Society News

The Sixth Intensive Study Course on Transfer Pricing was successfully conducted by International Taxation Committee, from 6th February, 2016 to 2nd April, 2016 (on Saturdays). A total of 32 sessions were held on the subject of Transfer Pricing addressing the key updates, issues and challenges, Dispute Redressal Mechanism, Base Erosion Profit Shifting etc. Each session was followed by Question and Answer session for the benefit of the attendees.

The following key issues were discussed in the study course:-
1) More and More Complex Regulation
2) Business Restructuring & Exit Charges
3) Dissatisfaction with profit based methods
4) More audits, disputes and litigation
5) Increased onus on Taxpayers
6) Scope of Regulation Expanding
7) Aggressive practices by Tax Authorities
8) Location specific advantages related to Transfer Pricing

In all 49 participants attended the course. As per the feedback received from participants, the course was highly appreciated and well received by them.

3rd Youth RRC (Residential Refresher Course) held from 17th April to 19th April 2016 at Igatpuri

The 3rd Youth RRC was organized by BCAS under the Membership and Public Relations (MPR) Committee jointly with The Chamber of Tax Consultants at Igatpuri, a quaint town near Mumbai, mostly known for trekking, hiking and also for the soulful Vipassana Centre.

The inspiration of this year’s YRRC was the growing Start-Up culture in India and also the Start Up India initiatives taken by the Indian Government. The theme of the YRRC was set to “Start Up India – What’s in it for me? The programme attracted established and budding entrepreneurs along with industry-based and practicing chartered accountants. Participants from various parts of the country gathered together for the YRRC

The three day Youth Residential Refresher Course was a perfect balance between technical sessions and entertainment. Sessions were interactive & participative including group discussions, personality workshop, networking and team building.

The YRRC provided a platform for the participants to have a one-on-one interaction with the elite group of speakers and to be able to learn and gain from their experiences. The technical sessions held at the 3rd YRRC are summarized as follows:

Day 1: Sunday 17th April 2016

Inauguration Session by Chairman of the MPR Committee – CA Naushad Panjwani

The Chairman inaugurated the YRRC by extending a warm welcome to all the participants. Keeping up with the theme of the YRRC, a short video of our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi’s action plan for Startup India was screened. This inspiring speech of the PM set the tone and momentum for the rest of the event.

SESSION 1: Beginners’ Guide to Startups for Entrepreneurs and Professionals

Speaker : CA Nitin Shingala
CA Ketan Raiyani

Mr. Ketan Raiyani

Mr. Raiyani began the session by explaining the concept and characteristics of startup as an innovative and scalable model. He also shared his experience in the foundation of a startup, the funding and scaling, and finally selling the same. Mr. Shingala, continued the session by giving insights on how to work with startups and how to make startups work and imparted learnings such as 6D rule, 90- 10-90 rule. He also shared his experience and expertise from the professional perspective on working with startups

Mr. Nitin Shingala

SESSION 2 : Conducting Audit in Today’s Scenario.

Speaker: CA Himanshu Kishnadwala

Mr. Himanshu Kishnadwala

Mr. Kishnadwala took us through the past-present-future of the world of auditing: a journey from Standards of Auditing to ICDS, IFCR and Ind-AS. He gave examples of transactions and situations and detailed out its reporting in the audit reports under the changing statute.

SESSION 3 : Personality Enhancement.

Speaker : CA Jagdish Shenoy

Mr. Jagdish Shenoy

The “16PF” test was taken by all the participants; this test measures 16 Personality Factors of an individual. Mr. Shenoy explained these factors with the competencies required by an individual carrying out either the role of an auditor, a consultant, a tax practitioner or any other roles played by a Chartered Accountant.

