New Delhi: The auditing firm of any company whose accounts do not "present a true and fair view of the affairs" in Indian operations can be prosecuted under Section 233 of the Companies Act, the Lok Sabha was informed on July 26.

Asked if the government proposes to review audit norms in case of financial frauds committed by Indian companies, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said in a written reply: "The concerned auditing firm can be prosecuted under Section 233 of the Companies Act or proceeded against for professional misconduct under Section 21 of the Chartered Accountants Act."

Of the companies in which such irregularities are detected, he said, "If accounts do not present a true and fair view of the affairs of an Indian company, it can be prosecuted under Section 211 and/or Section 628 of the Companies Act".

In reply to another question whether the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) would be asked to conduct an audit of Kendriya Bhandar, National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) and Super Bazar, Singh said there was no such proposal at present.

PTI