SOCIETY NEWS

MEETING ON ‘EQUALISATION LEVY 2.0’

The International Taxation
Committee conducted a virtual meeting on ‘Equalisation Levy – Finance Act,
2020 Amendments’ on 27^th July, 2020. The meeting was led by Group
Leader Bhaumik Goda who explained the amendments in the Finance Act,
2020 in relation to the Equalisation Levy (EL).

The new business models
were facing a set of new tax challenges in terms of nexus, characterisation and
valuation of data and user contribution. Thus, there was a continuous need to
hone the working knowledge of taxation. It was in view of this that the group
discussion at the ITF Study Circle was organised and led by Bhaumik Goda.

In the course of the
meeting, he dealt with and discussed the EL legislation, the definition of
E-commerce operator, E-commerce supply or services, exemption and charge of EL.
Case studies pertaining to different industries were also brought up and
discussed to explain various features and the impact of EL. Participants said
that they had received several critical insights at the meeting.

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE EXPLAINED

The Technology Initiatives
Committee of the BCAS conducted a webinar on ‘Hidden Gems of Tally ERP9
– Reports and Add-ons’ on 1^st August. The meeting was led by Punit
Mehta and Abhay Gadiya.

Punit Mehta explained the structure of Tally ERP9 Data for MIS
purposes. He also demonstrated the process of extracting the data with the use
of specialised tools. Certain add-on features of Tally for auto bank
reconciliation, copy of masters from one Tally account to another, auto
generation of similar entries through templates and so on were also explained.

Abhay Gadiya described the process of using the data extracted from
Tally for analysing and visualising in Power BI. The practical case studies
were very helpful in understanding the various graphics and charts that can be
created using Power BI. Both speakers replied in detail to the queries raised
by the attendees.

The live session was
attended by more than 700 participants on Zoom and YouTube. They appreciated
the efforts put in by the speakers.

24^TH ‘ITF CONFERENCE 2020’ HELD ONLINE

This year’s International
Tax and Finance Conference was conducted online from 6^th to 9^th
August (with extended sessions on 14^th and 15^th August)
with a record attendance of 363 members from around 23 locations all over India
and abroad. The Conference was top-lined by experts from their respective
fields who dealt with their subjects with great clarity. The four-day
Conference was marked by seven technical sessions that included two group
discussion papers, one presentation, one expert chat and three panel
discussions.

There were a total of 23
faculty members, including speakers and session chairpersons, 16 group leaders
and about 30 contributors for case studies and the background material. It
clocked around 30 hours of solid study during the Conference.

Participants were divided
into six groups for group discussion on two papers written by Padamchand
Khincha and Geeta Jani. Six breakaway rooms were created on the Zoom
platform and participants were seamlessly divided into different groups upon
their entry. About 16 leaders led the groups and helped generate in-depth
discussion of the case studies from the papers. Both the paper writers had a
virtual tour of each group to see the discussion by the participants.

President Suhas
Paranjpe gave his opening remarks and explained some major BCAS
activities and its new initiatives. International Taxation Committee Chairman Dr.
Mayur B. Nayak welcomed the participants and set the tone with his
introductory remarks.

The Conference was
inaugurated with a keynote address by Hon’ble Justice Vibhu Bakhru of
the Delhi High Court who spoke about the role of the taxpayer and the tax
authorities in today’s scenario.

Following the group
discussion on the issue, Padamchand Khincha in his presentation spread
over two sessions totalling six hours on ‘Practical application of the MLI in
relation to PE’, highlighted the issues in the interpretation of MLI and its
application on Permanent Establishment and the nuances of the interplay of the
MLI and synthesised text on specific tax treaties. Past President Kishor
Karia chaired both the sessions and gave his valuable inputs on the
subject.

FEMA has become
increasingly complex and there are a host of issues which one needs to analyse
when dealing with any transaction that attracts it. A panel consisting of Mr.
G. Padmanabhan, former Executive Director of the RBI, along with Hitesh
Gajaria and Dr. Anup Shah and moderated by Past President Dilip
J. Thakkar, shared its thoughts and offered insights on specific issues in
FEMA through case studies. These studies covered practical issues which would
be of relevance in today’s scenario such as implications of a returning OCI to
India, the recent circular by the Government to allow FDI from China only under
the approval route, downstream investments, agricultural income, ECB and
write-off of import payable against export receivable, and so on.

Gautam Doshi spoke on ‘Structuring of Outbound Transactions (tax and
non-tax aspects)’. He covered, in a succinct manner, the various tax and other
regulatory issues arising in setting up an SPV abroad as well as
externalisation of the family holding through a foreign trust. Past President Gautam
Nayak chaired the session and also provided his insights on the subject.

