Society News

57TH EDITION OF ‘BCAS REFERENCER’ RELEASED

The BCAS Referencer, one of the eagerly-awaited, landmark publications of the Bombay Chartered Accountants Society, entered its 57th year of continuous publication this year – and also the 22nd year of theme-based issues.

The release programme was organised at the M.C. Ghia Hall on 2nd August, 2019 by the Seminar, Public Relations & Membership Development (SPR&MD) Committee. Following the lighting of the auspicious lamp, there was a selection of short glimpses of India’s classical dance forms which is the theme of this year’s Referencer.

CA Toral Mehta compered the event and introduced the chief guests of the evening, Mr. Sameer and Ms Arsh Tanna, eminent Bollywood choreographers, and the sponsor, CA Kamal Poddar of Choice Connect.

BCAS President CA Manish Sampat noted in his remarks that the publication, which is recognised as the most dependable knowledge resource and an unparalleled repository of various laws, had been the hallmark of BCAS for the last six decades. He acknowledged all the contributors, specially the youth, and the tremendous efforts put in by the Committee for the release of the Referencer immediately after the Union Budget.

The various Indian classical dance forms – whether Bharat Natyam, Odissi, Kucchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak or Manipuri – were performed by the artists who were actually the members and students of the BCAS. They were led by CA Manori Shah under the choreography of Nita Shah and Vishrut Doshi. Other artists who performed included Chirag Bohra, Jitesh Kakad, Hrudyesh Pankhania, Rishikesh Joshi, Vidisha Shah, Disha Unadkat, Tanvi Parekh, Kinjal Bhuta, Rishita Shah, Richa Agrawal and Vidhi Parekh. The rapt audience appreciated and enjoyed all the dances.

In his address, Committee Chairman CA Narayan Pasari appreciated the efforts of all the contributors, editors, proof-readers, and specially CA Pranay Marfatia who had been instrumental in the publication of the Referencer for several years and for organising the release event. The Referencer was released in the presence of a galaxy of personalities, including the contributors, editors and others and was unveiled by the chief guests.

Chief guest Ms Arsh Tanna said she was amazed by the performances of the artists of the BCAS fraternity and expressed her delight at attending the event which was brilliantly correlated with the theme – Indian classical dance and the contents of the Referencer.

Convener CA Manmohan Sharma proposed a hearty vote of thanks to all present, especially to Choice Connect, the sponsors of the Referencer, Finesse, the printers, the BCAS Events staff and the organising team of the Committee who had put in a lot of hard work.

SUBURBAN STUDY CIRCLE

The Suburban Study Circle organised two meetings on ‘15CB Certification – Who, What, When and How?’, on 16th July and 13th August, 2019, which were addressed by CA Rutvik Sanghvi who made a detailed presentation on the following Rules and Regulations:

(i) Who all are covered under the provisions of section 195?
(ii) What transactions are covered?
(iii) When is the taxation to a non-resident applicable?
(iv) How is it to be applied?

Rutvik explained the nuisances and complexities involved in payments to non-residents in a lucid manner. He explained the importance and requirement of tax residency certificate and taxability of various kinds of payments to non-residents like fees for technical services, royalty, etc. It required two sessions to cover the topic in detail.

The participants benefited from the presentation made by him.

HRD STUDY CIRCLE

The HRD Study Circle met on 13th August, 2019 to discuss ‘Modern Techniques in Physiotherapy.’

The presentation was made by Dr. Rupa Mehta and Dr. Kritika Poddar. Dr. Rupa Mehta and her team run Healthspace clinic at Opera House and have 30 years of experience. They have kept themselves updated with the latest techniques in physiotherapy.

The presentation covered:
(a) Diagnosis and treatment of spine (neck and back), shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle joint pains. (Through her presentation, Dr. Rupa Mehta gave members a detailed explanation for the possible reasons for pain in the joints. She showed simple exercises to address the pain in the initial stages and explained that neglecting it can cause further damage and addressing it early can help avoid surgery);
(b) Bad posture can have a deleterious effect on the body;
(c) It is necessary to improve the core muscles.

The latest techniques used in Healthspace are as follows:
(I) The McKenzie Protocol of exercises
(II) The Mulligan Protocol
(III) Neurodynamic solutions
(IV) Taping
(V) Dry needling
(VI) Core muscle strengthening
(VII) Pilates on the reformer and customised exercise.

Dr. Kritika Poddar highlighted the benefits of pilates. She projected ergonomics with visual inputs and stressed on the need for the right posture. Work life ergonomics and exercises shown by her could be beneficial for all chartered accountants and professionals.

