Meetings of Intensive Study Group on GST held
on 9th , 10th , 30th , 31st March, and 20th, 21st, 27th
and 28th April, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall.
To understand the GST law, Intensive Study Group
conducted eight meetings during the month of March and
April, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall where the following
topics with relevant sections were discussed by the mentors:
Definitions and Levy: Sections 1, 2, 9, 10 & 11 of CGST
Act, Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of IGST Act : CA. Naresh
Sheth, CA. A. R. Krishnan, CA. Janak Vaghani.
Supply-1st Session: Section 7 of CGST Act, Schedule I,
II, III & IV (Excl. Sch. 1 Entry 2): CA. Naresh Sheth, CA.
Parind Mehta, CA. S. S. Gupta, CA. Jayraj Sheth.
Supply-2nd Session: Section 8, Principles of Classification-Relevant Notifications, SCH. 1 Entry 2: CA. Naresh Sheth, CA. Deepak Thakkar, CA Sushil Solanki.
Input Tax Credit: Section 16 to 21 of CGST Act: CA.
Naresh Sheth, CA. Parind Mehta, CA. Mandar Telang.
Place of Supply: Section 10 to 14 of IGST Act: CA. A. R.
Krishnan, CA. Deepak Thakkar, CA. Udayan Choksi,
CA. Rajat Talati, CA. Jayraj Sheth.
Time and Value of Supply and RCM: Section 12, 13, 14
and 15 of CGST Act and RCM Notifications: CA. Parind
Mehta, CA. Samir Kapadia, CA. Puloma Dalal.
Select Procedural Provisions: Section 22-25, 31, 34,
35, 54, 73, 74, 75, 107 and 111 of CGST Act: CA. Janak
Vaghani, CA. Udayan Choksi, CA. Rajiv Luthia.
Offences and Penalties: Sections 122-138 of CGST
Act: CA. Samir Kapadia, CA. Sushil Solanki, CA. Sunil
Gabhawalla.
There was an in-depth discussion on all the topics by the
learned and experienced mentors.
It was highly appreciated by the members. Members also
shared their practical experience during discussion which
benefited all present for the meeting.
INDIRECT TAX LAWS STUDY CIRCLE
Study Circle Meeting on GST held on 15th May,
2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
The Indirect Tax Laws Study Circle organized a meeting at
BCAS Conference Hall to discuss certain recent landmark
decisions pertaining to the Service Tax regime, relevant
to GST Law, which was chaired by Advocate Bharat
Raichandani. The Speaker discussed various judgements
quiet relevant in the day to day professional obligations of
the assessees namely Builder Association of Navi Mumbai
vs. UOI (Bom HC), Shri Krishna Chaitanya Enterprises
(Kumar Beheray) (Bom HC), Cellular Operators Association
vs. Union Of India And Another (Del HC), and Coimbatore
Corporation Contractors Welfare Assn. (Mad HC).
Advocate Raichandani provided in depth analysis of
these decisions and also explained his views on possible
implications of these decisions in the GST regime.
The meeting was well appreciated by the participants who
benefitted a lot from the session.
Full day seminar on “Assessments,
Reassessments and Appeals” held on 26th May,
2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
The Taxation Committee organised a full day Seminar
on Assessments, Reassessments and Appeals on 26th
May, 2018 at Indian Merchants Chamber, Mumbai. The
event saw attendance of over 120 participants including
outstation participants. President Narayan Pasari gave
the opening remarks.
Following topics were taken up at the Seminar by the
Speakers:
Assessment / Reassessment /
Penalty Proceedings – The Why,
What and How – Practical aspects
of the art of representation before
tax authorities: CA. Manish Shah
commenced the session with
practical and important aspects of
assessment proceedings. He cited
various examples and case studies to explain and guide the
participants in selecting best approach in a given situation.
He also provided insights on what are the recent changes
and the Do’s and Don’ts one should keep in mind while
attending assessment proceedings. The Speaker also
explained reassessment proceedings with the help of case
studies and the procedure for making an application under
RTI Act and how it can be useful.
Appeals – The art of making a
winning impression before CIT (A)
/ ITAT- Tips on drafting of appeals
and Representation: CA. Rajan
Vora explained about the appellate
mechanism under the Act and practical
aspects about appeals. He also
enlightened on what are the powers of
CIT (A) and ITAT and their limitations. He further covered a
wide range of issues on the subject right from filing fees to
the procedure of appeals before CIT (A) and ITAT.