Taxation of the digitised
economy is a hot topic with the world trying to find a consensus to enable
taxation of the highly-digitised businesses, even as a host of countries
including India have undertaken unilateral measures in this respect. Mr. Sam
Sim, board member of the Tax Executive Institute in Singapore, in his
presentation covered various measures undertaken by different jurisdictions and
also shared his thoughts on some of the alternative approaches available.

Rashmin Sanghvi, in his presentation, covered the potential trade war on
account of various measures adopted by the countries and the role of the US in
the same. He also gave his views on the shortcomings of Pillar 1 of the Unified
Approach propagated by the OECD and currently being discussed by various countries.
This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Mr. Sam Sim, Rashmin
Sanghvi, Mr. Mukesh Butani (advocate) and Shefali Goradia and chaired
by Mr. K. Vaitheeswaran (advocate). The panel deliberated on the issue
at length and provided its views on various facets in the Indian approach to
taxing the digitised economy such as the Equalisation Levy, the significant
economic presence and the extended source rule. Mr. Vaitheeswaran gave his valuable inputs and comments on several
issues.

The group discussion on
the paper written by Geeta Jani on ‘Case studies on impact of MLI on
select tax treaties with special emphasis on taxation of dividends’ took place
on 8^th August. In her presentation, which followed the group
discussion, she brought out the various nuances in the application of the GAAR,
LOB and PPT provisions in respect of dividend payments as well as the interplay
of the MFN clause with the PPT provisions. Her presentation was based on case
studies for easy understanding in an online format. The session was chaired by Sushil
Lakhani who also offered his views on the issue.

Mutual Agreement Procedure
(MAP) has gained significance due to the complex rules of various countries. T.P.
Ostwal and Mr. Rajat Bansal, IRS, in an expert chat took the
participants through the MAP provisions and also shared their views on the
practical aspects of the MAP procedure, how to apply for the same and India’s
position in relation to the use of MAP as an effective tool for dispute
resolution.

The
last technical session was a panel discussion on ‘Case Studies on International
Taxation’. The panel consisted of Mr. Pramod Kumar, Vice-President of the
ITAT, Mr. Kamlesh Varshney, IRS, and Mr. Ajay Vohra, senior
advocate. It was chaired by Pranav Satya. It was quite a unique
discussion in that the panellists discussed issues from different possible
perspectives.

The issues discussed covered a range of topics of relevance in today’s world –
application of tax treaty
to DDT, royalty / FTS vs. EL, EL on E-commerce transactions, beneficial owner,
applicability of GAAR to indirect transfer, foreign tax credit and hybrid
entities. The panel was gracious enough to take part in another session on 15^th
August which also lasted two and a half hours.

In addition, there were
two non-technical programmes for the participants – a musical programme by Nishant
Gadhok and a Hasya Kavi Sammelan by Mr. Mahesh Dube and
Mrs. Savitri Kocher.

While the personal touch
and the camaraderie amongst the participants during physical Conferences were
certainly missed, the participants were compensated by the experts’ views
shared at the virtual Conference.

Incidentally, this was the
first Residential Refresher Course of the BCAS and the International
Taxation Committee in its true sense and meaning, where delegates participated
from their respective residences!

Mahesh Nayak was the chief coordinator and was ably assisted by Abbas
Jaorawala as joint coordinator. The other members of the team were Ganesh
Rajgopalan, Bhaumik Goda, Rutvik Sanghvi, Siddharth Banwat and Rajesh P.
Shah.

The Conference received an
encouraging response and feedback from the participants.

The 13^th Jal
Erach Dastur CA Students’ Annual Day – ‘Tarang 2020’ was held online on
Zoom Cloud Meetings and broadcast live on YouTube on Sunday, 9^th
August, by the BCAS Students’ Forum under the auspices of the Human
Resource Development Committee.

Taking Tarang
online for the first time involved several experiments but the long days and
longer nights of adaptation and innovation, technical checks and video call
meetings brought together over 650 students from across the country to prove
once again that CA students think about a lot more than just tax and audit. The
student coordinators Drishti Bajaj and Azvi Khalid took the lead
in the organisation.

The participants for ‘Talk
Hawk’ and the ‘Talent Show’ sent their audition entries as pre-recorded videos
and later performed live. Two new events were introduced this year – a ‘Quiz’
and a ‘Research Paper’ competition. Apart from these, Tarang also
featured an Antakshari competition, a talent show and an elocution
competition, resulting in a lifetime of learnings and memories. The theme for Tarang
this year was ‘Bollywood Retro’.