Day 2: 18th April 2016

SESSION 1: GROUP DISCUSSION

TOPIC : E-COMMERCE: BUSINESS MODEL AND TAXATION

Paper Writer: CA Sunil Gabhawalla

Mr. Sunil Gabhawalla

Mr. Gabhawalla’s paper on the complexity of e-commerce transaction involving multiple countries, multiple tax laws and treaties was discussed by all participants within their groups and good efforts were made to solve every case study. He also gave a background on key attributes of ecommerce transactions. The group discussion was followed by questions & answers raised by group leaders.
The Q & A was interactive and well addressed by the speaker.

SESSIONS 2: FORENSIC AUDIT

Speaker: CA Chetan Dalal

Mr. Chetan Dalal

Mr. Dalal, gave a hands on experience of being a forensic auditor to the participants. He asked them to find out the difference between a real and fake video used as evidence, discrepancies in falsified documents and Microsoft excel reports.

DAY 3: 19th April 2016

SESSSION 1: CASE STUDIES ON INTERNATIONAL TAXATION:

Speaker: CA . T. P. Ostwal

Mr. T. P. Ostwal

Mr. Ostwal, circulated an intensive case study which covered all the international transactions entered into by startup companies and explained in a highly inter-active session the nitty-gritty of the taxation on the transactions by cross referencing them to the statutory provisions and respective tax treaties. The session resolved many of the questions the participants had in mind and also helped the participants understand the stages of taxation in these international transactions.

SESSIONS 2: PANEL DISCUSSION:

PRACTICE vs. INDUSTRY vs. ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Panelists:
CA . Arun Giri
CA . Naushad Panjwani
CA . Parimal Parikh
CA . T. P. Ostwal

Practice vs. Industry vs. Entrepreneurship?? : A question for every Chartered Accountant at every stage of his career.

Mr. Arun Giri

The group discussion was moderated by the Chairman, Mr. Panjwani. The Panelists shared their stories of the struggles faced by them in building their career, while the participants shared their questions, thoughts and insecurities for venturing into these 3 zones. The Panelists helped resolve all their worries and problems. They ended the session with a note saying that “if you want something that you are really passionate about, then no other worries or insecurities will come in the way of you achieving your goal and success”. On this positive note, the YRRC ended leaving the participants recharged with knowledge, a good network of likeminded people and friends and a go-getter attitude to achieve their goals.

                
 
Full day Seminar on “Practical issues in TDS” held on 22nd April. 2016

The Full day seminar on Practical issues in TDS was held by the Taxation Committee on 22nd April, 2016 at Navinbhai Thakkar Auditorium, Vile Parle (East), Mumbai. The Seminar was attendance by over 200 participants. President CA Raman Jokhakar gave the opening remarks followed by introductory words from the Chairman of the Taxation Committee, CA Sanjeev Pandit.

Various topics were taken up at the Seminar as follows:

Mr. Avinash Rawani

Ms. Vinita Krishnan and Mr. Avinash Rawani spoke on the BCAS platform for the very first time.

Sections 194C (Payments to Contractors) and Section 194J (Fees for professional or technical services):-

CA Gautam Nayak enlightened the audience on the changes made in these sections pursuant to Finance Bill, 2016 followed by circulars and clarifications issued by the CBDT, their applicability in the current scenario and recent case laws on these topics. The speaker elaborated on the provisions of 194C and 194J and covered some industry specific issues as well as the interplay of these sections with other sections of the Act.

Sections 192 (Salary including salary paid to expats) and 194H (TDS on Commission or Brokerage):-

CA Sudhir Nayak started his talk by highlighting the changes carried out by Finance Bill, 2016. He gave a good insight on provisions of section 192, taxation of perquisites, taxation of ESOPs and the manner in which these could be used for salary structuring. The speaker had a detailed discussion on issues arising in expatriate taxation and this was followed by in-depth analysis of issues governing section 194H.

Sections 194A (Interest other than “Interest on securities), 194I (Rent) and 194IA (Payment on transfer of certain immovable property other than agricultural land):-

Ms. Vinita Krishnan threw light on topics of sections 194A, 194I and 194IA by presenting the same in an easy to understand FA Q format. This was followed by discussion on recent cases on these topics as well as analysis of issues which lack judicial precedents.

