“Long Duration Course on Goods and Services Tax Act” held on 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th October, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
BCAS, as a NACIN accredited training partner has been at the forefront of creating awareness about GST and supported the Government in ushering this reform by organising various lecture meetings, seminars and workshops related to GST. As a part of this endeavour, Indirect Taxation Committee of BCAS organised a Long Duration Course on Goods and Services Tax Act at BCAS Conference Hall, spread over 4 weeks in the month of October, 2018 on Fridays and Saturdays. The course consisted of 36 sessions of 1hr 15 min each. It was conducted by 34 domain experts in GST who covered various theoretical as well as practical aspects of the GST law.
The Course was attended by 97 participants including outstation participants as under:
The profile of participants consisted of practising chartered accountants, chartered accounts in employment as well as accounts and finance staff of various entities. The course was interactive and participants discussed various issues such as deemed supply, cross charge/ISD, ineligible ITC under the Act, issues concerning valuations, place of supply including zero rated supplies/deemed exports and imports related provisions, computational provisions, penal provisions, assessment provisions and procedural provisions like accounts and documents, payments, E-way bill, returns and Audit.
With the backup of excellent faculties, participants enriched their knowledge and experience in this collective learning process. The course facilitated GST learning of 45 hours per participants.
Students Study Circle on ‘’Benchmarking under Transfer Pricing” held on 23rd October, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
The Students Forum under the auspices of HRD Committee organised a Students’ Study Circle on the topic “Benchmarking under Transfer Pricing” on Tuesday, 23rd October, 2018 BCAS Conference Hall which was led by group leaders Mr. Rishabh Jain and Mr. Piyush Randad under the mentorship of CA. Jitendra Gupta. Ms. Neelam Soneja, the student co-ordinator introduced the mentor and group leaders. CA. Jitendra Gupta, the mentor for the session gave his opening remarks and briefly explained the topic.
Both the group leaders discussed the topic with the help of case studies and shared their practical experience in conducting transfer pricing audit. The study circle was very interactive. Overall, it gave a brief insight on various aspects that should be kept in mind while conducting transfer pricing audit.
The mentor CA. Jitendra Gupta then presented the certificates to the Group Leaders and appreciated the meticulous presentation made by them. Mr. Jason Joseph, the student co-ordinator thanked the group leaders and mentor for sharing their knowledge on the subject and briefed the participants about the forthcoming events which will be organised by the Students Forum.
The participants benefitted a lot from the session.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS STUDY GROUP
Meeting on “21 Lessons for the 21st Century & Clean Disruption” held on 24th October, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
International Economics Study Group conducted a meeting on 24th October, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall to discuss the topic “21 Lessons for the 21st Century & Clean Disruption” which was addressed by CA. Abhay Bhagat.
The Speaker presented the findings from the books: (1) Prof. Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling books: Sapiens- A Brief History of Humankind (2) Homo Deus- A Brief History of Tomorrow and (3) 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. The book 21 Lessons from the 21st Century brings out that in a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power. The Speaker explained that 21 Lessons for the 21st Century cuts through the muddy waters and confronts some of the most urgent questions on today’s global agenda. Some of the main learnings are: Whoever owns the data wins, which is why everyone struggles for it. Education must show us how to navigate information and not give us more of it.
CA. Abhay Bhagat also presented his findings on Tony Saba’s book – Clean Disruption Technology, Mega Trends Disrupting Public & Private transportation wherein the author brings out Technology based disruption – A disruption happens when a new product or service helps create a new market and significantly weakens, transforms or destroys existing market.
The author explains that the key technologies that are disrupting transportation are Self Driving vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage, Mobile Internet/Cloud, Sensors /IoT & Big Data. The self-driving cars are disruptive as these would be 5 times more efficient than existing cars, cheaper fuel (10 times), life cycle of car (from currently 1.5 lakh km to 5.0 lakh km), present car has 2000 moving parts and EV has 18 to 20 moving parts and EV is computer tablet on wheel.
The author brings out the case for Self-driving vehicles because (1) Millions of people die from road accident and main cause of the accident is driver’s mistake 2) No parking space required as these Self-driving cars can run 24 hours (3) all cars will talk to one another and decide fastest route and giving direction to nearest car.
The meeting was quite interactive and had a huge takeaway for the participants.
A D Shroff Memorial Lecture on “The Importance of Independent Regulatory Institution The Case of Central Bank” held jointly by Forum of Free Enterprise, A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society and Indian Merchants’ Chamber on 26th October, 2018
The A D Shroff Memorial lecture meeting on The Importance of Independent Regulatory Institution ‘The Case of Central Bank’ was held jointly by Forum of Free Enterprise, A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, BCAS and Indian Merchants’ Chamber on 26th October, 2018 at IMC Hall. The meeting was addressed by Dr Viral V. Acharya, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
The Speaker explained that a central bank performs several important functions for the economy. It controls the money supply, sets the rate of interest on borrowing and lending money, manages the external sector including the exchange rate, supervises and regulates the financial sector notably banks, often regulates credit and foreign exchange markets and seeks to ensure financial stability, domestic as well as on the external front.
He also elaborated as to why is the central bank separate from the Government? He mentioned that the world over, the central bank is set up as an institution separate from the Government. Its powers are enshrined as being separate through relevant legislation. Its tasks being somewhat complex and technical, Central Banks are ideally headed and manned by technocrats or field experts–typically economists, academics, commercial bankers and occasionally private sector representatives, appointed by the Government but not elected to the office and they exercise their powers independently.
He also elucidated the role of Reserve Bank in regulating Monetary Policy, Debt Management and Exchange Rate Management and ongoing challenges in maintaining independence of Reserve Bank i.e. regulation of Public Sector Banks, RBI’s Balance Sheet strength and Regulatory Scope.
In his concluding remarks, the Speaker thanked Mr. Malegam for inviting him to address the lecture meeting and extended his warm gratitudes to late A. D. Shroff for his contribution to the economy and in co-founding of Free Forum Enterprise Think Tank in the year 1954. The meeting was a huge takeaway for the participants who got enlightened from the lecture delivered by the learned Speaker.
DIRECT TAX LAWS STUDY CIRCLE
Meeting on ‘E-Assessments” held on 30th October 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
Direct Tax Laws Study Circle conducted a meeting on E-Assessments Proceedings under the Income Tax Act on 30th October, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall. The Chairman of the session, CA. Ameet Patel gave his opening remarks and pointed out to various initiatives taken by the Government and Income Tax Department regarding digitalisation and e-governance of various compliances, reporting and proceedings.
The Group leader CA. Romil Jain gave a brief background regarding the rationale of introduction of e-proceedings which has been a part of E-governance initiative, to facilitate ease of communication between the taxpayer and the Tax Authorities through electronic means. He educated as to how the concept of e-assessments was inserted and integrated in the provisions of the Income tax Act. He pointed that currently there are 3 branches of e-proceedings which are in operation – (1) E-return processing (2) E-assessment and (3) E-issue of refund.
CA. Romil Jain also took the group through step-by-step method for making submissions though e-assessment tab available on the income tax website. He pointed out to certain key points which one needs to keep in mind:
- Considering the auto-closure of e-filing window 7 days before the time barring date, assessee must act vigilantly and avoid keeping submissions till the last date.
- Considering the fact that e-filing portal has idle session time of 15 minutes, assessee should be ready till all the attachments to be uploaded in 1 folder, before login to e-filing website.
- Retain exclusive email address and mobile number of the authorised person for communication with Tax authorities.
- Any proceedings conducted manually (in case of exceptions, as listed in CBDT Instructions) shall be kept on record by way of mentioning about the same in subsequent online submission.
- In the absence of personal hearing, legal issues and commercial rationale should be drafted very clearly and concisely, to avoid any incorrect interpretation.
