Month: August

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Lecture meeting on Legal and Tax aspects of Trusts with special reference to REITs, INVSTs and AIFs on 17th June 2015

Mr. Dilip V. Lakhani, Past President of BCAS, addressed the audience in regard to special categories of Trusts. He also explained various structures and implications under Incometax thereon.

He highlighted the controversy around the status of the trust and the consequences of taxability of its income. In his view the status of the trust is dependent upon the status of its Beneficiaries. He drew attention to the fact that if the trust is revocable, then the income is taxable in the hands of the Settlor. He explained how trust can be an important tool for inheritance planning.

He further explained REIT structures and income tax implications on various parties to REIT. He expressed a view that capital gains tax on the sponsor in respect of transfer of the property through SPV to REIT is not exempt, but is deferred, which is one of the reasons for this structure not being popular in India. He mentioned a simple rule of taxation for income of REIT and its unit-holders:

INVSTs are similar to REIT.
Alternate Investment Fund: Finance Act 2015 has provided pass through status to only Category I [usually providing seed capital to start-up ventures] and Category II [usually providing funds to real estate] Funds, whereas Category III [usually have complicated, hybrid structures] Funds have not been granted such pass through status.

Mr. Dilip Lakhani’s presentation and explanation on private trusts with special reference to REITs, INVSTs and AIFs in a lucid manner was of immense benefit and was well appreciated by the audience.

9th Residential Study Course on Service Tax & VAT

Venue: Leonia Resort, Hyderabad
Dates: 19th June, 2015 to 21st June, 2015

Residential Study Course (RSC) is gradually becoming a very sought-after annual event of the BCAS considering the importance and the relevance of the subject in the current economic scenario. This year, the RSC was held at Hyderabad. More than 150 delegates from all over India participated and exchanged their knowledge and experience. In spite of heavy rains, water logging and delayed flights from Mumbai, all the participants made it to the RSC in time thus displaying their commitment to such an event. The Resort located on the outskirts of Hyderabad was a unique destination spread in sprawling greenery and natural rock formations with an ambience of luxury and warm hospitality.

Day 1 – 19th June, 2015
The RSC started in the afternoon with a group discussion on the paper titled “Case Studies on Taxation of Services” written by Advocate S. Thirumalai. The group leaders were CA Abhishek Doshi, CA Mandar Telang, CA Sudhir V. S. and CA Virendra Parwal. Case Studies on Valuation, Exemption, Point of Taxation and Place of Provision of Service were debated with active participation of all the delegates.

This was followed by the Inauguration Session – lighting of the lamp at the hands of Vice President CA Raman Jokhakar and the Chairman of the Indirect Taxes Committee – CA Govind Goyal. The Committee’s latest publication on “Service Tax – Basic Concepts and Procedures”, authored by CA Mandar Telang, was released at the auspicious hands of Advocate S. Thirumalai.

The inaugural session was immediately followed by the first technical session wherein Advocate S. Thirumalai gave his views on the case studies in his paper and also replied to other related issues raised during the group discussion. The session was chaired by CA Sunil Gabhawalla.

Day 2 – 20th June, 2015

The morning started with a group discussion on the paper “Case Studies on Cenvat Credit” written by Advocate L. Badri Narayanan. The group leaders were CA Leena Talathi, CA Nilesh Suchak, CA Sanjay Burad and CA Srikant Shenoy. The groups had a tough time completing all the issues in the paper as the subject was so vast and complex.

The second technical session was a presentation paper by Advocate J. K. Mittal on “Controversies in Service Tax”. In his inimitable style, he explained the controversies surrounding the Service Tax law, the contradictory judgments and challenges faced by the practitioners. The participants were left asking for more. This session was chaired by CA Sanjay Dhariwal.

In the third technical session, Advocate L. Badri Narayanan replied to the queries raised by the participants in the group discussion on his paper. He explained the complexities of the Cenvat Credit Rules and explained in detail so as to clear all the doubts of participants. This session was chaired by CA Uday Sathaye, Past President of BCAS.

In the evening, on the eve of International Yoga Day, a yoga session was organized under the guidance of CA Rajesh Kothari, Past President of BCAS. The response was overwhelming and on request of the participants, one more session was held on Sunday morning at 6 am.

Day 3 – 21st June, 2015

The morning started with a yoga session, it being the International Yoga Day.

The last paper for Group Discussion was of Advocate K. Vaitheeswaran on “Service Tax & VAT on IT, IT Enabled Services and E-Commerce Transactions”. The Group Leaders were CA Jayesh Gogri, CA Pranav Mehta, CA Samir Kapadia and CA Vikram Mehta. The case studies on the subject generated a lot of debate and fruitful participation.

During the fourth technical session, CA Jayraj Sheth presented a paper on “GST – Recent Developments & Expectations”. It was a wonderful presentation with facts and statistics about India’s progress towards GST. This session was chaired by Advocate Shailesh Sheth, who also shared his views on the subject.

CA Samir Kapadia, a member of the Indirect Tax Committee, made a small presentation on the initiative proposed to be undertaken by BCAS to prepare the professionals and the stakeholders to meet the challenges of new law on Goods & Services Tax (GST).

Thereafter, in the fifth and last technical session, Advocate K. Vaitheeswaran replied to all the queries raised by the participants. The paper writer’s exposure and his in-depth analysis made his talk very useful and interesting to the participants. He referred to various court decisions and explained the grey areas to the satisfaction of all. This session was chaired by CA Parind Mehta.

The RSC concluded with the Chairman of Indirect Taxes Committee CA Govind Goyal thanking all the paper writers, delegates for their co-operation and active participation, chairmen of technical sessions, the group leaders, all committee members, the BCAS staff, management of the Resort and all others who made this RSC a very successful event. He specially thanked the President CA Nitin Shingala and the Vice President CA Raman Jokhakar for their wholehearted support. Vice President, CA Raman Jokhakar thanked the Chairman CA Govind Goyal for his untiring efforts to make this RSC a memorable one.

After lunch, the participants departed to their respective destinations, cherishing the memories of the 9th RSC and with a promise to meet again next year at the 10th RSC.

Workshop for Independent Directors (in association with the National Stock Exchange of India) on 3rd July 2015

The Workshop for Independent Directors was inaugurated by CA Nitin Shingala (President), CA Kanu Choksi (Chairman), alongwith Mr. V. S. Sundaresan (CGM, SEBI) and Dr. V. R. Narasimhan (Chief Regulations, NSE)

Dr. Narasimhan gave the keynote address on the topic, citing some of the examples of mishaps in corporate world leading to stringent corporate governance norms being prescribed by the regulators. He mentioned that compliance requirements prescribed by law have arisen out of past experiences. Thereafter, Mr. Sundaresan gave a presentation on the expectations from the regulator’s perspective.

The Chairman mentioned that BCAS can conduct such workshops regularly, which can be recognised as a familiarisation programme for Independent Directors by the regulators.

Mr. Mahesh Athavale, Company Secretary by profession, appraised the participants about the duties, responsibilities and rights of Independent Directors. He shared some interesting practical experiences and case studies.

Mr. Mukund M. Chitale, Past President of BCAS, discussed the role of Independent Directors in an audit committee, board room dynamics and board evaluation. He shared his experiences as an independent director.

Practical issues faced by an Independent Director were discussed by a panel of Dr. V. R. Narasimhan (Chief Regulations, NSE), CA N. Venkatram, Mr. Madhu Bhagwat (Independent Director), led by CA Nawshir Mirza (also an Independent Director)

41 members took the benefit of the workshop. Participants were given ‘Certificate of Participation’ at the hands of the Panelists.

Monsoon Trek to Kothalighad on 11th July 2015

Human Development & Technologies Initiative Committee of the Society had organised a one day trek on Saturday, 11th July 2015 from Ambivali Village near Karjat to Kothaligad Peth.

The Trek was through thick jungle, close to nature surrounding the valley, and hills all around it. It got better as the trek reached greater heights. Considering that climate that day was favourable and cloudy with partial rain, the trek turned out to be enjoyable. Participants were high on energy and fully enjoyed the nature and were disciplined enough to be serious to the extent required for ‘safety’ and were environment friendly too. The 25 participants under the guidance of 3 experienced volunteers from Explorers & Adventurers Club completed the trek successfully. After the exhausting and enjoyable trek, the lunch at a small hotel at the base of Ambivali Village was lot more enjoyable. The return journey brought all back to the concrete jungle.

