firm, subject to its fulfilling the prescribed eligibility norms will be allowed to continue as the Statutory Central Auditor (SCA) for the Bank for a period of three years and thereafter the said firm will be compulsorily rested for a period of Six years.
Concurrent auditors of the Bank will not be considered for appointment either as Statutory Central Auditor or Branch Auditor of the Bank.
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY NORMS FOR AUDITORS:
a. A person shall be eligible for appointment as auditor of the Bank only if he is a practicing Chartered Accountant, also a firm whereof majority of partners practising in India are qualified as aforesaid may be appointed by its firm name to be an auditor of the Bank.
b. Where a firm including a limited liability partnership is appointed as an auditor of the Bank, only the partners who are chartered accountants shall be authorised to act and sign on behalf of the firm.
c. The SCA shall be strictly guided by the relevant professional standards in discharge of their audit responsibilities with highest diligence.
d. The Board/ACB shall review the performance of SCA on an annual basis. Any serious lapses/negligence in audit responsibilities or conduct issues on part of the SCA or any other matter considered as relevant shall be reported to RBI within two months from completion of the annual audit. Such reports should be sent with the approval/recommendation of the Board/ACB, with the full details of the audit firm.
e. In the event of lapses in carrying out audit assignments resulting in misstatement of financial statements, and any violations/lapses vis-à-vis the RBI’s directions/guidelines regarding the role and responsibilities of the SCA in relation to Bank, the SCA would be liable to be dealt with suitably under the relevant statutory/regulatory framework.
f. The following persons shall not be eligible for appointment as an auditor of the Bank, namely: —
-
- a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009);
- an officer or employee of the Bank;
- a person who is a partner, or who is in the employment, of an officer or employee of the Bank;
- a person who, or his relative or partner—
- is holding any security of or interest in the Bank or its subsidiary, or of its holding or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding company: Provided that the relative may hold security or interest in the company of face value not exceeding one thousand rupees or such sum as may be prescribed;
- is indebted to the Bank, or its subsidiary, or its holding or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding company, in excess of such amount as may be prescribed; or
- has given a guarantee or provided any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the Bank or its subsidiary, or its holding or associate company or a subsidiary of such holding company, for such amount as may be prescribed;
- a person or a firm who, whether directly or indirectly, has business relationship with the Bank or its subsidiary or its holding or associate company or subsidiary of such holding company or associate company of such nature as may be prescribed;
- a person whose relative is a director or is in the employment of the Bank as a director or key managerial personnel;
- a person who is in full time employment elsewhere or a person or a partner of a firm holding appointment as its auditor, if such persons or partner is at the date of such appointment or reappointment holding appointment as auditor of more than twenty companies;
- a person who has been convicted by a court of an offence involving fraud and a period of ten years has not elapsed from the date of such conviction;
- any person whose subsidiary or associate company or any other form of entity, is engaged as on the date of appointment in consulting and specialised services as provided in section 144.
- Where a person appointed as an auditor of the Bank incurs any of the disqualifications mentioned above after his appointment, he shall vacate his office as such auditor and such vacation shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy in the office of the auditor.
- The Auditors / Audit Firms should not be a wilful defaulter of other Banks / Financial institutions.
- The Auditors / Audit Firms should not carry out any assignment of the Internal Audit of the Bank.
- The Auditors / Audit Firms should not enter into sub-contract of the Audit assigned to them.
- The eligible Auditors / Audit Firms should be qualified under provisions of Section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013 for appointment as Auditors of the Bank. No adverse remarks / disciplinary proceedings pending / initiated against the firms / any of its Partners on the record of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
6. Evaluation Mechanism
6.1 General
Applications received shall be evaluated by a Committee constituted by the Bank. The evaluation shall be based upon:
- Technical capability
- Experience and credentials
- Banking audit experience
- Infrastructure and manpower
- Commercial quote
The Bank may call shortlisted firms for presentation/discussion.
6.2 Evaluation Criteria
| Parameter | Maximum Marks | Marking system |
| Technical Evaluation | 60 | As may be evaluated by the Committee |
| Financial Evaluation | 40 | As may be evaluated by the Committee |
| Total | 100 |
6.3 Technical Evaluation Parameters
The technical evaluation may include:
- Experience in Statutory Central Audit of Banks
- Experience in Public Sector/Private Sector Banks
- Qualification and experience of partners
- Availability of professional staff
- Audit infrastructure and technology capabilities
- Compliance track record
- Previous experience with the Bank
6.4 Financial Evaluation
The lowest financial quote (L1) among technically qualified firms shall receive the maximum marks.
6.5 Combined Score
The combined score shall be calculated using the following formula:
S = (T / TH × 60) + (CL / C × 40)
Where:
- S = Combined Score
- T = Technical Score of the Firm
- TH = Highest Technical Score
- C = Commercial Quote of the Firm
- CL = Lowest Commercial Quote
The firm obtaining the highest combined score shall be considered for appointment. The decision of the Bank/Committee shall be final and binding.
