Society News

FEMA STUDY CIRCLE MEETING

“Analysis of Select Compounding Orders
passed by the RBI – Part II” held on
14th September 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

FEMA Study Circle Meeting on “Analysis of select
Compounding Orders passed by the RBI – Part II” was
held at BCAS Conference Hall where CA. Harshal Bhuta
& CA. Tanvi Vora led the discussion. The session was
chaired by CA. Rajesh P. Shah.

The Group leaders discussed various Compounding
Orders passed by RBI touching upon contraventions
relating to Outbound Investments involving round tripping
cases, Reporting Contraventions, ODI by Individuals, etc.
This Study Circle Meeting followed the 1st meeting held
on 21st August 2017 which covered cases on Current
Account Transactions, Section 3 Violation and External
Commercial Borrowings. The systematic analysis of these
orders with facts helped the participants to understand
the law and gain insight into how to avoid contravention
of FEMA provisions.

CA. Rajesh P. Shah shared his experience on various
issues and that was a valuable takeaway for the
participants. The participants benefitted a lot and
appreciated the efforts put in by the group leaders.

STUDENTS STUDY CIRCLE MEETING

Meeting on “Returns under GST” held on
16th September 2017 at Directiplex, Andheri

The Students Forum under the auspices of HDTI
Committee of the Society organised a Students’ Study
Circle Meeting on “Returns under Goods & Services Tax
(GST)” at Directiplex, Andheri. The discussion was led by
student speaker Mr. Deepak Pachar under the guidance
of CA. Jigar Shah.

The motive of the study circle meeting was to make the
students aware of the practical intricacies of the monthly
return filing process under GST. The speaker Mr. Deepak
Pachar covered the topic in detail and also demonstrated
‘live’ methodology of filing returns. He resolved all the
queries raised by student members satisfactorily. Overall,
the study circle meeting was a perfect blend of technical
depth and practical insight and proved to be a wonderful
experience for the student members and a platform to
resolve even the smallest of their queries.

The Chairman of the HDTI Committee CA. R.R. Muni
encouraged students to participate in the activities of
the Students Forum and come forward to lead the study
circles. The convenors of the Students Study Circle
Mr. Parth Patani & Mr. Prathamesh Mhatre urged the
student members to stay connected with Students Forum
through social media and send their feedbacks and
suggestions about the study circle.

COMPANY LAW, ACCOUNTING &
AUDITING STUDY CIRCLE

Meeting on “Service Concession Arrangement
(SCA) – Issues and Treatment” held on 22nd
September 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

The Company Law, Accounting & Auditing Study Circle
meeting was held at BCAS Conference Hall. The Topic
of discussion was ‘Appendix of Ind AS 11 on Service
Concession Arrangement’ with focus on explaining
the concept of SCA & then taking up case studies on
identifying the arrangement which falls under SCA &
once identified, whether it is creating financial asset or
intangible asset.

The group leader CA. Santosh Maller who has extensive
exposure in handling Ind AS & IFRS assignments dealt
with the concept of SCA elaborately and also covered all
the case studies with practical real-life examples. He also
covered the disclosure requirements with examples from
published accounts.

The Study Circle Meeting was well planned and
participants benefitted a lot from the Group Leader.

Tribute Meeting in memory of Past
President Shri Pradeep A. Shah held on
26th September, 2017 at BCAS Conference
Hall jointly with Dharam Bharti Mission and
Chamber of Tax Consultants

BCAS organised a meeting on 26th September 2017 at
BCAS Conference Hall to pay tribute to Shri Pradeepbhai
Shah, Past President of BCAS who passed away on
10th September 2017. This meeting was held jointly with
Dharam Bharti Mission and Chamber of Tax Consultants.

Shri Pradeepbhai Shah was a Chartered Accountant
in practice for more than 6 decades. He was involved
in a number of socially oriented projects with various
organisations and was also instrumental in encouraging
various charitable activities through BCAS Foundation.
The meeting was attended by over 75 members, many of
whom attended with their spouses as their lives in some
aspects were influenced by him. Family members of Shri
Pradeepbhai Shah were also in attendance. The tribute
meeting was anchored by two people who were close to
him, CA. Ameet Patel and CA. Mihir Sheth.