Lecture Meeting on Current Issues in International Taxation 15th July 2015

Mr. Pinakin Desai, the learned speaker for the lecture meeting held on 15th July 2015 covered various issues in International Taxation explaining various practical issues that one might face. The learned speaker commenced his talk with India-Mauritius DTAA, stating that the existing DTAA is under the process of negotiations and will undergo changes, resulting into a new revised DTAA which could be finalised in a couple of weeks. Then the speaker threw some light on the Black Money Act, 2015 which can have far serious implications on a Non-Resident becoming Resident and Ordinary Resident in India and explained the same with a few practical examples. Thereafter, the speaker drew attention to issues arising on indirect transfer of capital asset read in conjunction with Circular 04/2015 clarifying that the dividends declared and paid by a foreign company outside India in respect of shares which derive their value substantially from assets situated in India would not be deemed to be income accruing or arising in India by virtue of section 9(1)(i) of the Income-tax Act (ITA). Further, the speaker drew attention to the provisions of deemed international transaction by virtue of section 92B(2) of the ITA. Lastly, the speaker threw light on issues arising to foreign companies post amendment of section 6 of the ITA by the Finance Act 2015, which incorporated the test of POEM (Place of Effective Management) for determining the residential status of a Company. The lecture meeting ended after the speaker explained various issues as summarised above and their impact in practical implementation.

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Lecture Meetings

Filing of Returns for AY 2014-15: Amendments & Precautions on 25th June, 2014. The meeting was held at the Jai Hind College Auditorium. The speaker Mr. Jagdish Punjabi, Chartered Accountant dealt with the various aspects of filing of returns of income and amendments applicable for the same. More than 600 persons including students benefited from the expert deliberations and knowledge shared by the speaker

Founding Day Lecture on ‘Discovering our Sweet Spot in Life’ on 7th July, 2014

L to R : Mr. Rajiv Vij (Speaker), Mr. Narayan R. Pasari, Mr. Raman H. Jokhakar, Mr. Nitin P. Shingala (President), Mr. Naushad A. Panjwani, Mr. Mukesh G. Trivedi, Mr. Sunil B. Gabhawalla

The lecture meeting was held at the Walchand Hirachand Hall, IMC. Mr. Rajiv Vij, Internationally acclaimed Life & Executive Coach based at Singapore addressed the Founding Day lecture. He explained on how despite all the success and economic growth there is still an underlying occurrence of unhappiness in one’s life and how we can deal with it and still discover a sweet spot in life. More than 200 members benefited from his talk.

Three books were released on this occasion:
1. G ita for Professionals – Second edition ( English and Gujarati) by Chetan Dalal was released by Mr. Y.P. Trivedi

2. T axation of Fees for Technical Services – a Referencer by Anil D. Doshi & Tarunkumar G. Singhal ; Released by Mr. Narayan K. Varma

3. FA Qs on Accounting Standards by Abhay R. Mehta, Ashutosh A. Pednekar, Atul H. Shah, Chirag H. Doshi, Jayesh M. Gandhi, Manish P. Sampat & Nalin M. Shah ; Released by Mr. Arvind H. Dalal

Direct Tax Provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2014 on 14th July, 2014

L to R : Mr. S. E. Dastur (Speaker), Mr. Chetan M. Shah, Mr. Narayan R. Pasari, Mr. Raman H. Jokhakar, Mr. Nitin P. Shingala (President), Mr. Naushad A. Panjwani, Mr. Mukesh G. Trivedi, Mr. Sunil B. Gabhawalla (not in frame)

Mr. S. E. Dastur, Senior Advocate, addressed the annual lecture meeting on Direct Tax Provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2014 at Yogi Sabhagrah. Nearly 2500 members packed the auditorium to hear Mr. Dastur and 2028 viewers joined the live Web Cast. All of them benefited from the masterly analysis by the speaker. The viewers were from over 25 cities across the globe including Singapore, Salem, Melbourne, London, Erode, Abu Dhabi, Lagos, Zurich & New Jersey.

Indirect Tax Provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2014 on 16th July, 2014

The lecture meeting was held at the Walchand Hirachad Hall, IMC. Ms. Bhavana Doshi, Chartered Accountant and Mr. Vikram Nankani, Advocate addressed the audience on various aspects of Indirect Tax Provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2014. More than 300 Members and Students benefited from the expert analysis and knowledge shared by the speakers.

L to R : Mr. Vikaram Nankani (Speaker), Mr. Sunil B. Gabhawalla, Ms. Bhavna G. Doshi (Speaker), Mr. Nitin P. Shingala (President), Mr. Raman H. Jokhakar

Indirect Tax Provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2014 on 17th July, 2014

The lecture meeting was held at the Walchand Hirachad Hall, IMC Ms. Bhavana Doshi, Chartered Accountant and Mr. D. B. Engineer, Solicitor and Advocate addressed the audience on various aspects of Indirect Tax Provisions of the Finance Bill, 2014 at this lecture meeting which was held jointly by the Forum of Free Enterprise & Council for Fair Business Practices. The audience included many young Professionals and Senior Members of the CA Fraternity who gained immensely from the analytical insights given by the learned faculties.

Visit to Orphanage on 2nd June, 2014

Mr. Mayur B. Nayak and Ms. Gracy M. Mendes representing BCAS.

Human Resources Committee had organised this visit to Orphanage at Parel. The Orphanage has a total 22 orphans and is managed by 7 staff members. The visitors distributed snacks to the children. They had a walkthrough of the place and were also amazed by the entertainment items presented by the orphans who specially prepared the songs & dances for the Members visiting the orphanage.

Three-Day Residential Refresher Course (RRC) on Companies Act, 2013 from 27th June, 2014 to 29th June, 2014

L to R : Mr. Harish N. Motiwalla, Mr. Manish P. Sampat, Mr. Naushad A. Panjwani (President), Mr. Anil Singhvi (Keynote speaker), Mr. Kanu S. Chokshi

Group photograph of the participants

Mr. Naushad A. Panjwani

The Accounting & Auditing Committee had organised this RRC at Fariyas Resort, Lonavala, with an aim to equip the participants with an in-depth understanding on some of the important provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 along with Rules notified thereunder. The RRC was structured in an innovative manner of building case studies around critical provisions which were analysed in depth by the participants and deftly dealt with by the speakers.

Mr. Harish N. Motiwalla

The course commenced with the inaugural address by the President of BCAS, Mr. Naushad Panjwani. He was happy with the response received to the Course from all over India and was particularly pleased to have a strong participation from the Industry. Later, the Chairman of the Accounting and Auditing Committee Mr. Harish Motiwalla, gave introductory remarks on the design and structure of the course and the purpose of selection of the topics for group discussion as well as presentation. He also acknowledged the presence of the Chief Guest of the RRC Mr. Anil Singhvi. Then there was the lighting of the lamp by all the dignitaries present to commence the course.

Mr. Anil Singhvi

Mr. Anil Singhvi in his keynote address on “Corporate Governance and Independent Directors” shared his experiences as part of the Board of various companies as well from the research work carried out on the functioning of corporate and directors. He was of the opinion that the Companies Act, 2013 is a good piece of legislation and will improve the functioning of the corporate sector.

Mr. Sudhir Soni

After the inaugural session there was a group discussion on first paper of Mr. Sudhir Soni on “Case Studies on Provisions for Related Party Transactions/Loans/Investments.” The case studies were highlighting the provisions to be complied with as well as the contentious issues which arise in implementing the relevant provisions. During the presentation on his paper Mr. Soni aptly dealt with the case studies and also covered the issues raised during the group discussion in a very immaculate manner. The session was chaired by Mr. Kanu Choksi, Co-Chairman, Accounting & Auditing Committee.

Mr. Ashish Ahuja

The last session was a presentation on the topic “Cross Border M&A, Minority Buy-Outs, Exit Options, Rehabilitation, etc” by solicitor and advocate, Mr. Ashish Ahuja. He took the participants through a comparison of the of the provisions of the earlier act and the newly introduced provisions dealing with the protection of investor rights. Mr. Rajesh Muni, past- President of BCAS Chaired this session.

The second day started with a group discussion on the paper    by    Mr.    Nawshir    Mirza    on    “Case    Studies    on    Directors, independent directors, Corporate governance (incl. schedule V – managerial remuneration).” The case studies highlighted the onerous  duties of KMPS and  independent directors while steering the company as well as the role of Board towards various stakeholders. Later,     Mr.     Mirza,     made     a     presentation on his paper and shared his vast experience as a director as well as chairman of various committees of directors, which was of immense value to the participants. Mr. Kishor Karia Past Presidents of BCas chaired this session.

In the evening, there was a presentation on the topic of “audit and accounting (incl. schedule  ii and  iii)” by Mr. Mukund m. Chitale. It was a session that will be remembered by each participant for a long time, as he dealt with the subject with his expertise in such depth that he dealt with the queries of the participants while he was going through the clauses in the act. The session was addressed by him for nearly three hours and was ably chaired by Mr. Arvind H. Dalal, a past-President of the BCAS.

The last day commenced with group discussion on paper by Mr. K. Sairam on the topic “Case studies on acceptance of deposits and CSR.” Mr. K. Sairam had circulated to the participants background material also along with the case studies.  his case studies covered all the     finer     and     contentious     aspects    which require attention as professionals and were debated in depth during the group discussion. He later addressed the  participants in the general assembly along with a presentation on the topic and also dealt with the queries raised by the participants during the group discussion. The session was chaired by the Vice President Mr. Nitin Singhala.

The concluding session was presided over by  Mr.  Kanu Choksi.  he acknowledged contribution of the faculty as well as active participants for the success of the RRC.  Some of the participants gave their views on the course and conveyed their satisfaction of the format and  structure of the course.