7. Commercial Bid and Minimum Fee
The audit firm shall quote a consolidated professional fee for the entire assignment.
Minimum Professional Fee
| Particulars | Amount |
| Central Statutory Audit (Annual) | Rs. 7,25,000/- |
| Quarterly Limited Review | 25% of Annual Audit Fee |
Note:
- GST shall be payable extra at applicable rates.
- Out-of-pocket expenses shall be reimbursed on actual basis subject to Bank approval.
- The Bank reserves the right to negotiate the commercial terms with the selected bidder.
8. General Terms and Conditions
a. Term of Assignment
The appointment shall be from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting till the conclusion of the subsequent Annual General Meeting, subject to RBI approval and applicable guidelines.
Continuation for subsequent terms shall be subject to RBI guidelines and satisfactory performance.
b. Adherence to Terms and Conditions
The applicant firms shall strictly adhere to the terms and conditions contained in this RFP.
c. Confidentiality
The selected auditor shall maintain strict confidentiality of all information/data obtained during the course of the assignment.
d. Independence
The auditor shall remain independent and shall immediately disclose any conflict of interest.
e. Infrastructure
The selected auditor shall arrange necessary manpower, laptops, software and other infrastructure at its own cost.
f. Professional Standards
The audit shall be conducted in accordance with Standards on Auditing issued by ICAI and applicable regulatory guidelines.
g. Single Point of Contact
The selected audit firm shall nominate a single point of contact for coordination with the Bank.
h. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
The engagement shall be governed by the laws of India and subject to jurisdiction of courts at Nainital, Uttarakhand.
i. Authorized Signatory
The selected firm shall provide details of authorized signatories empowered to correspond with the Bank.
j. Right to Verify
The Bank reserves the right to verify the information furnished by the audit firm from any source including ICAI, RBI or other Banks.
k. Rejection of Proposal
The Bank reserves the right to reject any proposal in case of:
-
- Misrepresentation of facts
- Incomplete information
- Non-fulfilment of eligibility criteria
- Conflict of interest
- Regulatory restrictions/debarment
9. Annexure A
Additional Details to be Furnished by the Audit Firm
| Sl. No. | Particulars | Details |
| 1 | Name of the Firm | |
| 2 | Address of Head Office | |
| 3 | Number of Branches/Offices | |
| 4 | No. of full-time partners (FTPs)
(associated with the firm for a period of at least three (3) years) |
|
| 5 | Number of FCA partners (out of Sl. No.4)
(associated with the firm for a period of at least three (3) years) |
|
| 6 | Number of CISA/ISA/DISA Qualified Partners/Paid CAs | |
| 7 | Names of Partners with qualification, experience and certificate course from ICAI. | |
| 8 | No. of years of Audit Experience of the firm as Central Auditor/Branch Auditor of Commercial Banks/ RRB’s) | |
| 9 | Experience in Statutory Central Audit (No. of Bank(s) (Please mention names of banks with years of experience) | |
| Sl. No. | Particulars | Details |
| 10 | No. of professional staff (With at least one-year continuous association of professional staff with the firm as on the date of shortlisting) | |
| 11 | Out of total No. of professional staff (out of Sl. No.10), no. of full time qualified Chartered Accountants | |
| 12 | Standing of the Firm (Years) | |
| 13 | Number of CAs proposed for assignment | |
| 14 | Previous assignments with The Nainital Bank Ltd. | |
| 15 | Whether any partner is Director in any Bank | |
| 16 | Whether disciplinary proceedings pending with ICAI | |
| 17 | Whether any RBI enforcement action exists | |
| 18 | Whether debarred by RBI/ICAI/NFRA/other authorities | |
| 19 | Whether any of the clients of the firm in legal battle with Nainital Bank? | |
| 20 | Statutory audit of commercial banks/institutions for FY 2026-27:
a) No. of PSB: b) No. of All India Financial Institution (NABARD, SIDBI, NHB, EXIM Bank) or RBI c) No. of UCBs d) No. of NBFCs |
10. Annexure B
Commercial Bid Format
(To be submitted in separate sealed envelope)
| Particulars | Amount (Rs.) |
| Consolidated Fee for Annual Statutory Central Audit | |
| Quarterly Limited Review Fee |
Note:
- GST shall be payable extra at applicable rates.
- Out-of-pocket expenses shall be reimbursed on actual basis subject to Bank approval.
We hereby confirm that the commercial bid is valid for a period of 180 days from the date of submission.
Authorized Signatory
Name: —-
Designation:—–
Firm Name:——
Date:—–
Place:—-
Contact Details
For any clarification regarding this RFP, firms may contact:
1. Shubham Sharma – Manager -7814081017
2. Mahesh Kumar Goyal – Chief Financial Officer – 7055101506