The event was sponsored by
Mr. Sohrab Dastur in memory of his brother, the Late Mr. Jal Erach
Dastur. The Students’ Forum comprised of a group of 25 dedicated and
enthusiastic students. The event was truly an event ‘OF CA STUDENTS, FOR CA
STUDENTS AND BY CA STUDENTS’. It imparted necessary life skills such as
public speaking, management and marketing skills, and even technical skills.

BCAS President Suhas Paranjpe and HRD Committee
Chairman Govind Goyal gave their inaugural speeches which were
motivating and lauded the students for participating in the event which
commenced with a prayer song to ensure a positive beginning.

The two finalist teams of
the lively Antakshari competition, styled ‘Suron ke Maharathi’ (or
‘Zoomtakshri’) were ‘Deewane’ and ‘Parwane’. They took over everyone’s screens
and hearts. The Antakshari held true to this year’s theme of ‘Bollywood
Retro’ and the quick-thinking and accuracy of the participants during the game
that has been played by every Indian household was both a surprise and a
delight.

The next event was the
quiz ‘inQUIZitive – Eureka Moments’ wherein the ten finalists were divided into
five teams (these were previously chosen after two elimination rounds). The
quiz was hosted by student Parth Patani. Everyone got a ‘KBC feel’ as
the participants answered question after question at astonishing speed,
managing to keep everyone hooked on to the screen.

The end of the
brainstorming quiz session led to the start of the signature event, ‘Talk
Hawk’, wherein the five finalists had to give a four-minute ‘Ted Talk’ on one
of the following topics:

1. Waiting is the hardest
part of life

2. Fringe benefits of
failure

3. Doing things we don’t
enjoy is discipline.

The viewers could feel the
energy of each of the speakers bursting forth from the comfort of their homes.
The insight and perspective that each person offered was encouraging. The
confidence and manner of delivering their thoughts was captivating.

And then it was time to
announce the winners of the research paper contest for ‘Writopedia’. The topics
offered were:

1. WHO Controversy – Lack
of Global Leadership in the Corona Crisis

2. How the Goals of
Feminists have Changed over the Decade

3. Can Encounters be used
to Bypass the Indian Judicial System

4. Untapped Potential of
North-Eastern States of India.

The judges shared their
thoughts on how they were surprised to go through several well-written papers.
They also described the building blocks of a well-written research paper and
how it was different from an essay.

Last, but not the least,
it was time for ‘CAs Got Talent’ wherein three persons each from the categories
singing, dancing and other performing arts helped make the evening entertaining,
leaving the participants asking for more. One inherent benefit of the online
competition this year was that initial entries from over 130 students were
received for various presentations, such as mono-acting, yoga, rapping, etc.,
bringing out the hidden talent of CA students. The judges had a hard time
finalising the top 12, let alone deciding the winners.

The winners were then
announced, each representing their firms, as follows:

Research Paper Competition
– ‘Writopedia’

Talk Hawk – ‘Aspire to
Inspire’

Talent Show ‘CA’s Got
Talent’

Antakshari Competition –
‘Suro ke Maharathi’

Quiz – ‘inQUIZitive’

Hearty
Congratulations to all the winners and their firms.

The judges for the various
competitions were as follows:

Mr. Soham Pandya, a member of the technical team that held the event
together, proposed the vote of thanks to Mr. Dastur’s family, the Office
Bearers, the Managing Committee and HRD Committee members, the coordinators of
the Annual Day, the BCAS staff, the creative, social media and technical
teams, the vibrant team of student volunteers and all the students for
participating in big numbers.

With
another successful Tarang held, this time in a new format, it was an
unprecedented experience for the students who put up a great show in these
challenging times.

Mr. Dastur watched the event live on YouTube and was overwhelmed
with the performances. BCAS is honoured to receive the following letter
of appreciation from him:

‘TUNE INTO YOUR EMOTIONS’

The HRD Study Circle meeting
was held on 11^th August with a session on ‘Tune into your Emotions
and Bounce back with Resilience’ presented by Leonie D’Mello, an
experienced counsellor, behavioural trainer and energy healer.

The session covered the
basics of Emotional Intelligence. The icebreaker, when participants were asked
to share what they were feeling at the moment, helped to bring home how we may
confuse our thoughts and feelings. Tuning into one’s emotions is to be able to
identify and be aware of one’s feelings. Self-awareness can then lead to other
awareness and social awareness. Self-awareness is necessary for self-management
and, together with social awareness, leads the way for effective relationship
management.

The session allowed
exploration of how we express our emotions. Taking responsibility for our
feelings and healthy expression is preferable since suppression of feelings
causes diseases.

