Branch audit exclusion clarifies that branch and foreign company audits do not count toward the specified audit limit. Branch auditors appointed under section 228 audit only the particular branch and report to the company auditor; they do not equate to company auditors who report on the company's accounts as a whole, and thus branch audits are excluded from the specified audit-number. Audits of Indian business accounts of foreign companies are also excluded because foreign companies lie outside the definition of 'company' for section 224, and therefore such audits are not to be included within the specified limit in Explanation I to sub section (1C).