Section 195 (Other Sums):-

CA Anil Doshi gave a detailed presentation on various aspects governing section 195 which included an overview of the relevant provisions which govern the applicability and manner of applying section 195. CA Anil Doshi also elaborated on the relevance of Tax Residency Certificate, implications of section 206AA, the scope of income of a non-resident, various aspects governing Form 15CA and Form 15CB and TDS related issues pertaining to certain cross border payments such as business income of a non-resident, royalties, fees for technical services and reimbursement of expenses. The speaker touched upon a wide number of judgments during the course of his presentation.

Issues in e-filing of TDS statements: CA Avinash Rawani highlighted the practical issues that arise in e-filing of various TDS statements such as returns, correction statements, challan corrections, replies to be filed to online communication from the TDS CPC amongst others. In addition to highlighting the issues, the speaker shared a lot of practical do’s and don’ts in relation to the filing of these statements. The sessions in the Seminar were very interactive and the Speakers answered a lot of queries that were received from the participants. The participants benefited immensely with the interactive sessions and detailed discussions.

Felicitation of ICAI President & Vice President on 23rd April, 2016 at BCAS Office

On 23rd April, 2016, it was the Society’s honour and privilege to welcome and felicitate the ICAI President, Mr. Devraja Reddy and the ICAI Vice-President, Mr. Nilesh Vikamsey who is also a core group member at BCAS. Both the dignitaries during their talk addressed BCAS as the younger brother of ICAI.

The discussion was an informal and an interactive one. It focused on the various initiatives taken up by ICAI, some of which can be outlined as follows:

• The ICAI is reenergizing the twenty-seven foreign chapters of the Institute by allocating them to the newly elected fifteen Central Council Members.
• With the help of our fraternity colleague, the Railways have agreed to the Institute’s suggestions of converting its book keeping from single entry to double entry. (The Institute is liaising with the Chief Secretaries of all States for adopting double entry as the appropriate method of accounting).
• The ICAI is also looking at the option of each branch having its ownership building. For this, the President sought help of our CA brothers in the IAS fraternity and involve them in our noble profession of Nation building.
• They called for suggestions on the proposed new syllabus to make it more practical and useful for the students rather than examination oriented.
• The President appreciated and praised the BCA Journal and requested the Editorial Board of BCAS to give their valuable inputs in improving the ICAI Journal.
• The Vice President discussed that the ICAI is also taking up timely discussions on changes in laws with the Government. This involvement will make the laws much simple and practical when implemented. The Past Presidents of BCAS and other members present welcomed all the suggestions and extended the helping hand to its elder brother The ICAI. Such incredible co-operation was well appreciated by them, which will go a long way in strengthening the pillars of the profession.

Meeting of the International Economic Study Group held on 3rd May 2016

The topic of the meeting was: “What is true wealth and how can we be more engaged with it?”

Mr. Siddharth Sthalekar provided an opportunity to explore the subject at a talk he delivered at The International Economic Study Group at The Indian Merchants’ Chamber on 3rd May, 2016. Mr. Siddharth Sthalekar shared his journey with wealth which has seen several twists and turns. As a young graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, his relationship with Indian capital markets began in the bull years of 2005. Mr. Sthalekar was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and soon he was heading one of the largest trading desks in the country.

However, the 2008 crisis led him to experience the effects of hyper-efficient global market. A problem of poor loans in the US had ripple effects across the world – bankruptcies in Europe, derailment of economies in Asia and more. Yes, money could move across the world in a matter of seconds.

The Latin root of the word ‘Wealth’ came from ‘Wellbeing’. So technically, when he asked himself being ‘Wealthy’, it was synonymous with asking how ‘Well we were!’ Somehow.

