I am penning this communication while I am attending the 55th Residential Refresher Course (RRC) of the Society at the holy city of Nashik, and we are on the verge of concluding the RRC. The unique feature of RRCs organized by
BCAS is the immaculate planning, time management, extensive networking amongst participants from around the country and excellent learning imparted by leading professionals in the traditional areas as well as emerging areas of professional interest. The most satisfying aspect of the RRC has been to see the glow on the faces of each delegate for meeting personally at a physical conference after a gap of two years. I hope this is the beginning of normalcy and relegation of pandemic fear into oblivion.
RRCs are in the DNA of BCAS. From one RRC in a year, BCAS has come a long way and now organizes 4 RRCs every year. One is the General RRC which I am currently attending, which encompasses various areas of practice and other professional interest topics. The second is International Tax & Finance RRC, which caters to international taxation professionals and aspirants. Third is the Residential Study Course (RSC) on GST, which is eagerly awaited by GST practitioners. This year it is scheduled from 2nd June, 2022 to 5th June, 2022 at Hotel The Westin, Goa. Fourth is the IndAS RSC, which is well received by IndAS/IFRS fraternity.
The event which has rocked the world is the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. During this invasion, Russia has recognized the independence of two Russia backed regions in Eastern Ukraine, namely Donetsk and Luhansk. This has led to sanctions announced by the US, Britain, EU, Japan and other countries. The sanctions are travel bans, freezing of assets held by Russian banks and restricting access to western finances. Russia has retaliated against the sanctions by cutting gas exports to Europe by almost 30% which in turn has flared up the gas prices worldwide.
I feel that humankind is moving towards less tolerance and less empathy. The unending competition to have an upper hand and dominate creates frictions which in turn converts to greed and hatred. We all are becoming less forgiving by nature. However, we all must bear in mind that the best quality to bring solace to one’s life, and in turn to the whole of humankind is Forgiveness. I would like to quote my Guru Mahatria Ra on Forgiveness:
Forgiveness is giving up your right to hurt the other for hurting you.
The purpose of forgiveness is not to liberate the other,
But to liberate you from the clutches of disturbances.
Learn to tranquilise hurt and hatred with forgiveness….
Feel liberated…. Forgive….
The development of this invasion does not augur well for the economies of the world, which were just limping back to normalcy. India is also facing the brunt with rising crude oil prices, which have touched USD 105 per barrel. It is the highest in 7 years. This will add to the inflationary pressures currently faced by the Indian economy.
Amidst the crisis, there is a landmark IPO of LIC of India, which is planned in March, 2022. It will be the biggest IPO in the Indian stock market history. It proposes to raise INR 63,000 crores through an Offer for Sale by the Government of India by diluting its stake by 5%. We will have to wait and watch with bated breath whether the geo-political situation affects LIC of India’s plans of listing in March, 2022.
Dealing with the developments at BCAS, I am happy to inform you that this year we were provided with an opportunity by the Honorable Chairman of CBDT, Mr. J B Mohapatraji, to present before him post-budget representation in person. It was an honour and a matter of pride for BCAS. I and four other members from BCAS made a representation on proposed amendments which according to us required further deliberations and consideration. Honorable Chairman gave a patient hearing to our representation. The detailed Post Budget Representation is available for download from the BCAS website.
We also had an interesting Panel Discussion on Budget 2022, which was not restricted to taxation but also included its impact on the economy and capital markets. This discussion was well received and attended virtually in large numbers. The panellists were Mr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, an eminent economist, CA Shariq Contractor, an eminent tax professional and Past President of BCAS and Mr. Deven Choksey, a reputed financial consultant and analyst. The discussion was very ably moderated by CA Sonal Bhutra an anchor at CNBC TV18.
TAXCON 2022, which was organized by six Mumbai based professional associations during the month was successfully concluded. It was appreciated by the participants for its content and the learned faculties who made presentations and participated in the panel discussions.
Our journey of imparting knowledge is not restricted to the routine areas of professional excellence. We continuously bring to the members and public at large upcoming opportunities to be exploited. One such opportunity is setting up base at GIFT CIty IFSC at Gandhinagar. To create awareness of the same, we had a Lecture Meeting wherein three speakers provided insights into the infrastructure available, its ecosystem, legal and regulatory framework and taxation related benefits from operating out of GIFT City.
From the activities being highlighted through my communications, it would be appreciated that BCAS is trying to bring new ideas to its members and become an enabler of creating a vision to take on challenges in the areas emerging and untried. This same can be summarized through an interesting quote of my Guru Mahatria Ra:
The crux of creativity is seeing things from a new perspective.
The greatest block to creativity is old judgements.
It is time to reprogram your minds.
So, try the untried.
Best Regards,
Abhay Mehta
President