Participants then shared
the feelings that they had experienced in the past four months of the pandemic
and lockdown. Most of these were difficult feelings as it had been a tough
period for each one of them. Light was thrown on the purpose of these difficult
feelings so that we understand why they are there, listen to the message that
they have for us and allow them to guide us to the best course of action – thus
enabling us to regain our mental equilibrium and tapping into the inner
strength of resilience to bounce back.

Being mindful of the
present moment and living in the here and now, reframing events and looking at
things from a different perspective enables us to regulate our feelings.
Nurturing ourselves and taking support from our near and dear ones and
embracing change are some of the ways in which we can build our resilience,
according to Leonie D’Mello

JOINT WEBINAR WITH IACC

Just slash the regime of
767 establishment approvals to fuel India’s post-Covid recovery through FDI,
several experts urged at the online webinar organised by the IACC in
association with the BCAS on 12^th August on the topic ‘Investment
into India and the USA’. The economic slowdown due to the global pandemic
has made other countries think about China and its future strategy towards
global trade and commerce. For this, IACC brought together many industry
experts having rich experience in cross-border investments.

The eminent experts were Nishith
Desai, Founder and Partner, Nishith Desai & Associates; Sunil Kaul,
Managing Director and Head, Southeast Director Asia, Carlyle Group; Hoonar
Janu, Co-Head, Americas Region, Invest India; Dave Springsteen,
Partner, Withum; Timothy R. Lavender and Deepak Nambiar, Partners
at Kelley Drye; Kamlesh Vikamsey, Senior Partner, Khimji Kunverji &
Co.; and Rajesh Tripathi, Principal, US-India Corridor, Withum. Rajesh
Tripathi and Deepak Nambiar moderated the discussion.

Mr. Desai said that India needed to develop the art of
visualisation to uproot investments from China to India. The most critical
challenge was environmental policies. Similarly, India should become a heaven
to attract foreign investments, a rather difficult task. Some contrasting
trends had been seen in investment – investment in manufacturing and
infrastructure had taken some beating. Looking at services, there had been a
huge upsurge; technology, media and entertainment, telecom, pharma, healthcare,
medical devices, agrotech, IoT, financial services, especially insurance, were
catching up. The Government had opened the insurance sector for investment up
to 45%, but in case of intermediate investment it was allowed up to 100%.

Mr. Kaul said that India would be competing with other South-East
Asian countries for this chunk of business such as Vietnam which was very
welcoming to foreign companies. There was also the case of regulatory controls
and taxation policies. India had to simplify its tax systems and provide ease
and predictability in the tax and regulatory structures.

But standing in the way
(of inviting investment into the nation) was the lack of single-window
clearance for investors, said Naushad Panjwani, BCAS Past President and
also the Regional President of the IACC, West India Council. He narrated how
foreign businesses who sought to develop roots in India had to face a committee
of secretaries from 35 Central Ministries or Departments, apart from an overall
regime of 767 pre-operational licenses. Adding to this was the multitude of
inspections, approvals and renewals after the commencement of operations.

Mr. Vikamsey said the second piece in this puzzle was to find a
solution to the issue of tax on cross-border or international transactions. The
challenge in India was implementing and interpreting its plethora of good laws.
Several developments were taking place right now, offering better opportunities
for India. American businesses that were looking for better opportunities,
provided a chance for all, thanks to the large market here.

Ms Hoonar Janu said American ventures had spiked by four times in
pursuit of defence partnerships and three times for healthcare. That underlined the larger, strategic relationship,
all thanks to the economic strength of India.

The webinar was well
moderated by Rajesh Tripathi and Deepak Nambiar. The vote of
thanks was proposed by BCAS President Suhas Paranjpe.

‘CASE STUDIES ON GAAR’

The International Taxation
Committee conducted a virtual meeting on ‘Case Studies on GAAR’ on 24^th
August. The discussions were led by Group Leader Rutvik Sanghavi who
explained the far-reaching practical impact of GAAR through relevant case
studies.

The concept of GAAR is
predominantly based on the concept of ‘substance over form.’ The Group Leaders began
the meeting by taking up a flow-chart of GAAR applications. They discussed the
key points to be kept in mind before concluding whether transactions were
GAAR-tainted. The speakers dealt with various case studies to explain the
conceptual aspects of GAAR.

It was an
interactive meeting and the participants said they had enormously benefited
from the discussions and insights provided during the same.

Great amount of scientific research is there to show
that health is better
because transcendental meditation deals with consciousness,
and consciousness is the basic value of all the physical expressions.
The entire creation is the expression of consciousness.

— 
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi