From The President

July and August were
eventful months not only for the Chartered Accountancy profession but also for
the world at large. In so far as our profession is concerned, the deadline for
filing income tax returns kept most of our fraternity busy till July 31, which
was extended by four days up to August 4, 2010.

The results of the CA
examinations were released in the last week of July, of which the outcome is
“Thodi Khushi, Jyaada Gam”, with the overall passing percentage falling
below double digits. The results were tough as seen from the trend of the past
few years; worse, it was toughest in recent years. Many bright students meet
with failure in CA examinations for the first time in their life. Examination
results invariably cause frustration, depression and a crisis of confidence. In
order to motivate students and help them take examinations in the right
perspective, an inspirational talk by renowned film and stage actor, Anupam Kher,
on the topic “The Power Within” was organized at K. C. College on 16th August
2010, which elicited a very good response.

Students are our future and
we, members of the profession, should shoulder the collective responsibility to
make them first and foremost good human beings, responsible citizens and better
Chartered Accountants. A sense of longing to contribute to the society what one
receives therefrom must be inculcated in students early in their career. It was
heartening to read the news in the Times of India dated 25th August 2010, that
Mr. Asit Koticha, Chairman and Founder Promoter of ASK Group and ex-student of
Poddar College donated Rs. 32 crores to the University of Mumbai and promised to
raise a further Rs.70 crores to help the University build a world-class
Convention Centre and other facilities.

It is said, there are two
certitudes in life; namely, death and taxes. Taxes are levied and collected from
times immemorial. However, the origin of income tax law is found in the Bill
passed by the Legislative Council of India for imposing duties on profits
arising from property, professions, trades and offices. It received assent from
the Governor General of India on 24th July, 1860. Mr. James Wilson, Privy
Council Member and Founder of the world-acclaimed magazine, “The Economist” was
the architect of taxation in India.

On 24th July 2010, the
Income tax Department celebrated the 150th anniversary of Tax Laws in India. On
that occasion, the Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, dedicated to the
nation the revised Citizen’s Charter. While the Charter expects Indian citizens
to be truthful, prompt and regular in paying taxes, it reaffirms that there
shall be equity and transparency in tax administration. The Finance Minister in
his address on the occasion remarked as follows:

“One area of concern is
litigation with taxpayers. Department is filing appeals in a routine manner
without careful thought and examination, leading to the Department earning the
dubious distinction of being the biggest litigant within the Government of
India.”

The aforenoted comment says
it all.

The Chairman CBDT, Mr. S.S.N.
Moorthy, unveiled the Service Quality Policy and has expressed commitment to
promote voluntary compliance with Direct Tax Laws through quality taxpayer
service and fair and firm administration. He also conveyed that the Department
would endeavour not only to be transparent but also fair in its processes. Let
us hope that both, the Income tax Department and the Citizens at large would
comply with the revised Charter, both in letter and in spirit.

Some other disturbing
developments were the flash floods in many states of Northen India, agitations
in the Kashmir valley and the rising inflationary trend. We need to learn that
the environmental imbalances are causing floods in deserts and heat waves in
cold climes such as Eastern Europe – a topsy-turvy condition of sorts. The
uproar in Kashmir Valley needs to be dealt with firmly. It is high time that all
political parties rise as one to the occasion and find an acceptable and
practical solution to the problem. The time is ripe to deal firmly with our
neighbour in the matter of Kashmir, which is the root cause after all. The
goodness of India is seen as its incompetence. Even Gandhiji said: “I would
prefer violence any day to cowardliness.” Non violence and peace should be
practised from a position of strength.

The rising inflation is a
matter of concern for one and all. It is widening the divide between the “haves”
and the “have nots”. A major chunk of the Indian population live below the
poverty line, which would prove that prosperity of economic development has not
penetrated down to the grass root level. The need of the hour is “inclusive
growth” i.e. growth and prosperity for all sections of the society. When our
Members of Parliament find it difficult to survive and unabashedly unite to
increase their pay three times, what about poor people across the country? In
good old feudal days when subjects were in difficulty or facing hunger, the then
Kings used to practise austerity and donate generously for the welfare of the
suffering masses. Today, it is the opposite. Our MPs and MLAs rush to increase
their emoluments at the cost of poor. In the recently concluded 14th ITF
Conference at Udaipur, the Keynote address was delivered by Sriji Arvind Singhji
Mewar, the descendent of the Royal Dynasty of Udaipur. He regards himself as the
76th custodian of the House of Mewar. The moot point here is that Sriji and his
predecessors regarded themselves as custodians or trustees as Gandhiji said and
not owners. According to them, the real owner is Lord Eklingji (Shiva), their
Ishta Devata (ancestral deity) and they were merely trustees. The principle of
“trusteeship” was enunciated by Gandhiji. If every wealthy person lives by this
philosophy, nobody would be poor on this earth. A small beginning has been made
at BCAS. Through the efforts of the Past President Shri Pradeep Shah, members
donated a dialysis machine to the Muljibhai Patel Society for Research in
Nephrology which costs Rs. 5 Lakhs. BCAS would be instrumental in organizing two
free eye camps for cataract operations at Vansda, Dist. Valsad, Gujarat, whereby
100 plus villagers would be benefited. Efforts are on to raise funds to fund
community service projects for the Matunia village in fond memory of the Late
Shri Hiten Shah, who had a dream of transforming this backward village. Any
member who is willing to contribute to such good projects is always welcome.

The panel discussion on Service Tax went off very well. More than 85 members attended. The seminar on NBFC on 14th August was also well attended with participation from across the country. The 14th ITF Conference at Udaipur set new standards both academically and administratively. The feedback for all programmes is very encouraging.