Seniority for Empanelment of Chartered Accountant Firm

I am CA Fresher, want to start my practice. During my research for starting my own practice, I came across the few CA partnership firms they are offering to become their partner on terms that. 1. I will not be allowed to create a proprietorship firm till I am a partner in their firm. 2. I have to share some percentage of gross receipt earned by me from Government tender on basis of the Partnership Firms profile. but I don't have to share any receipt with other partners of my personal client i.e who do not become clients from Tender or empanelment.

My query is I will hold a Certificate of practice from day one of becoming a partner of a partnership firm but I will not be having proprietorship simultaneously, So what will happen if, after 5 years, I resign from partnership firm and Create my own Proprietorship Firm. So if I apply for any empanelment in the first year of my proprietorship firm, what will be my seniority, as I will be FCA having experience of more than 5 years but my proprietorship firm will be fresher with experience of less than 1 year.

Hey Upesh, great question! Here's how it generally works regarding seniority and empanelment for a CA firm when you move from partnership to proprietorship:

Experience as a Chartered Accountant (FCA):
Your individual experience as an FCA (like 5+ years) remains valid regardless of the firm structure. So your professional experience doesn’t reset.
Firm Experience vs. Individual Experience:
Empanelment authorities (like government bodies or PSUs) often require experience of the firm itself, not just the individual partner.

So if you start a new proprietorship firm after resigning from the partnership, the firm’s experience will be counted from the date of its registration, i.e., it will be “fresh” or new.
Your individual CA experience will add weight but may not fully substitute for firm seniority requirements.

Implication for Empanelment:

For empanelment, the authorities may require the firm to have a minimum number of years of practice, usually 3-5 years.
Since your new proprietorship is fresh, it may not meet this criterion initially, even though you personally have 5+ years of CA experience.

How to address this:

You can highlight your individual CA experience and qualifications when applying for empanelment. Some empanelments consider both firm and individual credentials.
Alternatively, you could continue building your proprietorship firm and apply once it gains the necessary vintage.
Or, sometimes, joining an existing reputed partnership with a good firm seniority can be advantageous initially.

Summary:
Your personal CA experience remains, but firm seniority is counted from the start of the new firm’s existence. So for empanelment, your proprietorship firm will be considered new/fresher, potentially impacting eligibility based on firm vintage requirements.