Appeals – The view from the other
side – First-hand experience of
departmental officers – guidance
to CAs on how to improve their
representation skills: Adv. Girish
Dave (Retired CCIT) spoke on
appeals and also about command
over English language and gave tips
on how one should have effective communication with the
CIT (A) and ITAT members. He discussed on the couple
of landmark judgements and shared his insights on how to
draft grounds of appeal. He also explained the importance
of cross examination and shared his thoughts on Civil
Procedure Code and Miscellaneous Applications.
Search, Seizure and Survey – How to handle the
situation and comply with the law and precautions to
be taken while drafting replies to
the notices: CA. Dilip Lakhani took
the session on Search, Seizure and
Survey and explained how to handle
the situation, how one should comply
with the law and precautions to be
taken while drafting replies to the
notices. He shared his experience on
the subject dealing with various complex cases and issues
and gave insights on penalty, search and release of seized
assets. He also gave practical tips and Do’s and Don’ts one
should keep in mind after the search.
E–Assessments – Understanding
the nuts and bolts: – CA. Ishraq
Contractor took the session on
E-assessments. He spoke about
how the new system of conducting
assessments is grappling with
various serious issues. He discussed
the background, advantages and
challenges regarding E- Assessments and displayed various
screenshots of the interface used for E-Assessments.
ITAT Representation – Expectations
from Representatives and tips
on improving the skills:- Mr. G S
Pannu (ITAT Member) shared his
views on the expectations from the
representatives appearing before the
Appellate Tribunal. He expressed
his views and guidance on the skills
one should possess for representing before the ITAT. He
also shared his experience and his journey from being a
Chartered Accountant in practice to an ITAT member.
Experts Chat – Appeals before CIT(A), ITAT – Preparation,
Submission and Representation:- The final session was an
expert’s chat between Mr. C.S. Gulati and CA. Dilip Lakhani
moderated by CA. Ameet Patel who asked both the esteemed
faculties various questions on the law and procedural part of
assessments and appeals. Both the experts were frank and
shared their views on the questions asked.
The sessions in the Seminar were highly interactive and
the speakers shared their insights on the subjects dealt by
each one of them. The participants benefited immensely
with the guidance and practical views on various issues by
the faculties.
Lecture Meeting organised by BCAS jointly with
IIA Bombay Chapter on “Corporate Governance
– Role of Independent Directors” held on 6th
June 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
A Lecture Meeting on the topic ‘Corporate Governance
– Role of Independent Directors’ was held at the BCAS
Conference Hall on 6th June, 2018.addressed by CA.
Nawshir Mirza.
BCAS President, CA Narayan Pasari
in his opening remarks underlined
the pivotal role played by a vibrant
corporate governance structure in
bolstering India’s economic growth.
He remarked that while over the last
decade, lawmakers in India have been
extremely cognizant of its importance,
in recent times sadly, even in the most reputed listed Indian
companies, the corporate governance practices have
raised certain concerns and questions.
IIA-BC President, CA. Burzin Dubash presented interesting
statistics relating to directors, independent directors, women
directors, age analysis of directors, etc. in Corporate India.
CA. Nawshir Mirza, in his presentation, spoke candidly on
the topic of Indian boards’ performance and independent
directors. He mentioned that Corporate India has principally
one expectation from its independent directors – to add
value to the board they sit on, and most often than not,
this is measured in terms of the difference that they can
make in furthering growth and business of the corporate. An
independent director, he said, must display wisdom while
balancing the conflict of interests of various stakeholders.
He spoke about the influences on boardroom behaviour,
more specifically, capitalism, human psychology and,
especially Indian culture and business families. He opined
that as people, Indians are highly individualistic, shy away
from openly disagreeing, are respectful of elders, while
being mindful of the need to adjust and accommodate –
all this has an undeniable influence on many boardroom
proceedings. In the Indian boardrooms, to question or offer
an opinion in contrast with that of the majority shareholder,
is often not welcomed, he said. This, he stated, is in sharp
contrast to the western world which encourages team work,
while also respecting an individual’s right to dissent without
being intimidated by elders or others in power.
As an independent director, one must possess the courage
to think, speak and act – and to do that effectively, the
triangle of thoughts, words and actions must be in sync,
he said. He offered that courage is the most important of
all virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any
other virtue consistently.
CA. Nawshir Mirza’s presentation was followed by an
engaging round of Q&A.
In answer to a question relating to performance evaluation,
he confided that an informal way of doing so had yielded
interesting answers; in this, each board member was asked
his/her opinion regarding the others on the following 3
questions –
- What did he/she do good?
- What could he/she do better?
- What should he/she stop doing?
The event witnessed an impressive turnout and benefited
all present.
SUBURBAN STUDY CIRCLE
Suburban Study Circle Meeting on “Changes in
Income Tax return forms – A.Y: 2018-19” held
on 7th June, 2018.
