From The President
Dear Esteemed Readers,
It is indeed a matter of pride and pleasure for me to put
across my thoughts as the newly elected President of this august body. I
visualise your expectations, having been addressed by some of the luminaries in
the profession in the past through this column. Well, it is my privilege to
communicate with you for the next twelve months and I shall strive my utmost to
meet with your expectations.
It is heartening to have received so many compliments from
all over the country upon assumption of office as President of BCAS redounding
to the credit, reputation and popularity that the Society enjoys in the
profession. I sincerely thank one and all for their expression of love,
affection and consideration to me and the BCAS.
Communication is complete when it is well received, so I look
forward to your feedback and suggestions for improvement not only in respect of
my writings but also in respect of any branch of activity of the Society. You
are also at liberty to raise issues concerning the profession as well as social
causes and macro issues concerning citizens at large that you would like to be
addressed by the Society. I believe that intellectuals generally carry greater
responsibility of Nation-Building. Swami Chinmayananda had said : “This Nation
suffers more from the passiveness of good people than aggressiveness of bad
people”. The result is evident in the quality of our national leaders (if at all
they can be called as such). We, therefore, need to become aggressively good. We
must not take injustice lying down. We must take lead in restoring peace and
communal harmony, spreading education amongst the poor and prevent mother earth
from the hazards of global warming by turning it green. We intend to take up
this year many such initiatives which could provide our members opportunities to
participate in nation-building activities along with members of their families.
One area where professionals need to contribute their mite is
in eradication of corruption. Lack of accountability on the part of Government
employees is one of the reasons for this cancerous growth. The Society has
represented to the Government on several occasions to bring about accountability
in the Income-tax Department and has repeated its demand, especially in the
context of the proposed Direct Tax Code. The DTC proposes to introduce General
Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) with wide powers to officers. Gandhiji said, “Power
corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Indeed, there is a need for
matching accountability with bestowal of authority. Lack of accountability
coupled with wide powers would worsen the vulnerability of the hapless
taxpayers. The need is to address the issue from the other side of the coin,
i.e., taxpayers must not be lost sight of. To quote Gandhiji again, “There is
enough in the world for man’s need, but not for man’s greed”. According to one
estimate, if only the black money parked abroad by Indians (politicians
included) can be brought back to the country, it can wipe out our external debt.
There can be no two views that tax evasion should be dealt with severely.
However, it should not be at the cost of innocent taxpayers. More often than
not, tax- payers indulge in corruption to buy peace of mind. Given an
opportunity of clean administration and fair assessment, the majority of the
taxpayers would not encourage corruption. In this regard professionals also
carry the responsibility to encourage and support ethical practices. However,
the tug of war is on between the Income-tax Department to extract more from
taxpayers on the one hand, owing to unreasonable targets set for tax collection,
and the inclination of the taxpayers to save more due to greed/provision for the
rainy day on the other. In this context, the approach and transparent
functioning of the Reserve Bank of India is to be appreciated. It is one of the
finest institutions of India. How I wish this culture spreads to every
department of Government.
Computerisation and use of related technology may well be one
of the ways to reduce corruption. Recently a newspaper covered a report about
the wonders wrought by the Government of Chhattisgarh by computerising the
Public Distribution System (PDS). This is how the miracle worked. Chhattisgarh
first created a network of computers across the State, which covered 146
development blocks in 18 districts where details of every beneficiary are put
online. Each beneficiary can also keep track of food stocks through SMS, which
is sent immediately after a PDS shipment is sent from a distribution centre to a
local fair-price shop. SMS informs the beneficiary of everything, including the
date, time, the vehicle number and the stock.
The fair-price shop owners received incentives to stop
pilfering food stocks, and commission for each shop was increased from Rs.8 to
Rs.30 per quintal, with shipments tracked online.
The Public Distribution System is one of the largest leakages
of public money fuelling corruption. It is estimated that there are 23 million
fake ration cards eligible for subsidised food and civil supply. Each fake card
guzzles Rs.8500 of the annual subsidy. With computerisation, regular reviews and
frequent verification, the Government of Chhattisgarh cancelled 1.3 lakhs (below
poverty line) cards during 2002-09. Thus, the reforms in PDS have resulted in a
whopping saving of Rs.100 crore plus, for the State Government so far.
This clearly shows what technology can do or achieve with
political will. Dr. Raman Singh, the Chief Minister of the Chhattisgarh is an
Ayurvedic Doctor and has been re-elected for his good work. The motto of his
Government is aptly reflected on the official website of the State : ‘http://cg.gov.in’ :
“Our focus is on two areas — good governance and good infrastructure. If we can
provide these two, the rest will follow.”
On the ensuing 65th Independence Day, let us all resolve to
contribute our mite to rebuilding India.
Coming back to brass tacks, one of the focal areas this year
would be to bring BCAS to your doorstep by organising various programmes for the
benefit of members in the far-flung suburbs of Mumbai and other important towns
in India. We also intend to organise focussed programmes for members in Industry
and to this end, a Focus Group on ‘Corporate Affairs and Members in Industry’
has been formed. We wish that the benefit of the Society’s activities and the
Journal reach to more and more members, which is why I hereby appeal to our
readers to inform their friends, colleagues and peers about BCAS and its
activities. I am happy to inform you that members from Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,
Indore, Nashik and Surat (who attended the recently concluded Residential Study
Course on Service Tax) have promised to induct new members in order to spread
the activities of the Society. The Study Course was attended by about 80
participants and the level of discussion and bonding amongst members were simply
unparalleled.
I do not wish to deal with other focal areas as the same have
been dealt with in my inaugural address to members published elsewhere in this
Journal.
On the BCAS’s Founding Day Celebrations held on 6th July 2010, the Chief Guest, CA Keki Mistry, Vice-Chairman and the CEO of HDFC Ltd., addressed our members on ‘Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis and the Role of Housing in the Indian Economy’. He shared his optimism for India’s growth in housing sector over the next decade or so, resulting from, inter alia, the demographic advantages and strong banking norms for lending in the housing sector. The lecture was webcast and people around the world watched it live.
The first lecture meeting of the Society for 2010-11 was addressed by the past President of the Society, CA Pinakin Desai on 14th July 2010 on the subject of ‘Recent Developments in Direct Taxation’. It received an overwhelming response, with many members returning home for want of space. I sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to them, but members can simply resort to listening to this lecture from the Society’s website.
By the time you would receive this edition of the Journal, the hectic schedule of July must have been over and the festive August must have made its entry.
It is said, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success”. Let us work together to make BCAS a more powerful force to be reckoned with, comprising proactive, pragmatic and progressive chartered accountants determined to make a positive difference to the profession and the country for a better tomorrow, God willing.
In conclusion, let me wish you all —
A Happy Independence Day, for this memorable day is yonder and it is fitting that we dedicate ourselves — thought, word and deed at the altar of freedom, liberty and independence we all cherish.
So be it.