Rich tributes were paid to him by many members,
remembering his unforgettable contribution to BCAS. As
Chairman of Human Resource Committee, he enhanced
leadership skills and helped in developing communication
skills of many members which helped them to become
today’s leaders. President CA. Narayan Pasari
remembered the humility with which he served a good
cause. He also remembered how passionate Pradeepbhai
was about helping the cancer afflicted children even in the
twilight of his life which left a profound impact on BCAS
Foundation to commit donations for the cause.

Most members who paid tributes at the meeting recalled
the multifaceted personality of Shri Pradeepbhai who
was their respected mentor. They remembered his love
for singing, mountain trekking and keenness to make a
difference in someone’s life. They also appreciated his
great sense of humour and smiling face which taught
one of the biggest lessons of life, to create a “win – win”
situation even under most trying circumstances. With deep
sentiments every speaker expressed his/her gratitude for
the way his/her life was touched by the departed soul.

On behalf of his entire family, CA Nandita Parekh,
daughter of Shri Pradeepbhai thanked BCAS / other
organisations and all members for the kind words they
shared at the meeting.

Shri Pradeep Shah lived his life with zeal, zest and
spirit that inspired every member of BCAS who came
in his contact. He believed in giving back to the
society. He gave abundant love to all those who came
in his contact and donated significantly at regular
intervals to the needy. He found joy in wiping tears
of the underprivileged and bringing smile back on
the face of a poor child deprived of hope. Fragrance
of the contribution made by Shri Pradeep Shah will
never fade. May his soul rest in peace.

“Experts Chat – NIFTY – 10,000 and Beyond”
held on 27th September 2017 at RVG
Educational Foundation Hall, Andheri (West)
supported by RVG Education Foundation &
Vile Parle CPE Study Circle of WIRC

An Experts Chat was organised by BCAS supported
by RVG Educational Foundation and Vile Parle CPE
Study Circle of WIRC on 27th September 2017 at RVG
Conference Hall, Andheri West. This was an initiative by
the Society to reach out to the members in the suburban
areas. The subject of the Chat was “NIFTY- 10000
and Beyond”. Experts participating in the chat were
CA. Vijai Mantri, Co-Promoter and Chief Mentor at
Buckfast Financial Advisory and Mr. Deven Choksey,
Managing Director of K. R. Choksey Shares and
Securities with CA. Anil Singhvi, India – Markets Editor
at CNBC TV18 anchoring the programme.

The chat started with a question raised by the Anchor
whether “number” really matters and whether the
NIFTY has reached its peak or there is a further scope
of escalation. Both speakers opined that the “number”
does not matter really because one needs to put that in
perspective of time and fundamentals. Echoing concerns
about investment potential, both speakers mentioned
about some fundamental thoughts as given below.

a) Investor should never attempt to “time” the Sensex.
This would never succeed. A common investor would
be left with panic selling and frantic buying at worst
prices in such attempts.

b) One should not try to invest in stocks on “tips” about
the particular stock. This would certainly leave them
with losses as stock market does not pay on the tips
but on the fundamentals.

c) An individual investor should not venture to invest on
his own unless he makes deep study of the industry
and the strategic perspective of the company from
long term point of view. Hence, investment should be
left to the experts through Mutual Funds or Portfolio
Management Scheme (PMS).

d) No industry is free from uncertainty of disruption which
is presently so frequent due to change of technology,
government regulations and global compliances.
Concept of long term investment in today’s blue chip
companies is irrelevant in current times. That is where
collective wisdom of experts will help to make decision
on entry or exit of the investment.

The audience posed interesting questions to experts
on future of newer technologies like electric car, bitcoin
etc. All the three experts opined in unanimity that while
each technology brings new opportunities, it also brings
new threats which may not be perceived by an individual
investor.

Overall, the Experts Chat turned out to be very enlightening
with interesting insights into investment strategy given by
the experts with their in-depth knowledge and experience.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC STUDY
GROUP MEETING

Meeting on “Taking Stock of Demonetisation
and Economic impact of some Geo Political
hot spots such as India-China, USA-North
Korea” on 28th September, 2017 at BCAS
Conference Hall.