The Suburban Study Circle organized a meeting on
“Changes in Income Tax return forms for the A.Y: 2018-
19 on 7th June, 2018 at Bathiya & Associates, Andheri which
was addressed by CA. Kinjal Bhuta.
The Speaker made a detailed presentation on the following
issues concerning the ITR Forms after the new amendments
namely: a) Applicability of the ITR forms as the assessee
generally makes mistake during selection of ITR form.
b) Major changes and additional details for presumptive
scheme c) General and miscellaneous changes across all
ITR’s. The speaker also discussed how to avoid mistakes
and gave tips for filling ITRs smoothly and shared practical
examples on filling returns.
The session was a good learning experience for the
participants.
ITF STUDY CIRCLE
Study Circle Meeting on “Make Available-
Discussion and Case Laws” held on 8th June,
2018 at BCAS Conference Hall
International Taxation Committee conducted a meeting on
“Make Available concept and related Case Laws” on 8th
June, 2018 at BCAS Conference Hall. The meeting was
led by Group Leaders CA. Nilesh Lilani and CA. Siddharth
Parekh who explained the far reaching impact of Make
Available Concept as it limits the scope of Fees for Technical
Services (‘FTS’) / Fees for Included Services (‘FIS’) clause
in Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (‘DTAA’).
The Group Leaders commenced the meeting by explaining
the possible scenarios in DTAA in relation to FTS Article
along with discussion on FIS under Indo-US treaty. They
also deliberated the significance of word “which” being
relative pronoun, connecting the word “services” with “make
available”, tests for considering whether or not services
“make available”, technical knowledge, experience,
skill, know-how or processes etc, correlating the initial
expression in FTS/FIS Article such as “consideration for”
with subsequent clauses in the Article, comparison of explicit
wording in India- Singapore Treaty with other countries
treaty, implication of most favoured nation clause in protocol
of treaties etc. After deliberation on concept, various judicial
precedents on the subject matter were discussed.
The meeting was very interactive and the participants got
enormously enlightened from the discussion and insights
provided by the learned speakers.
Noble Social Cause Visit – Vadodara – on 14th &
15th June, 2018
The fortunate 14 volunteers from BCAS got an opportunity
of an uplifting and inspiring 2 day visit to two NGOs:
Muni Seva Ashram at Goraj and Ashaktashram Society
at Dakor, both located in Vadodara District. This noble
social visit was organised by the HDTI Committee of BCAS
jointly with BCAS Foundation.
Muni Seva Ashram at Goraj, Dist. Vadodara
This more than 3 decade old Ashram , generates 70%
of its resources in-house and is an impressive model for
sustainable use of technology generating bio-gas, solar
energy besides also into organic farming. The huge campus
of 300 acres operates programs focussed on agriculture,
education and medicine – a nationally renowned Cancer
Hospital, a big Senior Citizen Centre, school from
Kindergarten to Grade 12, Bhagini mandir for the mentally
challenged, huge Gaushala (cow-shed) and many more.
The Ashram has evolved from a small hut set up by founder
Late Anuben Thakkar to a fairly large campus with selfless
efforts of Dr. Vikram Patel who gave up his budding medical
career for a noble cause considering this ashram as his
place of worship. The most striking feature of this institute
is that nothing is free but every service is on pay-what-youcan
basis! The deficits are made up by generous donations
from well-wishers.
Ashaktashram Society at Dakor, Dist. Vadodara
In the year 1982, the protagonist Late Shri Keshavlal R.
Shah was inspired to build a place where elders can live together till their life. They all live here in complete harmony
like an extended family. Special care is been taken to
meet the medical needs of these elderly by having an inhouse
dispensary and physio care centre. The elderly here
joyfully celebrate all the festivals and also go together for an
annual vacation.
The present President of the Trust, Shri Chandravadan
Shantilal Shah is immensely contributing by giving his
valuable time for the upkeep of this institution.
All the volunteers were deeply moved by hospitality of the
Ashramwasis & serene blissful atmosphere of both the
Ashrams. It was indeed an elevating journey for all the
volunteers who were touched by the caretaker’s love &
warmth for the Ashramwasis, as all the girls at the school
for mentally challenged were referred to as Dikri (daughter
in Gujarati) and the elderly were respectfully addressed as
Maa and Dada.
The generous donation collected by the volunteers through
BCAS Foundation were donated in form of 2100 notebooks
to the Muniseva Ashram Schools, 100 bedsheets to
Ashaktashram and balance contribution to the general fund
of these Ashrams.
All the volunteers returned inspired with fond memories of
the soulful trip and a determination to devote more time for
such noble causes.