Faced with more questions than answers, Mr. Siddharth Sthalekar decided to spend some time looking for solutions in his own way. In 2011, he took a divergent step and headed to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad founded by our Father of Nation Late Shri M. K. Gandhi. It seemed irrational at that time, but the Ashram allowed him a space to step back from his comfort zone and understand different systems functioning right here in our country. As part of their work with urban, rural and tribal communities, Mr. Sthalekar had the opportunity to learn from diverse sets of people. During the evenings, he ran a space known as Seva Cafe for one and a half years – a Gift economy restaurant run entirely by volunteers. Through experiments with wealth – like attempting to live more simply and spending time ‘off’ mainstream money, he began learning about wealth with a slightly different perspective.

As reflected in his comment, Mr. Sthalekar could see how the process of money management had led us to ‘handover’ the wealth into the hands of others. Rather than question what we should be doing with it ourselves, we had gotten used to earning returns passively. It is through this passive behavior that had given rise to corruption in existing systems and allowed institutions to become ‘too big to fail’.

Slowly, sitting out of the Gandhi Ashram Mr. Sthalekar began to re-connect with finance with a single question in mind – ‘how can we help individuals engage with their wealth in authentic ways’.

1. The Role of the Fiduciary: While no one has really been speaking about this, regulators have been making some serious changes in this industry in the last 3 years. Existing banks, brokers and money managers were entities that provided financial access to individuals around the world, but they did not provide ‘sound advice’. As a result, Regulators carved out the role of the ‘fiduciary – or someone who works with your best interests in mind’. However, until 2013, this role of a fiduciary did not exist in finance! Since then, if any one chooses to offer financial advice, they must be licensed with the regulators. In other words, they must be Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs).

2. The Power of Technology: Mr Stalekar was of the opinion that technology has created a level playing field in the present day world. Through an office in one corner of the world, it is allowing us aggregate information, maintain data in simple, low-cost and safe manner and enabling us to advise clients in all parts of the world. That’s just the tip of the iceberg – Wikipedia style networks of information are the new ways of accessing research as opposed to static resources like PDFs and excel sheets. Innovations like Block Chain technology are truly unlocking the paradigm of decentralized wealth. All of this is a game changer. Change can sometimes be slow but we have seen similar parallels in industries like music and media in the last 15 years. We no longer need to access assets only through money managers. With the right fiduciary on one’s side, individuals can question and engage with assets across the world.

Paradigms are shifting at an increasingly rapid pace. Rather than handing over money passively to a fund, individuals can be authentically connected to the organizations they place capital in. Initiatives like the Catalyst Program and The Local Chapter are newer ways at looking at investment and research. Technology and Regulators are all increasingly supporting such changes. It is through active participation that we can bring reform and authenticity into our financial systems. It is through deeper engagement that one can become truly ‘wealthy’. It is the understanding of true wealth that brings us all a deeper sense of abundance!

Human Development Study Circle Meeting on “Success in Life” on 10th May, 2016.

The HDSC held its meeting on Success in Life on 10th May, 2016 at BCAS, Jolly Bhavan 2, New Marine Lines, Mumbai, addressed by Dr. B. K. Mukherjee.

Dr. B. K. Mukherjee commenced his discussion by unfolding the meaning and true measure of success.

What is success? Do you measure success in terms of the money you earn?

Or do you measure success by career growth and social standing?

Are you one of those who look beyond the obvious and tries to be TRULY successful in life? It is worth noting:

Success means different things to different people.

For a majority, success would mean – Having everything in balance i.e. recognition in Society, time for yourself, freedom to do what you want to do, money, fame amongst other comforts in life.

To be successful – Work at something you enjoy that is worthy of your time and talent. Most fortunate people convert their hobby into a profession. Passion is something you enjoy doing. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. Professor’s job is to make people think. Be cheerful, it brightens people around you. Jack Welch – His winning strategy is Energy, Enthusiasm, execution.

Among other things success is a result of persistence, commitment, dedication, etc. Success is also the relationships with people you love and respect. Have a feeling of gratitude and loyalty.

Over 21 specific points that indicate the barometer of success were highlighted.

The participants thoroughly enjoyed and requested for a full day session to uncover the learning in greater detail.