International Economic Study Group of BCAS conducted
the captioned meeting under the mentorship of
CA. Rashmin Sanghvi wherein the following topics were
discussed:

Demonetisation: The Group discussed and analysed
various public announcements made by the Government in
terms of Targets set by the Government and actual results
thereof i.e. Eliminating black money, Fake currency, Terror
funding, and creating a Cashless Society. While RBI has
reported to have received Rs 15.28 trillion or 99 percent
of the specified currency, very small/negligible amount of
fake currency has been identified, which is the primary
source of terror funding. However the Demonetisation
exercise has effectively presented the policy makers with
a data trove of individuals’ financial transactions which
can be leveraged to improve tax compliance. However,
there was definite impact on terror activities, which came
down during the period.

Economic impact of Geo Political hot spots India-
China & USA-North Korea: The Group felt that Geo
political standoff between India-China was ably handled
by the Government, leading China to withdraw from
the spot mainly for the reason that though China has
a powerful military, it will never attack India. China has
disputes with most neighbouring countries and China is
interested in economic dominance & not political or even
military control.

The Group also discussed USA-North Korea standoff
and felt that both the countries have inexperienced new
leadership which has led to war of words through media
and social media. Ultimately USA Establishment will be
able to diplomatically sort this out given the consequences
of nuclear war.

The participants were abundantly benefitted from the rich
experience and knowledge of the group leader.

Lecture Meeting on “ICDS Reporting u/s.
44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961” held on
5th October 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

A Lecture Meeting on “ICDS Reporting u/s. 44AB
addressed by CA. Nihar Jambusaria was held at BCAS
Conference Hall. President CA. Narayan Pasari gave the
opening remarks.

In the initial part
of his talk, CA.
J a m b u s a r i a
mentioned about
the representations
which were filed
by various forums
against the
application of ICDS and even scrapping it. He particularly emphasised on
the difficulties that one could face in complying with the
reporting requirements under Form 3CD and the care and
caution required to be exercised while complying with the
same in accordance with the ICDS.

The Speaker also discussed in detail the issues in
complying with the reporting requirements of ICDS on
Valuation of Inventories, Construction Contracts and
Revenue Recognition etc. by giving illustrations under
different scenarios. While discussing the issues, he also
mentioned various landmark decisions which could be
followed in case of conflicting treatment provided under
the ICDS. Issues emanating while conducting tax audit in
compliance with each of the ICDS were highlighted and
the Speaker expressed his views on those issues.

The lecture meeting saw an attendance of over 75
participants and around 400 viewers online. The
participants benefitted a lot from the meeting.

“2 Days Seminar on Transfer Pricing” held
on 6th & 7 th October, 2017 at M. C. Ghia Hall,
Fort, Mumbai

International Taxation Committee of BCAS organised the
2-Day Seminar on 6th and 7th October, 2017 to enable the
participants to prepare for Transfer Pricing compliances
through the practical approach. The objective of the
Seminar was to have a re-look at the provisions and
procedures and to discuss key issues so as to gear up
for the AY 2017-18. Along with basics, the seminar also
focused on advanced issues such as those relating to
special provisions, e.g. Safe Harbour Rules, Advance
Pricing Arrangements, Secondary Adjustments and Thin
Capitalisation Rules.

On Day 1, President CA. Narayan Pasari welcomed
the delegates. CA. Mayur Nayak, Chairman of the
International Taxation Committee, introduced the theme of
the Seminar and emphasised the importance of Transfer
Pricing in the light of recent developments in the arena of
International Taxation.

CA. Namrata Dedhia explained the ‘Scope of International
transaction(s) and Associated Enterprises under the
Income Tax Act, 1961’ with the definition of International
Transaction and Associated Enterprise in depth.

The session was followed by clause by clause analysis
of Form 3CEB by CA. Ankush Mehta and CA. Shraddha
Bathija who took up the topic of
‘Reporting requirement u/s. 92E –
Form 3CEB’. They also covered
the possible penalties of non-filing
and incorrect filing of the form and
documentation. This was followed
by a session on ‘Documentation
including benchmarking analysis
with practical case studies and live
database search and adjustments’ by
CA. Siddharth Banwat, who took the
delegates through a search process
on Ace TP database. Thereafter,
CA. Vaishali Mane covered the
much needed discussion on ‘Recent
development – relevance of CBCR’
which was very well received by the
participants.