However, the most important point was to spread awareness so that people do not injure themselves and adopt a better lifestyle.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS STUDY GROUP

The group held its meeting on 16th August, 2019 to discuss ‘Economic Slowdown and Global Flash Points’. CA Harshad Shah led the discussions and presented his thoughts on the subject.

He said that based on the definition of slowdown and recession, the Indian economy had slowed down and might have entered into a recessionary phase as the GDP had come down from the high of 8.2% in Q1 FY19 to 7.2% in Q2 and in the last quarter dropped to 5.8%. This fulfilled the technical definition of a recession of two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

At the macro level, the automobile sector was facing its worst crisis in 20 years with the malaise spreading across much of the industry, both in terms of vehicle type and components as well as geographically in the country’s manufacturing hubs, along with the structural reform of pushing for electric vehicles. The real estate sector had been on a downturn since the demonetisation period, with India’s top 30 cities having 1.28 million unsold housing units as of March, 2019. The health of real estate was a major indicator of the state of the economy. It had links with about 250 ancillary industries – bricks, cement, steel, furniture, electrical products, paints, etc., and affected all of them whether there was a boom or gloom in the sector.

FMCG companies had reported a decline in volume growth due to sluggish rural demand which, in turn, indicated less availability of money in villages. All these factors impacted the unemployment rate which had risen to a 45-year high.

India’s household-sector savings, the biggest source of investment for the economy, had ‘worryingly’ come down to 30.5% (as % to GDP) in 2018 compared to nearly 37% in 2008. Poor savings had been a largely ‘unaddressed’ reason for the country’s continuing slowdown. Retail loans to the sector were growing annually in double digits, pointing to profligate consumption by households with a youthful population (70% of the working-age population being aged between 20 and 40 years) that liked to spend. Many economists widely held that a country’s economic growth should be investment-led rather than being driven by consumption, as had been the case with India.

The NITI Aayog CEO attributed the downshift to a spate of measures (structural reforms) such as GST, RERA and IBC that had led to the current slowdown in the country.

The global economy was bracing for a probable recession in 2020 as nearly half (48%) of CFOs in USA and some prominent economists were also predicting this. One of the indicators, the Yield Curve inversion, had already occurred. An inverted yield curve meant that interest rates had flipped on the US. Treasury with short-term bonds paying more than long-term bonds. This was generally regarded as a warning sign for the economy and the markets.

The global economy was also facing some serious headwinds such as Hard Brexit; US vs. China: From Tariff War to Currency War to Economic War, with USA labelling China as a ‘Currency Manipulator’ for the first time; Argentina’s historic market crash with fears of another default; the Hong Kong protests and probable retaliation by Chinese security forces; and the Iran issue. CA Milan Sanghani and many participants expressed their views on all these issues.

FEMA STUDY CIRCLE

The FEMA Study Circle meeting held on 19th August, 2019 covered the issue of ‘FDI in Trading Sector’.

CA Chintan Shah delved into various facets of the subject, viz., Cash and Carry Wholesale Trading, E-commerce, Single Brand Product Retail Trading, Multi-Brand Product Retail Trading and Duty-Free Shops. The FDI in the above activities was covered from scratch, beginning with sectoral caps applicable to each of them and ending with a healthy discussion on understanding the nuances of their respective definitions, the conditions attached thereto and understanding the manner in which businesses were structured in India. It was indeed a very interesting session given the current business environment in the country in which various multinational companies across the globe were exploring business models to expand their markets here.

4TH NARAYAN VARMA LECTURE

The 4th Narayan Varma Memorial Lecture (and the Narayan Varma Memorial Awards) was organised by the Public Concern for Governance Trust, the Bombay Chartered Accountants Society, the Dharma Bharathi Mission and the Chamber of Tax Consultants at the Indian Merchants Chamber on 23rd August, 2019.

The programme was organised in memory of Narayan Bhai who was closely associated with these organisations, held various posts in them and mentored and nurtured them with his values, ideology and hard work. He left behind an enduring legacy as a great professional, a philanthropist and, above all, a great human being.

The memorial lecture was delivered by Mr. Y.H. Malegam, the well-known CA and a legend in the financial sector who has been honoured with the Padma Shri.

Three distinguished persons from Mumbai were also recognised for their humanitarian service. The DBM NV Memorial Award was given to the Adhyayan Sanstha, the BCAS Narayan Varma Memorial Award went to Mr. Vishwas Gore and the PCGT NV Memorial Award was bestowed on Mr. Shailesh Gandhi.

The programme was very well attended with all top CAs, auditors and people associated with the social sector in attendance. Kudos to all the four other partner organisations for coordinating their efforts to organise the memorable event.

TAXATION COMMITTEE

The Taxation Committee organised a full-day seminar on ‘Tax Audit’ at the BCAS Conference Hall on 23rd
August, 2019.

President Manish Sampat gave the opening remarks. Chairman of the Taxation Committee Ameet Patel gave a brief overview of the seminar and explained the importance of tax audit in the current scenario. He also informed the participants about the onerous responsibility cast on the tax auditor, given that the selection as well as the assessment is now going to be online.

The following topics were taken up by the learned speakers:

Himanshu Kishnadwala set the ball rolling by highlighting various audit aspects that one should keep in mind while conducting a tax audit. He gave his practical insights pertaining to some of the clauses and stressed on the importance of documentation in tax audit.

Next came Manish Shah who described the impact of ICDS through case studies. He also took the audience through various case studies to explain the impact of Ind AS on various clauses in a tax audit report. Apart from the discussion on ICDS and Ind AS, he also dealt with clauses dealing with presumptive taxation.

Sonalee Godbole made a detailed presentation on clauses relating to secondary adjustment, thin capitalisation, GAAR and CBCR. She explained the concepts in a lucid manner with the help of examples and case studies. She also discussed the requirement of reporting the filing in Form 61A and Form 61B.

The last session was addressed by Jagdish Punjabi who covered a large number of clauses, including those related to TDS. He also discussed the impact of section 56(2) on hybrid instruments issued by the company and its reporting requirement in Form 3CD. Apart from this, he explained the applicability of sections 269SS and 269T to loans by book entry and their reporting requirement in Form 3CD.

All the sessions were interactive, with the speakers sharing their insights on their respective subjects. The participants benefited immensely with the guidance and practical views on various issues.

DIRECT TAX LAWS STUDY CIRCLE

The Direct Tax Laws Study Circle meeting on ‘Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS)’ was held on 6th September, 2019 at the BCAS Conference Hall. Group leader CA Darshak Shah gave a brief overview of the applicability of ICDS provisions and the corresponding sections in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act). He also explained the general approach to resolve conflicts between the provisions of the Act and ICDS.Thereafter, he discussed in detail the ten ICDS with various examples and relevant case laws. The group leader took questions from the participants with respect to the relevant examples. Besides, he touched upon the possibility of double taxation in case of ICDS – X relating to ‘Provisions, Contingent Assets and Contingent Liabilities’ in a certain scenario.The session concluded with a vote of thanks to the speaker, Darshak Shah.

FELICITATION OF FRESH, YOUNG CAS

Talk on ‘Career Planning & Interview Skills for Fresh CAs’ held on 13th September, 2019 at BCAS Conference Hall

Yet another programme organised by the Seminar, Public Relations and Membership Development (SPR&MD) Committee was the felicitation programme for the newly-qualified chartered accountants who had cleared the June, 2019 examination. In fact, within hours of the announcement, the online enrolments crossed the record figure of 300, forcing BCAS to close registrations for this crucial programme.

There was a full house of 160+ participants, including some walk-ins. They were greeted at the registration desk with a copy of the BCA Journal and a membership form.

The evening started with Coordinator CA Preeti Cherian welcoming the participants and giving an overview of the purpose of the event. She was followed by President CA Manish Sampat who took the opportunity to walk down memory lane and recall his early days as a qualified chartered accountant, the sound advice that he had received from his seniors to associate himself with the BCAS, to the present when he had taken over as its President. He described the various initiatives of the Society and particularly dwelt on the 5G Annual Plan.
Chairman CA Narayan Pasari candidly admitted that the Youth or Yuva Shakti was an integral part of the numerous activities organised by the BCAS. He also appealed to the new CAs to become members and play an active role in its various activities. While speaking about the Committee’s initiatives, he talked about the Referencer, the annual RRC and other programmes. He proudly shared that the BCAS was very active on social media and its handle @BCASGlobal had recently crossed the 30K mark.

The speaker for the evening was CA Himani Shah who spoke at length on the various jobs available in the finance industry for chartered accountants. She shared tips on interview skills, including first impressions, what to do before the interview, what to wear, how to prepare, guidelines to answer questions, asking the right questions, etc. She also elaborated on the power of visual communication, business etiquette and communication. That her talk was well received could be judged from the fact that many participants had numerous questions to ask of her in the interactive session that followed.
As part of the felicitation programme, each of the participants was presented a pen with BCAS and the word ‘Achiever’ inscribed on it. The event showcased the vibrancy of the participants, many of whom showed great interest in signing up to be members of the BCAS.
A unique feature of the evening was when one of the participants thanked the speaker for clearing the many doubts that she and her fellow participants harboured. The evening ended with a vote of thanks by Convener CA Mrinal Mehta.