The meeting was very fruitful for the participants experiencing rich knowledge sharing by the learned Speaker.
BEPS STUDY GROUP
Meeting on “Continuation of Action Plans 8 to 10 – Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation” held on 2nd November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall.
BEPS Study Group organised the captioned meeting on 2nd November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall wherein CA. Ganesh Rajgopalan and CA. Shreyas Shah led the discussion. The Speakers put forth several examples and case studies and explained concepts relating to intangibles and their ownership and also to whom returns from intangibles to be allocated. A short presentation on the concept of risk, the principles of control over risk and capacity to assume risk were also deliberated. Some aspects of hard to value intangibles were explained by the group leaders.
The meeting was very interactive and the participants benefitted a lot from the sessions.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT STUDY CIRCLE
Meeting on “Eye Health and Eye Vision” held on 13th November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall by Presenter: Viram Agrawal of Vision Yoga
Human Resource Development Study Circle organised a meeting on the captioned subject at BCAS Conference Hall which was presented by Mr. Viram Agrawal of Vision Yoga who is working to spread awareness about “better eyesight at any age”.
The Speaker provided some useful insights on the subject as listed below:
(1) Preservation of good eyesight is almost impossible without proper eye education and mental relaxation (2) Keep your eyelids half closed, while reading or watching a distant object (3) Shift your glance constantly from one point to another (4) All errors of refraction are functional and therefore curable (5) Mental strain creates an error of refraction and mental relaxation can cure it (6) Eyewash tones up the eye muscles (7) Vision Yoga is a holistic method of treating eye disorders which is a part of the Vedic tradition as given in the Chakshushopanishad and Netra Dwayam – Upanishads of the eyes (8) This Yoga course benefits all eye disorders like myopia, hypermetropia, presbyopia, squint, cataract, nystagmus, etc.
The Speaker believes that exercises can help to avoid Glasses, Lasik Surgery and improve eye vision and also explained some eye treatments for eye ailments.
The participants were hugely benefitted from the presentation by the learned Speaker.
Intensive Study Course on “Data Analytics for Internal Audit” held on 16th and 17th November, 2018
The GRC subgroup of the Accounting and Auditing Committee organised a 2-day hands-on workshop on “Data Analytics for Internal Audit – using Microsoft Excel at Hotel Parle International, Parle East. The Speaker for the entire 2-day workshop was CA. Nikunj Shah.
This workshop was an immersive learning experience that enabled participants to understand, appreciate and experience the power of MS Excel for performing data analytics for Internal Audit. CA. Nikunj Shah captivated the audiences in his multi-lingual style, narrating anecdotes and stories, spinning a magical web for the spell-bound audiences. The case study based teaching method adopted by the Speaker with real data, enabled the participants to gain a first-hand experience of using data analytics with confidence.
His depth of knowledge, his mastery of MS Excel and his love for teaching together made for a workshop that was insightful, entertaining and educating. Nikunj successfully ignited the fire in the participants to explore and integrate Data Analytics to deliver superior internal audits. The meeting was quite participative and was a huge takeaway for the participants.
FEMA STUDY CIRCLE
Meeting on “Current and Capital Account Transactions” held on 22nd November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
A FEMA Study Circle Meeting was held on 22nd Novemeber, 2018 where CA. Manoj Shah led the discussion on the topic of “Current and Capital Account Transactions”. He deliberated upon the concept of current and capital account transaction which draws its importance from “Balance of Payment”. The members present discussed the definition of the Capital Account Transactions at length and raised various issues arising out of inbound and outbound contingent liabilities. The group leader and members discussed at length an issue as to whether indemnity given by Resident to Non Resident can be treated same as guarantee? The group leader also discussed implications under FEMA in relation to the gift of money, foreign security and immovable property by resident to the non-resident and vice-versa. The discussion also took place on setting up of a Trust where beneficiaries are non-resident Indians. The discussion also took place about trade payable outstanding for more than six months and few compounding orders on the same subject were discussed. The members appreciated the efforts put in by the group leader and requested him to take up the balance slides in the next study circle meeting.
HERITAGE WALK 2018 AT LONAVALA
Heritage Walk 2018 jointly with NGO “SAMPARC (Social Action for Manpower Creation)” held on 25th November, 2018 at Lonavala
A heritage walk was organised by the HRD Committee in association with NGO SAMPARC (Social Action for Manpower Creation) with a vision of enlisting heritage monuments – Bhaje, Karla, Bedse Caves and Visapur & Lohagad Fort in UNESCO heritage list.
Apart from supporting a cause, the walk gave all the participants an opportunity to meet new people from different walks of life and interact with them. The walk was enhanced by folk culture such as cultural events and traditional cuisines.
The aim and vision of SAMPARC Heritage Walk 2018 enshrined:
(1) Spreading awareness about the cleanliness and care requirements of heritage monuments. (2) Enabling citizens and tourists to relate to our varied culture and mesmerising history. (3) Attracting tourists and people from urban areas towards a historical heritage of our country. (4) Encouraging and inspiring people to preserve the precious heritage and help enlist Bhaje, Karla, Bedse Caves and Lohagad, Visapur fort in UNESCO Heritage list. (5) Motivating people from different communities to come together for protecting and supporting underprivileged children.
The walk commenced from footsteps of Bhaje Caves up to Lohagad Fort, which is 3,389 feet above the sea level. Total climb uphill and the same route downhill was approx. 7.2 kms. Along the walk the participants savoured the traditional Maharashtrian delicacies such as pithala-bhakari, thecha, vada pav, corn, etc., and enjoyed the undiscovered panoramic views. They also got an opportunity to feel traditional elegance and view various cultural performances including lavani, bhajan, potraj, tulsi vrundavan, Mallakhamb, etc.
The Heritage Walk was indeed a very pleasant and inspiring experience for the participants to preserve the beauty and identity of our ancient heritage.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS STUDY GROUP
Meeting on “Fear: Trump in the White House” and Current Economic Developments held on 28th November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
International Economics Study Group organised the captioned meeting on 28th November, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall, to discuss Bob Woodward’s book “Fear: Trump in the White House” and Current Economic Developments. CA Harshad Shah led the discussion and presented his findings of the book. He explained that Bob Woodward is an American journalist and author who reported on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post which led to Nixon’s resignation. The book chronicles initial years of Trump’s presidency and portrays the Trump White House as chaotic and disloyal to the president. The book’s title is derived from a remark that then-candidate Trump made in an interview with Woodward in 2016, “Real power is Fear”. Woodward has a reputation for meticulous note-taking and interviewing, combined with recording nearly all of his interviews.
The main focus of the book is national security, economic policy, North Korea, Trade, Afghanistan, Syria & the Mueller investigation. Probably the most significant and worrying claims are about Trump’s foreign policy impulses and his not understanding the way the US government debt cycle & balance sheet worked, confused of the federal debt and US monetary policy and trade. The Book brings out that Trump was clueless that orders were removed from his desk. Trump ran a campaign and promised to eliminate the entire federal debt during his presidency and offered a solution “Just run the presses – print money” which would be detrimental to the fiscal and economic health of the US.
The Group also discussed 32 % slide in oil prices over past two months in which Brent crude dropped from $86.70 a barrel to a low of $58.41, lowest levels in over a year (Since October 2017) and this decline happened due to increased supply, lower demand forecast, dilution of American sanctions against Iran, Trump`s prompting to Saudi Arabia & massive unwinding of positions by hedge funds. This would bring relief to India in terms of lower energy prices, inflation, current account deficit & currency.
The Group also deliberated on emerging geo political situations in our neighbourhood such as Pakistan & Afghanistan which might have long term impact on our security concerns.
The meeting was a good learning experience and participants benefitted a lot from the session.