On Day 2, the Seminar began with CA. Bhupendra Kothari
covering the topic ‘Safe Harbour Rules – procedures
and compliance’. In his presentation, he covered the
recent amendments on the Safe Harbour Rules and also provided a detailed explanation on the procedures
and compliances thereunder. Further he compared
and contrasted the provisions of Safe Harbour Rules
vis-à-vis Advance Pricing Agreements. It was followed by
an excellent session on ‘Advance Pricing Arrangements
– Procedure and requirements’ by CA. Amod Khare.
He guided the participants with his practical experience
on implementation of Advanced Pricing Arrangements.
CA. Bhavesh Dedhia covered the recent amendments
on ‘Practical case studies on secondary adjustments &
thin-capitalisation’. The case studies made the session
very interactive and interesting. The last session – the
Brains Trust Session was ably led by the Chairman,
CA. Samir Gandhi with the panelists, CA. Darpan Mehta and
CA. Paresh Parekh. The panelists dealt with very
interesting case studies on topics such as impact of Ind-
AS and GST, TP issues in Automation industry, Block
chain technology etc. Finally, the Chairman shared a
comprehensive case study with the participants to apply
their learning over the past two days.

The Seminar was well received by more than 55
participants out of which few travelled from out of
Mumbai. All the speakers answered queries of the
participants in depth which made the seminar lively and
equally interactive. The participants benefitted a lot from
the Seminar.

“Blood Donation Drive” organised on 7th
October, 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

BCAS continued with its initiatives of connecting with /
contributing to the Society for a non-professional, social
cause. By organising a Blood Donation Drive for the 2nd
consecutive year, BCAS encouraged a sense of ‘Personal
Social Responsibility’ (PSR) amongst its members,
their relatives and friends. BCAS Foundation along with
Membership & Public Relations (MPR) Committee of
BCAS organised a full day Blood Donation and Health
Check-up Camp on 7th October 2017 at BCAS Conference
Hall, in collaboration with Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani
Hospital (KDAH), one of the renowned hospitals in
Mumbai, having the sophisticated blood bank facilities
and laboratories.

The event was spread over 4 zones (i) Blood Donation;
(ii) Health check-up other than ECG; (iii) ECG; and (iv)
Knowledge desk for organ donation.

Free routine health check-up covered Blood Pressure,
Diabetes, Bone Density, Thalassemia Test and ECG etc.
Knowledge desk for organ donation at the event created
awareness about the basics of organ donation and many
took pledge for the same

It was a great team effort of 21 volunteers from KDAH,
and others from Yuva Shakti of BCAS and BCAS staff,
who actively extended their support for magnificently
organizing and managing the event.

For Blood Donation, the donors had to follow a step by
step procedure covering various parameters before
actually donating blood. A specialised team of doctors
and supervisors from KDAH was very accurate with
respect to the health and physical conditions of the donor
to ensure that the donor was fit for donating blood and
also completely fit and fine after donating blood.

Awareness and messages were widely spread by
the BCAS team for this Drive. CA. Narayan Pasari,
President of BCAS, and CA. Chetan Shah, Chairman of
MPR Committee led the drive from the front along with
CA. Bhavesh Gandhi, CA. Saket Sanganeria and CA.
Maitri Naik and encouraged and inspired more and more
people to participate especially the youth. BCAS got an
overwhelming and encouraging response for this blood
donation drive, as is evident from the data below:

The blood donors were given the Blood Donation
Certificate and a token gift in appreciation of their
participation by KDAH.

It was truly a memorable experience, providing an
opportunity by BCAS, to inculcate / nurture a sense of
PSR amongst members as well as non-members.

SUBURBAN STUDY CIRCLE MEETING

“Important Amendments in Companies Act,
2013 regarding Auditors and Accounts of
Private Limited Companies (SME) and reporting
under CARO” held on 7th October 2017.

The Suburban Study Circle organised its third meeting
of FY 2017-18 at Office of Bathiya & Associates LLP at
Andheri (E). The group leader CA. Abhay Arolkar gave an
insight on various amendments in Companies Act, 2013
covering the following areas in detail:

a) Definitions & Scope – Small & Medium Enterprises

b) Audit Report – Main Audit Report and Report under
CARO, 2016

c) Audit Process – Audit Acceptance, Audit Continuance,
Audit Acceptance/ Continuance Documentation and
Audit planning with detailed discussion on Internal
Control over Financial Reporting

d) Reporting under other laws Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises Development Act, 2006 ii) FEMA iii)
Specified Bank Notes Reporting.

CA. Abhay Arolkar also shared his personal experience of
conducting audits and highlighted the areas which should
be kept in mind while selecting an Audit Engagement.

Large number of participants benefited from the
presentation and experience shared by the group leader.

DIRECT TAX STUDY CIRCLE MEETING

Meeting on “Taxation of Gifts u/s. 56(2)(x)” held
on 9th October 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

The Chairman of the session, CA. Ameet Patel gave his
opening remarks. The Group leader, CA. Krutika Fadnis gave
a brief introduction of the taxation of gifts over the years.
Thereafter, the group leader briefly explained the intent of
the Finance Act 2017 for introducing section 56(2)(x) and
explained its salient features. Numerous examples and
case laws were discussed and explained by the Group
Leader. Questions were also taken from the group with
respect to applicability of section 56(2)(x) in case of gift
received from the Government on different occasions.

The group leader also touched upon the consequences of
gift tax in case of family settlement in cash/ kind. Further,
the definition of ‘relative’ was interpreted and taxation
of settlement trust was discussed considering various
judicial precedents.

Subsequently, the group leader briefly explained the
rules for determining ‘fair value’ under Rule 11UA of the
Income-tax Rules, 1962. The interplay of section 56(2)
(x) and 50CA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was discussed
with illustrations. The session concluded by discussing
four case studies. The participants benefitted a lot from
the Study Circle.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT STUDY CIRCLE
MEETING

Meeting on “Coping with the Change (Transformation
towards Leadership Behaviour
in the era of Constant Change)” held on
10th October, 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

HDTI Committee organised the above Study Circle
Meeting at BCAS Conference Hall which was addressed
by Mr. Gopal Sehjpal, a Marshall Goldsmith Certified
Coach and accredited Leadership Coach by ICF (ACC).

Mr. Sehjpal explained that Managing Change is a step
towards transformation which is also one of the theme
of BCAS this year. One must identify triggers. Change is
nature’s challenge. To change or not-to-change is based
on triggers/stimuli which come from outside but decision
to change comes from within. Change is dynamic. For
successful change, individuals are required to have
commitment, co-ordination and competency. He also
quoted Philip B. Crosby, a Quality guru, who said that
quality is free. However, we must make the required
investment to make a positive difference so that we remain
effective and efficient. Participants present benefited from
the rich experience of the Speaker.

Lecture Meeting on “Recent Developments in
Transfer Pricing” by CA. Vispi Patel held on
11th October 2017 at BCAS Conference Hall

BCAS organised a lecture meeting on “Recent
Developments in Transfer Pricing “on 11th October 2017
at BCAS Conference Hall. The meeting was addressed
by CA. Vispi Patel.

At the start of the meeting, BCAS released its latest publication – Indian Reprint of
the “OECD Transfer Pricing
Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises and Tax
Administrations”- at the hands
of guest speaker of the evening
CA. Vispi Patel. Through this
publication, BCAS aims to provide
the very useful OECD book at a much lower price for the
Indian professionals.

After the release of the publication, the Speaker lucidly
explained the most relevant concepts in the Transfer
Pricing arena. He covered the most fundamental concepts
through some of the most important judicial precedents
and advocated that one must not lose sight of these
concepts while dealing with other matters.

CA. Vispi Patel also gave an outline of the provisions
related to Advance Pricing Arrangements and the recently
amended Safe Harbour Rules. He also dealt with the new
provision of Limitation on Interest Deduction u/s. 94B
with illustrations and provided a real-world perspective of
how the provisions may not be in line with the reality on
ground, with the help of RBI statistics. He also explained
in detail the concept of Secondary Adjustment through
section 92CE and listed several issues that still remain
unresolved. Lastly, he took the audience through the Draft
Rules on Master File and Country-by-Country reporting
which were issued only a few days ago.

Apart from providing clarity on the legal aspects, the
learned speaker also enlightened the members on
the developments in the international tax landscape –
especially BEPS. He also provided a between-the-lines
perspective on these developments and expressed
caution over the Government’s haste in applying the new
BEPS measures.

His lecture was well appreciated and all members left with
a deeper understanding of the subject.