Jal Erach dastur Students Annual day on 28th June, 2014 – A Report
The Jal Erach Dastur students annual day is an event that is organised by the Bombay Chartered accountants society (BCas) every year.  This year the event celebrated its 7th anniversary at the navinbhai thakkar auditorium at Vile Parle (east).

This is organised by the student members of BCAS for the CA students. This platform enables CA students to come together and interact with each other.  The event commenced with a short prayer sung by the student committee members followed by the anchors introducing the honorable Chief guest, Dr. Bhaskar das, CEO of the Zee group. The chief guest inaugurated the event with the lamp lighting ceremony and spoke to the CA students at length on the importance of communication in today’s corporate world and answered the queries that the students put forth. He emphasised on the difference between volition and motivation. According to him, volition comes from within, whereas, motivation comes from without and therefore the former is more important in life than the latter. The President of the society, Mr. naushad Panjwani, welcomed students and advised them for the balanced growth in life. The Chairman of the Human Resources Committee, Mr. Mayur Nayak, delivered his address on “dare to dream.”  In his short speech, he emphasised on the need to dream big. Miss Priya  Nangalia introduced  Mr.  Narayan Varma, the Past-President of the BCAS and an ardent supporter of the students’ activities, and showed his message through a video clip as he could not remain present due to his ill health.

Mr. Raj Khona and Mr. Smith Madlani enlightened students about various students’ activities such as study Circle, monsoon treks, sports day, etc. thereafter,  a small skit was performed by students on the theme of “jan andolan”.  Post this,   the “Chandanben manganlal Bhat  elocution Competition” was  held    where    finalists    of the    elimination    round    battled    it    to    win the  coveted trophies. in the tea break, the students feasted   on the delicious  mumbai vada pav along with a cup  of tea/coffee.

The    post    break     session    witnessed     the    most    awaited    quiz round. The four selected teams from the eliminations competed    with    each    other     in    a    very    heated     time-bound    quiz    competition.    The    finalists    were    on     their     toes    while    answering    mind    boggling questions. the audiences also actively participated in     the    quiz.    The     football    scoring    approach    adopted    by     the quizmaster,    Mr.    Aashish    Fafadia    was    an    instant    hit    amongst    the    audience.    The    quiz    was    ably     scored    by    Miss    Dhwani    Shah    and    Mr.    Rajesh    Pabari.    On    completion    of     the    quiz,    a    short      audience round was held by Mr. Harshil mehta and other   students’ Committee members. The audience was in splits with most of them participating very enthusiastically and lifting up the spirits.
 
The much awaited talent round was next on the list. Nineteen     finalists     competed     with     each     other     in     various     fields    like singing, dancing and playing instruments. With the end of this round, the judges of the talent round performed and mesmerised the audience with their singing and   instrumental music.  The winners of the various contests held,  i.e.,    Elocution,    Quiz,    Essay    Writing    Competition    and    the    Talent    Show    were    distributed    prizes    and    certificates    and    were felicitated for their performances.

The entire show was very ably anchored by Mr. Pawan shukla and miss Aneri Merchant. Mr. Raj Khona was felicitated for securing highest number of registrations. Mr. Chintan shah, Mr. Raj Khona and Mr. Smith Madlani’s efforts were recognised for coordinating students’ study circles during the last year. Mr. Samarth Patil proposed the vote of thanks to Mr. Sohrab Erach Dastur for sponsoring the annual day in fond memory of his brother, the late Jal Erach Dastur, the family of the Chandanben manganlal Bhat for sponsoring the elocution Competition and all those who had contributed to making the programme a success. In all, 366 students registered for the annual day. The motto of the event – to gather CA students on a single platform to showcase their talent and their extra-curricular
skills was very well achieved.

65th Annual general Meeting, 7th July 2014,   Walchand  Hirachand Hall,   4Th FlOOR,    Indian    Merchants’    Chamber, Charchgate, Mumbai 400 020

The 65th annual general meeting of the Bombay Chartered accountants’ society was held on monday, 7th july 2014, at  Walchand  hirachand  hall,  4th  floor,  indian  merchants’ Chamber, Churchgate, mumbai.

Mr. Naushad A. Panjwani, President of the society, took the Chair. All items as per the agenda given in the notice were undertaken including adoption of accounts and appointment of the auditors amongst other things.

Mr. Mukesh G. Trivedi, hon. joint secretary, announced the results of the election of the President, the Vice President, two secretaries, the treasurer and eight members of the managing Committee for the year 2014-2015. Mr. Mukesh G. Trivedi announced the names of the following members as elected unopposed for the year 2014-2015. also, the names of co- opted members and ex-officio members were announced. the “Jal Erach Dastur awards” for best feature and best article appearing in BCas journal during 2013-14 was announced. the winners were: Bhavesh dhupelia, shabbir readymadewalla, Vijay mathur for the feature on auditing standards. Ankit V. shah and Tarunkumar singhal for the article on Powers of the tribunal to stay demand beyond 365 days.

The special edition of the journal july, 2014 on “future of india youth’s Perspective” was released at the hands of mr. arvind h. dalal, past-President of the society. the editor, mr.anil j. sathe, announced that this edition has six special articles namely “imagining india from the eyes of young Pro- fessionals”, “Gazing Through the Crystal Ball”, “Reinventing india – a youth Perspective”, “arbitration Law in india – the Way forward”, “my india” … a decade from now …” and “to- wards a healthy india.” the youth of the society who had contributed articles to this edition were felicitated by being given the special edition.

Thereafter, the outgoing and incoming Presidents, mr. nau- shad A. Panjwani & Mr. Nitin P. Shingala respectively, addressed the members.

Outgoing  president Naushad Panjwani’s speech

Incoming President, nitin shingala, all my colleagues on the dais, respected past presidents, seniors and friends.

As i stand before you for one last time as the President of BCAS, i have an option on what i speak for the next ten minutes or so. I can either spend time thanking a lot of people who i should and want to and will. Or i can give advice to the incoming team, which i shouldn’t and i won’t. and even if i did where will they listen to me. did i listen to deepak’s advice? or i could list out all the activities that were carried out by the team in the year gone by, which i don’t want to do. It’s a team achievement and i cannot stake credit or seek accolades.

What i would like  to do is to compliment  the entire  team  of managing committee members,  chairmen,  co-chairmen, convenors, coordinators, core group members, the youth group, Cassem and the other staff of BCAS and shrutika. My special gratitude to the spouses of the core group members for getting involved in many BCAS programs. I request you to help me thank all of them by applauding the splendid work done by the team. having thanked others’ spouses, if i did not thank my own spouse, mere achche din khatam ho jayenge. so thank you afsheen for your support and understanding.

I couldn’t have asked for better office bearers. And as the events of the year transpired, i saw how each one of them stood up to take charge of the challenges on hand. Showing great grit, determination and character.

Nitin, I thank you for being my confidant. Your ever smiling demeanour eased so many pressure situations. you are a Trupt aatma and i pray that you remain so forever. under your leadership BCAS will scale new peaks. They say that you must learn from the foolishness of others and nitin, for that, i am ever at your service.

Raman, your suggestions in crunch situations were like a ray of light or as they say in sanskrit – Rashmi.

Chetan, was ever so cool and he faced everything with so much Sheetalta.

Mukeshbhai, thank you for bringing so much passion and Bhavna in everything you did.

Congratulations to narayan and sunil for joining the A-Team as the new secretaries.

This year, we lost two past-Presidents in Mr. B V dalal and Mr. Navin Kishnadwala. Both have contributed immensely to the society and we will all miss them.

My transition from a practicing CA to a business leader happened when i was the secretary of the society in 2006. I soon realised that the work pressures and timings are so different that I forget being an office bearer, even contributing otherwise is so challenging. That was the reason that i kept shirking this responsibility for some time. as most know, i accepted the challenge to lead BCAS at the behest of narayan Varma and a few others. But once i got into the mindset, the support that i received from all gave me new wings.

Jab aapka hukm mila toh maine tarq mohabbat kar di, Dil magar uss pe woh dhadka ke phir qayamat kar di.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year as president of BCAS. I have gained a lot in the process. The president’s page received a lot of accolades and i am mighty pleased with that. But writing is something i have always been comfortable with. it is public speaking that i was absolutely paranoid of. So much so that i have goofed up even while reading from a prepared speech. i had to just look at Mr. Kishor Karia in the audience to know when i goofed up and know that i had to correct myself. But being president meant that mumbling or fumbling, i had to keep speaking at all events and slowly i found my fear disappearing.

Being on the dais along with various speakers i had the opportunity to observe their style and preparation. The one speaker who impressed me the most was Mr. N. P. sarda. in one of the talks on accounting standards, for which he spoke non-stop for about two hours and kept the audience spell bound, I was amazed to see that he had no books, no speech, no presentation or even any notes. all he had was a chit of paper with two words written on it. Obviously i was curious. after the talk i took a peek and saw what those words were. Those two words were Naushad Panjwani. That was the only thing he was probably not sure if he would remember correctly.

The theme for this year’s annual report is “time.” Fittingly, so. in the journey of time, the society has grown from strength to strength. the membership has consistently grown. the pro- grams have grown manifold. Every year so many new initia- tives are incubated. the society has kept inventing and reinventing itself constantly. Each President has contributed to this in his own way. To keep up with the needs of the time we have enabled a non-past president to be appointed as a co- chairman of a committee. And I congratulate Nandita Parekh for being the first such co-chairperson.

The youth group was formed this year and, as we have seen, has rejuvenated the core group. i am happy that most committees have now included a lot of youth members. To the youth i would like to say, be bold, be respectful and be effective. have your say. Don’t lose your exuberance. Be sincere but don’t be serious. have fun.

Zindagi Zinda dili ka naam hai Murda dil kya khaak jiya karte hai

Having covered all the important aspects i could end my speech here. But just a few minutes back i proclaimed that i am no longer afraid of public speaking, hence i would like to speak for a few more minutes.

Mandir ki taraf dur se naman kar lun, Ya buth ka aakhri nazaara kar lun, Kuchh der ki mehmaan hai jaati duniya,
Tauba kar lun ya Ek aur gunaah kar lun?

I would like to touch upon two areas which i think are necessary for the society to remain relevant in these times of google and youtube. Knowledge is available there too.

I have viewed our society as a matrix organisation. While on one hand we have our domain expertise like direct tax, indirect tax, international tax, accounts etc., on the other hand, we have the various categories of our membership like the practicing CA, members from industry, the CfOS, members Presidents, seniors and fellow members. it is a great honour to be bestowed with the responsibility of leading the Bombay Chartered accountants’ society, an institution that has a glorious past and strong foundation built through selfless contribution, dedication and perseverance of from Psus, the youth, the senior CA so on and so forth. We have tried to understand the needs of each constituent and attempted to design programs for each. this is the new service level expectation. We must continue to do this and in the years to come we will see the impact of this.

To be relevant we need to be heard in the corridors of power. this year we were fortunate that the union revenue secretary Mr. Rajiv Takru sought us out through Shariq Contractor and we had a great closed door meeting with him. But this is not enough. the society is a non-political voluntary body and makes representations on behalf of the general tax payers without any vested interest of any group or industry. We must reinforce our position as such. We must be visible. We must be effective. We must stop being shy.

Before assuming office, I had sought Rajesh Kapadia’s ad- vice and the only thing he said to me was “BCAS is a very prestigious organisation and the role of the President is a huge responsibility. As the flag bearer conduct yourself with dignity.” As I reflect on the year gone by, I hope I have lived up to his advice.

Tujh ko ruswa na kiya, khud bhi pashemaan na hue, Ummeed hai Ishq ki rasm ko iss tarah nibhaya humne.

As I step down today, I am satisfied and relieved. But the realisation has already sunk in that starting tomorrow I will join the august group of past presidents. The past presidents of BCAS have continued to contribute so much to the society and I am excited by the prospect of doing my bit. And for this I will have more than a year to do so.

Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain, Abhi ishq ke imtehaan aur bhi hain,
Gaye din ki tanha tha main anjuman mein, Yahaan ab mere razdaan aur bhi hain.

Incoming President Nitin Shingala’s speech
President  naushad,  my  dear  colleagues  raman,  muke- sh, narayan, sunil, Chetan in absentia, respected Past its founders and successive leaders. i accept this responsibil-
ity with sincerity and promise to work, andto live up to the highest expectations! my team and i are committed to work ceaselessly and tirelessly to the serve interests of the BCas, pursue our vision and endeavour that the society continues to scale new peaks.

It has been a zestful year under Naushad’s leadership with the Society’s flag continuing to fly high. With style, vigour and his trademark innovative approach, naushad put into action several path breaking initiatives such as connecting with the youth brigade, the Cfos and senior chartered accountants, besides maintaining high standards for various regular activi- ties. While facing any crisis, naushad led from the front and pursued win-win solutions. my heartiest compliments to nau- shad for his memorable leadership and an excellent year!

Peter drucker once  said,  ‘a  voluntary  organisation  ex-  ists to bring about a change in individuals and in the soci- ety.’ in today’s fast paced life, a few questions  do arise:  Why volunteer? how does it help me? Well, i found the answer to these pertinent questions in the following quote by swami Vivekananda:

“Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you – but do not think of that now, it will come back multiplied a thousand fold.”

Friends, I am one of the countless beneficiaries to whom  the BCAS has given back what we gave, multiplied a thou- sand fold.

The  Business  Consultancy  studies  (BCs)  course  during 1998-99 brought me closer to the BCAS. Soon, I was invited to join the Core group in 2000. This BCS programme conceptualised by shri Narayanbhai, Nandita and other seniors, changed the course of many lives including mine.

I have learnt and gained a lot during the last 15 years of being in close association with the BCAS. Seniors have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel a part of this magnificent family. I have gained so many endearing friends. In hindsight, i wish i could have become active in the BCas much earlier. As a member of the Core  group,  one  gets  an  opportunity to observe the seniors closely. I found them very gracious and easily approachable, ever ready to share their knowledge and help the juniors in overcoming their difficulties.

Pradyumnabhai and arvindbhai teach us that the quest for knowledge is a lifelong commitment. At the Company Law rrC held recently, i found arvindbhai and Kishorbhai amongst the participants, ever eager to learn new developments. this made me nervous. I felt I was not learning enough! Narayanbhai teaches us how to be innovative, think big and differently for the larger good and remain forever young. Pradeepbhai shah has been a great emotional support when trupti and i needed the most. he has been helping all of us to keep our hearts and emotions in the right places. my daughter, Parnasi too, is an ardent fan and admirer of Pradeepbhai! Learning from stalwarts such as Pinakinbhai sharpens our understand- ing of core subjects. each stalwart inspires and teaches us, in his own unique manner, the qualities and the abilities that an accomplished professional must cultivate and imbibe.

Consider this modern definition of a Professional in today’s context by subroto Bagchi, a noted management thinker and an entrepreneur. he says, “…to be a Professional takes more than just aptitude. It takes a commitment to doing what’s right, not only for your business, but for the society as a whole.”

My belief in the value system became stronger by observing these stalwarts adhering to the highest standards of ethics and values. the BCAS provides the right environment and impetus through selfless mentoring to chartered accountants to be outstanding professionals.

This mentoring at the BCas is important to members from all backgrounds. Members from small and medium practices get to learn from their seniors and can find support to grow. Members from large global firms get a collaborative and neutral platform to enrich themselves with academic pursuits. members from the industry get the opportunities to spruce up their knowledge and network. the value proposition that the BCAS offers is great. We need to ensure that this message is driven home, louder and clearer, to help spread the benefits widely. I look forward to the membership and Public relations committee led by naushad to pursue this with greater fervour.

While coping with complexities in the ever changing world and the resultant uncertainty, it is helpful to understand the elements that remain constant. nicole Baker, an american researcher  in  the  subject  of  futurology,  stresses  on  three such constants that capture the essence of our social fabric regardless of the time period:

•    the drive to explore;
•    the desire for interpersonal relationships; and
•    the need to make sense of the world around us.

I find the activities of the BCAS encompass each of the above elements and the annual plan for 2014-15, circulated to you, also underscores these elements. The plan focuses on ex- ploring new frontiers of knowledge, developing outstanding professionals, mentoring and fostering relationships, and con- tributing to the nation building. I am happy to outline specific thrust areas for the ensuing year.

•    Laws, Regulations and governance
India is in the process of modernising key corporate and tax laws. We must commend and support the government in this overdue exercise. However, the journey so far has been far from satisfactory with the legislature and the bureaucracy falling short. The experience with the Companies act 2013 and its implementation so far has been very agonising. even the drafts of the direct tax code have been heavily criticised.

While we have very  high  expectations  of  “acche  din”  from our Prime minister, narendra modiji, it must be re- alised that we need to grow beyond complaining and contribute proactively. In the presidential address last month, the new government has committed to participative governance and promised to engage directly with people in policy making and administration.

our Vision statement states that the BCas shall be the catalyst for bringing out better and more effective government policies and laws and clean and efficient administration and governance. It is thus important for us to step up the efforts. My team and I look forward to working with the Chairmen of various committees to ensure that we continue to make effective representations so and that our voice is heard.

a separate committee, ‘Corporate and securities Laws’ has been set up to focus on this area of growing importance.

•    Practice Management
The  accounting  industry  presents  a  fragmented  scenario where small and medium firms constitute a large number of practitioners. Low entry barriers, low switching costs for clients and high exit barriers are the main reasons for the fragmented nature of our profession. this can be countered by helping small and medium sized firms to network and grow and adapt to the best practices. the infotech and 4i committee has been conducting annual power summits for this purpose. My team and i look forward to the committee to build further and take up new initiatives in this area, including contributing to a regular column on this subject in the BCA journal.

•    CFOs and Corporate Members
The role of Chartered accountants in the industry has been expanding into leadership. It is therefore important to build further on our initiative to reach out to and connect with the CFOs in general and various specific industry groups in particular. My team and I look forward to working with various technical committees and the membership and Public relations Committee for specific programmes for this segment.

•    Youth Group
Today’s  youth  are  tomorrow’s  leaders!  I  am  sure  that  the membership and Public relations Committee led by naushad will give further momentum to this very important initiative in the ensuing year. I call upon each one of the youth group members to benefit from this gratuitous mentoring and look forward to them as our future leaders.

•    Students
The  students  are,  after  all,  our  future. The  HR  committee is doing excellent work in this area through innovative programmes. The professors in accountancy are a vital link to the students. many of us have been lecturers in the past. the BCas needs to connect with this community in a structured manner. Another brilliant suggestion has come from nandita that the BCAS should encourage the principals to sponsor their article students for short-term internships at various ngos and at the society itself. This will help the students to widen and deepen their learning and provide a holistic experience. My team and I look forward to working with the hr committee led by mayur and nandita on converting these excellent ideas into actions.

•    Technology
All aspects of our lives, profession included, are being impacted by the ever-changing technology. We must understand and leverage the relevant technology in conjunction with our core competencies, to deliver superior services. The infotech and 4i committee has been doing a lot of work in this area. I request Chairman ameet to ensure that the committee continues to address the growing requirements of the members.

The BCAS itself has been generally proactive in embracing the technology changes. recently, our revered BCA jour- nal embraced an e-avatar. Further, the team is working to build a revamped portal to improve knowledge sharing and connecting with the members. In addition, we will continue to explore various digital mediums such as WebtV to over- come distances in dissemination of knowledge and to extend the reach of our programmes.

•    Staff and office infrastructure
Our annual report carries an important statistic about hours of education the BCas delivers. the annual hours of educa- tion have grown from approx. 25,000 in the year 1993-94 to 38,000 in 2003-04 and in 2013-14, it was little over 132,000, an increase of over 500% in last 20 years. Our staff has been putting in very hard work and we must acknowledge it. At the same time the increasing workload and expectations are re- sulting in gaps in delivery. This requires us to strengthen the team and help them build their capacity through appropriate training. The improvement in office infrastructure, including systems and processes, is a continuous mission and we are committed to pursue excellence in this area.

It’s football time and my friend, Kuntal reminded me that i must refer to this flavour of the season. Courtesy of my son mohak, i am now a part of the growing football fan club in india. Even then, i could not take the accountant out of me. So I looked at how the role of a Captain is defined. The Football association, english football’s governing body, states that as a captain, you have no special status or privileges under the Laws of the game, but you do have a degree of responsibility for the behaviour of your team. I feel the same today, with one advantage. I have many more coaches to guide and support me.

Dhishat, my other good friend, has a different perspective. He says the role of the President is more akin to that of an orchestra Conductor whose primary duties are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble.

Either way, the key leadership lessons from these two examples are:

•    One must surround himself with talent; and
•    One must play the game and play the notes through sheer hard work, discipline and commitment

I must say i have been fortunate to have loads of talent in our Core group. My team and i promise to play with hard work, discipline and commitment to continue building upon our rich heritage and leave a memorable legacy.

Thank you.

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Study Circle on “International Economics” held on 30th May, 2016

1. BCAS – International Economic Study Circle had taken up the following subject for discussion: “How the Prime Minister’s dreams can assure 12% GDP growth for the next 20 years”. Mr. Rashmin Sanghvi, Member, made a presentation on the subject on 30th May, 2016. The speaker explained to the meeting that the PM had not made any claim about GDP growth. If however the dreams he had about the country were fulfilled, then in the speakers opinion India would achieve a GDP growth of 12%.

2. The presentation was circulated in advance to the members. In brief, he explained as under:

3. Prime Minister has more than 16 different dreams. These dreams are listed below:

Dream Projects: (1) House for every family by year 2022; (2) Toilets for every house; (3) Road Network; (4) River linking Projects; (5) Sea-coast Transport; (6) Employment for everyone; (7) Bringing Indian residents’ foreign wealth into India; (8) Smart Cities; (9) Infrastructure; (10) Digital India; (11) Mobile Banking; (12) Aadhaar – Related Banking; (13) Direct subsidies to Beneficiary; (14) Financial Inclusion; (15) Electricity for all; (16) Start-up India.

Mr. Sanghvi showed detailed calculations of how the execution of this dream can boost Indian GDP tremendously. At this stage, he clarified: “I am not a politician. I am neither a supporter/fan nor a critic of any politician. This analysis is a pure analysis by an accountant.”

4. The core themes are as under:

4.1 GDP Growth means increase in GDP :

India has half the population that does not get proper food, clothing, housing, education and medical services. Providing these to the people of India means – someone has to spend money. One person’s expenditure is another person’s revenue. As a nation, it is GDP.

4.2 Every expenditure by Government is Revenue for someone. The Revenue will attract, Excise & Sales Tax. Net profit in the revenue will attract income-tax. When money is created, there are multiplier effects.

4.3 India is blessed by nature. We have enough resources to provide for the whole population and more. We have resources. We have needs. Now what prevents us from matching the two? Need is converted into demand when the needy person has income to buy.

4.4 If we use all domestic resources and provide necessities for the whole country, for the next twenty years, we can have a continuous GDP growth @ 12% or more. In this presentation, only attempt is to show that India can continuously grow for next twenty years. Attempt is not to praise or criticize Government plans but to see if a practical way emerges for India’s growth.

4.5 Housing – Paradox.

Today, crores of people are without houses. And simultaneously, housing sector is in recession. Lakhs of flats are lying vacant, unsold, unleased. This is classic case of unbalanced market. Problem is, the builders want to build luxury and super luxury houses. They are not interested in low cost housing for the poor. And the cartel of Builders-Politicians and Bureaucrats has artificially jacked up the prices beyond the reach of the buyer.

5. The Study Circle considered following statistics:

5.1 As per census report of the year 2011, India’s population in the year 2011 was 121 crores. This population is growing annually at 1.82%.

The present homeless figure of 65 crore will grow @ 1.85% in the year 2022 to 80 crores., requiring 16 crore houses, which will be 2.66 crore houses per year, which will translate into a construction cost of Rs.9 trillion per year considering a house of 270 sq feet per household. Comparing the additional house construction of Rs. 9 trillion –with the present GDP of Rs. 134 trillion – there will be an additional growth in the GDP of 6.7%.

5.2 Construction Material:

Construction of houses requires additional production of cement & steel. At present, due to recession, many steel & cement plants are running far below their capacity. They are incurring losses. A substantial amount of increased production can come from better utilization of existing capacities. However, additional construction of require additional installation of capacities for cement & steel.

These two commodities are taken as an illustration. For a house construction, many other things are also required.

5.3 Transport:

This additional material will also require massive transport through railways & roadways. It will require fuller utilization of wagon manufacturing & truck manufacturing. We will also need to install additional capacities for manufacture of wagons & trucks, for laying railway lines and so on.

With detailed calculations, Mr. Sanghvi explained the multiplier effect of a single dream translating into massive economic expansion. When 16 dreams are attempted together, imagine the massive expansion possible.

This figure of Rs. 9 trillion additional GDP comes from only part of the first dream. That is enough to cause 6% GDP growth. When 16 dreams are taken together, there can be 12% GDP growth.

In fact, Central Government total budget including budgetary deficits is Rs. 16 trillion. Hence nobody can expect Government to spend Rs. 9 trillion on single dream. Forget total spending of 16 dreams.

The factor beyond accountancy & economics is that: when someone has dream to serve the society at large, and then does more than his best, help comes from unknown, unexpected sources and work gets done. Or, one can say that God Helps. And the dreamer goes beyond his dreams.

So far, no one in India had the courage to dream. This PM has several dreams. This itself is very important.

7. Revenue:

Increased GDP means increased incomes in the hands of the people and increased income-tax revenue for the Government. Increased production of steel, cement, etc. and sale of houses mean -increased excise and sales tax revenue – for the Government of India. By one estimate, out of the total GDP, Government gets 15% as tax revenue. To this extent, first year’s increased expenditure finances second year’s revenue.

8. Capital:

India is considered a capital deficient country. We need substantial import of capital. Present policy of Government of India & Reserve Bank of India encouraging depreciation of Indian rupee is causing substantial losses to the foreign investor. Both – GOI & RBI together must adopt a policy of stabilizing the rupee & causing annually 1% to 2% of appreciation of Indian rupee. Such a policy can cause massive inflow of capital into India. With such dreams the Indian economy can create a situation of sustained high growth in the economy, stabilization & appreciation of Indian rupee; and overall gross domestic happiness.

The study circle meeting concluded on a note of optimism.

Workshop on “Practice Management & Technology” held on 18th June 2016

CA Raman Jokhakar, President BCAS welcomed the participants. CA Nitin Shingala gave opening remarks for the workshop. CA Ameet Patel set the tone by highlighting relevance of the topic, need and concerns to be addressed on practice management in the changing era of time – realignment of human capital, a paradigm shift in the profession from auditing and tax practice to specialized service providers and niche services. He emphasized on the need to overcome the restraints, hindrances and obstacles and using technology to the advantage of the profession.

Session-1: Running a Niche PSF

Mr. Nishith Desai provided valuable insights on settingup and managing a professional firm. His concept of operating a ‘Nano Firm – Small Size, Big Impact’ was an exceptional element of his presentation. His session enabled participants to have one-on-one interaction with Mr. Desai and learn from the vast pool of experience he has to offer.

Session-2: Running a Niche PSF

Ms. Nita Menezes through the journey of their organization, explained how to deliver services to clients by emphasizing on risk reduction of clients and not only higher returns. She also explained the approach adopted by the organization – Plan, Process and Develop Product, deliver services for successful functioning and client satisfaction. She explained practical insights for SME firms to start, build and keep the firm aligned for growth.

Session-3 & 4: Aligning Human Capital

CA Vaibhav Manek explained the importance of aligning a firm’s human capital and the benefits derived thereof. He touched upon topics like partner revenues, employee attritions, utilizing individual’s strength to firm’s benefit, employee evaluation, compensation and benefits. .

This helped the participants to gain insights and better understanding on need to realign human capital, commanding higher fees and developing higher per partner revenues, niche practice development for concentrated efforts of specializing in service areas, consolidation of firms and its operations to become full service firms with partners focusing on specific service areas and sub-service areas.

Session-5: Tools for Practice Management

Mr. Debajit Roy explained the concept of iFirm, a tool for practice management and how it can be used to enhance firm’s practice in terms of technology, time and turnover.

Session-6: Technology for CA Firms
CA Rajeev Sharma touched upon IT enabled business trends for decades ahead and opportunities that can get generated due to technological developments; need to have cloud based/ semi cloud based outsourcing service. He took up few survey analysis reports and projections on advancements in technology, profession and services.

He also emphasized on tools for practice management in SME sector, Client Relationship Management Software for professional firms.

Session-7: Panel Discussion

CA Nandita Parekh, CA Ameet Patel & CA Nitin Shingala took up the panel discussion round for the participants where various topics and issues faced by practicing professional firms were addressed – How to grow and partner in a firm, challenges and opportunities of collaborating, taking new partners and expanding, necessity for defining strategy for professional firms, passing on leadership and retirement, to have compliance driven practices, use of technological advancements for better servicing of client requirements.

The overwhelming response from diverse spectrum of participants – practice, local and out station participants, BCAS members and Non-members showcased the interest in the subject cutting across wide spectrum of stakeholders. The workshop was attended by 95 participants.

CA Kinjal Shah proposed vote of thanks to all the speakers and participants for making this workshop a grand success.

Lecture Meeting on “Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016-Boost to ease of doing Business” held on 22nd June, 2016

A lecture meeting on “Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016-Boost to ease of doing Business” was held on 22nd June, 2016 at BCAS office which was addressed by Mr R K Bansal, Executive Director, IDBI Bank Limited. Mr Bansal explained about the meaning, importance and relevance of Bankruptcy Law in the present scenario.

He also deliberated upon the present procedure of Bankruptcy Law and told that before a company goes into liquidation, the debtors and creditors follow a complex procedure which involves the following:

a) JLF/CDR
b) SDR
c) SARFAESI
d) DRT
e) BIFR
f) Winding Up

In the present scenario, creditors extend the funding, restructure the debt but the entire process to achieve turnaround is solely dependent on the capability of the present promoters except in case of SDR where lenders search for a new promoter for the company.

He discussed about the measures to take the commitment from defaulting promoters i.e. marking the accounts as Special Mention Accounts (SMA and SMA2) where bankers form a joint lender forum with revival plan for Promoters who are unable to repay the debts, through restructuring of NPAs

He also enlightened about the proposed procedure to file a bankruptcy application with NCLT ( National Company Law Tribunal ) or DRT ( in case of Firms and Individuals). 

He further mentioned that one of the fundamental features of the Bankruptcy Code is that it allows creditors to assess the viability of a debtor as a business decision, and agree upon a plan for its revival or a speedy liquidation. The Code creates a new institutional framework, consisting of a regulator, insolvency professionals, information utilities and adjudicatory mechanisms that will facilitate a formal and time bound insolvency resolution process (1st stage of Bankruptcy) and liquidation (2nd stage of Bankruptcy). When insolvency process fails, the liquidation procedure comes into force where the assets of the debtor (including the proceeds of liquidation) vest in the liquidation estate. A total of 50 participants attended the meeting

The meeting concluded with a formal vote of thanks by Mr K K Jhunjhunwala

Overall the lecture was very informative and well appreciated by the Audience.

10th Residential Study Course on Service Tax & VAT held on 24th June, 2016 to 26th June, 2016 at Lavasa

The Indirect Taxation Committee (IDTC) of BCAS successfully conducted the 10th Residential Study Course on Service Tax & VAT , at Hotel Mercure and International Convention Centre at Lavasa, from 24th June 2016 to 26th June 2016.

This series of Residential Study Courses (RSC), which is fully devoted to the studies of indirect taxes, is becoming more and more popular among the members of BCAS. . The venue, Lavasa, located about 65 kms. from Pune, at a height of about 2100 ft. amidst the Shayadri Mountains, and the monsoon rains gave the perfect blend of nature and atmosphere for focused studies and fellowship.

A new feature, added this year, i.e. the concept of ‘group mentors’ received kudos from all the participants. The group discussions reached a high level of maturity and the knowledge sharing could become much more meaningful. The five ‘group mentors’ namely CA Ashit Shah, CA Bharat Shemlani, CA Naresh Sheth, CA Rajiv Luthia and CA Udayan Choksi provided valuable guidance to all the groups throughout the program.

Day 1 – 24th June, 2016

The RSC started in the afternoon with group discussion on the paper titled “Case Studies on Taxation of Services” written by CA A. R. Krishnan. The group leaders were CA Ankit Joshi, CA Anil Kumar Beewada, CA Mandar Telang, CA Manindar Kakarla and CA Nilesh Suchak. Case Studies on taxability of different services and various “live” situations faced by tax advisers on daily basis were articulated. Valuation, Exemption, Point of Taxation and Place of Provision of Service were debated with active participation of all the delegates.

This was followed by the Inauguration Session – lighting of the lamp at the hands of CA Dilip Sheth, a very senior member of the BCAS, President CA Raman Jokhakar and the Chairman of the Indirect Taxes Committee – CA Govind Goyal. The lighting of the lamp was followed by a brief key note address by CA Dilip Sheth.

Inaugural session was immediately followed by the first technical session wherein CA A. R. Krishnan (the mentor of IDTC) gave his views on the case studies in his paper and also replied to other related issues raised during the group discussion. His masterly analysis of various provisions of law and his guidance to participants on “thought process and the reasoning that should go while arriving at a conclusion’” will always be remembered by all those who participated in this RSC. The session was chaired by the president CA Raman Jokhakar.

Day 2 – 25th June, 2016

The morning started with the group discussion on the paper “Case Studies on CENVAT Credit” written by CA S. S. Gupta. The group leaders were CA Ganesh Prabhu Balakumar, CA Keval Shah, CA Shreyas Sangoi, CA Shruti Kakaria and CA Vaibhav Jajoo. The issues were debated since most of the issues had a variety of angles involved and had day-today relevance.

The second technical session was a presentation paper by CA Divyesh Lapsiwala on “Indirect Tax Benefits in Foreign Trade Policy”. In his inimitable style, he briefly explained the five most common schemes of the Government’s Foreign Trade Policy which can benefit the exporters i.e. (a) Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (b) Services Exports from India Scheme (c) Status Holders (d) Software Technology Park Scheme and (e) Special Economic Zone Scheme. This session was chaired by CA Hasmukh Kamdar.

In the third technical session CA S. S. Gupta provided solutions to the issues raised in his paper on case studies on CENVAT Credit. The issues were explained in details and also the new issues that have surfaced due to recent amendments through Finance Act 2016. This session was chaired by CA Uday Sathaye, Past President of BCAS.

The afternoon was free for the participants to explore the hill city of Lavasa, take a walk on the river side promenade and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere. In the evening a musical evening was organized “for the members by the members”. The members here got an opportunity to show case their hidden talents.

Day 3 – 26th June, 2016

The last paper for Group Discussion was written by by CA Parind Mehta on “Case Studies on Sale v/s Service – Composite Transactions (Taxability under VAT and Service Tax)”. The Group Leaders were CA Chirag Mehta, CA Samir Kapadia, CA Sanjay Dhariwal, CA Vikram Mehta and CA Yash Dhadda. The case studies highlighted certain very relevant issues which a transaction could have and were probably not even envisaged by many participants.

During the fourth technical session, CA Sagar Shah presented a paper on “Role of CAs in GST – Realignment Requirements”. A very crisp and brief analysis of how as a professional we need to gear up for the challenges as well as opportunities this new law will generate for Chartered Accountants. This session was chaired by CA Sunil Gabhawalla.

Thereafter, in the fifth and the final technical session, CA Parind Mehta replied to all the queries raised by the participants and also gave his views on the issues raised in the case studies. The reference material provided along with his paper listing out a whole lot of case studies would be a very useful to all the participants. This session was chaired by CA Deepak Thakkar.

The RSC concluded with the Chairman of Indirect Taxes Committee CA Govind Goyal thanking all the paper writers and delegates for their co-operation and active participation, chairmen of technical sessions, the group mentors, the group leaders, all committee members, the BCAS staff, management of the Hotel and the Convention Centre and all others who made this RSC a very successful event. He specially thanked the President CA Raman Jokhakar for his wholehearted support. The President CA Raman Jokhakar thanked the chairman, conveners and all members of IDTC for their untiring efforts to make this RSC a memorable one. A total of 175 participants attended the Study Course.

After lunch, the participants departed to their respective destinations cherishing the memories of the 10th RSC, with a promise to meet again next year at the 11th RSC.

IT STUDY CIRCLE WORKSHOP ON “SUPER ADVANCED EXCEL FOR PROFESSIONALS ’ PART III” HELD ON 28th JUNE, 2016

The Technology Initiatives Study Circle of the BCAS recently held a multi-session workshop on ‘Super Advanced Excel for Professionals’ by the learned speaker CA Nachiket Pendharkar.

Nachiket is a Microsoft certified corporate trainer for MS Excel and Excel VBA. He is the founder & CEO of ViN Learning Centre, a corporate training institute based in Mumbai. Nachiket was shortlisted in the top 30% candidates across the world in the Excel Model Off competition (a global competition on financial modelling using MS Excel) in their 2015 edition.

This was the third session of the series, held on 28th June 2016. The first two sessions were held on 24th May 2016 and 7th June 2016 respectively.

This third session covered unique topics such as Alternatives to nested if, Data Tables – multi variable simulations, ASAP utilities Add in, Table and Table Tools and Array formulae, Advanced features of Pivot Tables.

The session witnessed a large audience which saw good interaction between the speaker and the participants. The speaker answered a lot of queries that were posed by the participants. A total of 30 participants attended the Workshop. All participants have benefited immensely through these enriching sessions.

Lecture Meeting on “Model GST Law” by Shri Shailesh Sheth on 29-6-2016

BCAS organised a lecture meeting on 29-6-2016 on the Model GST Law at IMC. At a juncture when the fate of the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill is yet to be known and everyone is waiting for its passage in this monsoon session of the Parliament, on 14-06-02016, the Model GST Law was placed in the public domain by the government after the nod of the Empowered Committee. Shri Shailesh Sheth gave wonderful insights on the model law. The views of the speaker on the Model GST Law were commendable and a guiding force for all. The speaker in a nutshell described to the members present the various provisions of the model law and how the model law has been drafted as a mixture of the existing indirect tax laws like State Level VAT , Central Excise and Service tax. The meeting received an overwhelming response with the venue packed with around 250 audience.

The session ended with a vote of thanks to the speaker by Mr Chirag Mehta

Full day “Seminar on the Finance Act, 2016” with emphasis on Income Declaration Scheme held on 1st July, 2016

The Full day seminar on Finance Act, 2016 was held by the Taxation Committee at BCAS Gulmohar Hall. President Raman Jokhakar gave the opening remarks followed by introductory words from the Chairman of the Taxation Committee, Mr. Sanjeev Pandit.

Various topics were taken up at the Seminar by the following Speakers:

Mr Yogesh Thar: Provisions relating to The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016, Equalisation Levy, Residence & Chapter XXBC, Transfer Pricing, Return of income, Advance Tax, Assessment and Intimation u/s 143(1) and Provisions dealing with special rate of tax like 115BA, 115BBDA etc.

Mr. Yogesh Thar explained the important features of The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 and Equalisation Levy. . He further discussed the provisions related to special rate of tax for certain companies under Section 115BA and Section 115 BBDA dealing with additional 10% tax on dividends in the hands of recipient. He also brought out various issues arising out of the above amendments and answered the queries of the participants.

Mr Rajesh Kadakia: Amendments related to Charities (with special reference to Chapter XII-EB), Immovable Properties (Sec. 50C), Capital Gains related provisions and Deduction of profits from housing projects of affordable residential units –Sec. 80IBA etc.

Mr. Rajesh Kadakia started his talk by highlighting the amendments relating to charitable institutions. He explained the intention and rationale behind the said changes and highlighted the effects of the same for the existing charitable institutions and their activities. He gave an insight into the provisions relating to Immovable Properties (Sec. 50C), Capital Gains related provisions and deduction of profits from housing projects of affordable residential units – Sec. 80IBA etc.

Mr Praful Poladia: Provisions relating to The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, Presumptive Taxation and related provisions as to tax audit and maintenance of books of account, buy back of shares.

Mr. Praful Poladia started with case studies highlighting the amendments to Presumptive Taxation for persons engaged in business and profession and related provisions i.e. tax audit and maintenance of books of account. He also gave detailed examples in relation to amendments to buyback of shares and how it affects business structuring. He explained to the participants the new Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 and took them through three sets of clarifications issued by CBDT on the Scheme.

Ms Sonalee Godbole: Amendments in relation to Penalties (with special reference to Sec. 270A), Chapter VI-A deductions, Provisions relating to Income from Business & Profession (other than Presumptive Taxation), Income from Salary, Rules regarding Provident Fund, Income from House Property, TDS provisions.

Ms. Sonalee Godbole gave a detailed presentation on amendments in relation to penalties (with special reference to sec. 270A), Chapter VI-A deductions, provisions relating to Income from Business & Profession (other than Presumptive Taxation), Income from Salary, Income from House Property and TDS provisions. The speaker touched upon a wide number of judgments during the course of her talk. She also answered all the questions raised by the participants.

There was also a session on Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 where the Principal CCIT Mr D. S. Saksena along with Pr. CIT – 1 Mr. D.C. Patwari addressed the participants about the features and procedural aspects of the said Scheme. They also answered the queries raised by the participants and were receptive to the clarifications sought by them. They told that the issues where clarifications are necessary would be forwarded to the CBDT for further clarification. They also asked the participants to make their clients aware of the scheme and assured that the details provided by assesse under the scheme would be kept confidential. Mr Patwari also briefly spoke about the Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016.

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 with the speakers and Income Tax Department Officials. The event saw attendance by over 100 participants.

68th Founding Day Lecture Meeting on “Achieving Sustainable Profitable Growth on a Perpetual Basis” held on 7th July, 2016

A lecture meeting on Achieving Sustainable Profitable Growth on a Perpetual Basis was held on 7th July, 2016 at Walchand Hirachand Hall, 4th Floor, IMC, Mumbai after Annual General Meeting and Foundation Day of the Society. The meeting was addressed by Mr Harsh Mariwala, renowned industrialist and Chairman of Marico Limited. Through his vision and mission in mind, he is instrumental in maintaining Marico’s business at a sustainable and profitable growth pace.

He explained that the growth both in business and profession has to result in profits for associates, shareholders and stakeholders. He gave examples as to how he faced the key challenges in achieving and sustaining growth in his company which filters from top to bottom.

Further, the speaker took through the journey of Marico which was a family run business and how it was modelled to bring about value principles and policies to bring expansion and growth. He talked about his journey of culture building in the organization through involvement of its people and seeking commitment from them. He also emphasized the need of quarter to quarter performance to measure topline and bottomline growth.

The lecture was well attended by around 200 participants and got a thunderous applause from the audience. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by CA Narayan Pasari, Vice President, BCAS

Study Circle on Simple Techniques of “Yoga to Live Healthy” held on 8th July, 2016

A lecture meeting on Simple Techniques of “Yoga to Live Healthy” was held on 8th July, 2016 at BCAS, 7, Jolly Bhavan No -2, New Marine Lines, Mumbai-400020. The meeting was addressed by CA Dr. Kishore Gada, renowned practising CA since 1998, Convenor of Ghatkopar CA CPE Study Circle and also a Yoga teacher. He has authored 3 thesis on the topic Jainism and Yoga, which remarks his passion and interest for Yoga. Through his vision and mission in mind, he is instrumental in maintaining a proper work life balance with the help of Yoga and conveying this message to maximum people.

He started with a peaceful Yoga prayer and explained the true definition of Yoga that is a state of connection of body and mind. He then explained how various organs and various system of human body are connected to the spinal cord and brain and how wrong body postures while at work, studying, sleeping break the connection of mind and body.

Afterwards he travelled through the journey of meditation, breathing exercises and all practically experienced the power of “OM Mantra” to relieve stress.

Overall, it was a very refreshing and learning experience. Practical and simple techniques through which we can live happily without stress and fear were conveyed in the best possible manner and he got a huge applause from the audience. BCAS President CA Chetan Shah appreciated the efforts taken by renowned speaker and assured this lecture would be conducted at a larger scale for the benefit of the maximum. . The meeting concluded with vote of thanks by Jekin Dedhia, Students study circle in-charge of Bombay Chartered Accountant Society (BCAS).

Full day Workshop on “Heal without Medicines” held on 9th July, 2016

Human Development and Technology Initiatives Committee organized a full day program on “Heal Without Medicines” on Saturday, 9th July, 2016 at Directi-I-Plex, Andheri (East)

Atul Shah is an active propagator of Natural diet. He himself was miraculously cured from a so-called incurable condition called Avascular Necrosis (AVN) that affects the hip joint. When modern medical science could not offer a solution, Atul started reading about this unprocessed natural food diet after being introduced to it through a contact and turned to it as a last resort. It worked wonders for him and he was cured of AVN within a year of rigorously following this diet regimen.

The theme was “to die young and as late as possible, i.e. to live long and live young and always vibrant and bubbling with energy and reverse the ageing process.”

Atul Shah spoke on How to Have Good Health without Medicines?

We learnt how Raw Food Diet can help to Maintain Natural Healthy Life Style.

How to feel at ease and feel calm and Cool at all times by eating the right foods.

He spoke on how raw food diet can make us free from all Diseases and Discomforts.

How Your Food can be Your Medicine.

Little Changes in Your Daily Diet can make a Big Difference to your Life and Health

We can get rid of all types of lifestyle diseases like Joints Pain, Diabetes, Blood pressure,

Acidity, Migraine, Asthma, Kidney Disease, Heart Problems, Skin Diseases and many more…

We also got to know the sharings of people who have restored vibrant health with this NATURAL HEALTHY LIFESTYLE!

We also learnt what can cause harm to health.

Raw food lunch was served to the participants. Also relished the taste of Green Juice.

Members had come with their spouse and family members. It was good to come together to learn and share meal together. A total of 137 participants attended the workshop

Human Development Study Circle Meeting on “Human Engineering” held on 12th July, 2016

Human Development Study Circle Meeting to watch the DVD – Video Talk on “Human Engineering” by Mahatria was held on 12th July, 2016 at BCAS Conference Room. CA Vinod Jain gave a small introduction before the DVD was screened. The talk was so absorbing that it was an undisturbed screening of 90 minutes. The Lessons learnt from this video talk were discussed. The learning from this:

We are designed to be with smile, laughter, tears, compassion and love. We can live our potential life, with our ability to express our emotions. Our “ego” should not come in the way. By loving humans, we love creations of God.

As a nation, we lack one very important quality “Discipline”. Our education system does not teach how to enjoy heterogeneous relationships, deal with failures and communication skills. But we must learn them, since they are important. History should inspire us, telling all legendary figures were born normal but they took up something exceptional and became legendary figures. Same way we have potential to be infinitely greater than what we are today.

We must live a holistic life and balance our physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual life.

Physical: We must give one hour to our body daily through exercise etc., then body can take our care for next 23 hours. We must push our body little more and eat little less.

Mental: We must take care of our subconscious mind, since it is 7/8th part of total mind. Anything positive, we must speak in 5 sentences and get emotionally involved. Anything negative, we should finish it in one sentence and analysis it intellectually. Any one joining our organization to be celebrated and someone leaving should just be analyzed.

Intellectual: Sub-ordinate your likes and dislikes to your purpose of life. Otherwise, you will subordinate your purpose of life, to your likes and dislikes. Ordinary people when they identify themselves with a cause larger than themselves, they would unfold legendary possibilities in their life.

Emotional: When something goes wrong or we see wrong happening around us, we generally crib. Instead of cribbing and doing nothing, we need to channelize our emotions for a higher purpose and make thing better in this world e.g. Gandhi channelized his emotions to free India from British.

Spiritual: Our spirits are like power house, unless we are charged up internally, we cannot perform. We transcend in our life and get energy from universe, where we lose sense of time and space, be it creating something, meditating, caring, listening music, sharing, playing etc.

The participants were interested in more such video screenings for Study Circle Meetings.

Lecture Meeting on “Tax Issues in Business Re-organisation-LLP / Companies” held on 13th July, 2016

Lecture Meeting on Tax Issues in Business Re-organisation- LLP / Companies by Shri Pinakin Desai was held at IMC. President Chetan Shah gave the opening remarks.

Mr. Desai explained the meaning of reorganisation and touched upon various areas under the Income-tax Act, 1961 that would have to be examined in a business reorganising scenario.

The various concepts were explained with the help of case studies that enabled the participants to understand the issues with ample clarity.

Mr. Desai touched upon the following aspects in course of his presentation:

(a) Section 115BA in the context of a manufacturing company undergoing a demerger / slump sale

(b) Carry forward of losses in case of conversion of firm to LLP

(c) Demerger of company, conversion of company into LLP and subsequent withdrawal from LLP

(d) Merger and subsequent conversion into LLP

(e) Demerger between unrelated parties including accounting for demerger in the books of Demerged company and the resultant company in the light of Ind-AS

(f) Merger of companies under Court Scheme with reference to General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) prescribed under the Income-tax Act, 1961 which are yet to become effective

(g) Share acquisition followed by Capital reduction and merger

(h) Business reorganization in light of sections 92B(1) and 92B(2)

(i) Indirect transfer of assets including tax neutrality to the foreign amalgamating company, Indirect transfer mitigation amongst others

(j) Real Estate Investment Trust – where SPV is a company and where SPV is an LLP

(k) Tax neutrality of demerger – where consideration is discharged by (i) parent company (ii) foreign parent of transferee company

Mr. Desai also elaborated on evaluating the impact of GAAR grandfathering under various scenarios such as rights issue, bonus issue, etc

It was a very informative and insightful learning experience for all the participants present. The event saw attendance by over 400 participants. The session ended with vote of thanks by Ms Pooja Punjabi.

Direct Tax Study Circle Meeting on “Issues relating to Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016” & the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 held on 14th July 2016

The Group leader, CA Devendra Jain commenced the meeting by commenting upon the intention of the Government behind introduction of Dispute Resolution Scheme 2016, which is to reduce the pendency of litigation existing as on 29th February 2016. He explained the provisions of the Scheme in brief and pointed out the persons who can avail this Scheme.

He gave a hypothetical example wherein the assessment order u/s 143(3) was passed before 29th February 2016 and the time limit for preferring an appeal against this order has not lapsed by this date. Then in such a case, there could be a question of availability of this Scheme since the appeal is not pending on 29th February 2016 but the assessee has got time to file the appeal; hence a clarification is required for such cases.

Thereafter, he touched upon the provisions of the Income Declaration Scheme 2016 and the valuation methods prescribed under the Rules. He pointed out the various FAQ’s released by the CBDT in relation to this Scheme and the far reaching implications of the same. He mentioned that as per the Circular No. 27/2016, provisions of this Scheme [section 197(c)] would override section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and there could be questions on the constitutional validity of such a provision. At the end, various issues which one could face while implementing this Scheme were discussed by the Group. A total of 30 participants attended the Study Circle.

Workshop on Maharashtra VAT & CST Held on 16th July 2016

The Indirect Taxation Committee (IDTC) of BCAS organized a Workshop on Maharashtra VAT and CST, wherein two important subjects were discussed i.e. (1) “Preparation and filing of returns under the new automation process” and (2) “Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears in Dispute Scheme, 2016”. It was held on Saturday 16 July 2016, at the Conference Hall of BCAS.

Shri Rajiv Jalota (Commissioner of Sales Tax – State of Maharashtra) was the Chief Guest, Mr. Nitin Shaligram (Dy. Commissioner of Sales tax, Mumbai) and members of his team, and, Mr. A S Gorde (Dy. Commissioner of Sales tax, Mumbai) were the speakers for the day.

CA. Chetan Shah (President, BCAS) welcomed the participants and highlighted the relevance of the topic in view of the proposed ‘automation process’ and expected implementation of the GST in April 2017. CA. Govind Goyal (Chairman IDTC) briefly introduced the speakers and topics allocated to each speaker for discussion. Thereafter, the speakers were felicitated by the CA. Deepak Shah, (Co- Chairman IDTC).

Mr. Nitin Shaligram, opened the discussion with a brief background about the new returns templates and the automation process. He explained the basic background of the new initiative and the objective with which they had started. He and his colleagues enlightened the participants about the steps to be followed for preparing and uploading the returns for the periods commencing on or after 1st April 2016. .

The Hon. Commissioner of Sales tax, State of Maharashtra, enlightened the participants about the various initiatives taken up by the State of Maharashtra. The Hon. Commissioner highlighted that the new automation process was the first of its kind in terms of scale, given that it was the largest implementation of a tax administration system ever in the history of SAP and that its success would ease several difficulties being faced by the tax payers. .

The second session was led by Mr. A S Gorde. He gave a comprehensive presentation on the nitty-gritties of Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears Scheme and key aspects of process related to settlement and related issues. In the ensuing interaction, the speakers gladly addressed the queries raised by the participants. CA Kiran Garkar and CA Samir Kapadia were the moderators.

In his closing remarks, CA. Govind Goyal appreciated the efforts made by the tax team and acknowledged their willingness and address all the queries raised on the floor. The workshop was attended by more than 110 participants.

The meeting concluded with a well-deserved hearty vote of thanks.

CA. Naresh Sheth

CA. Rajkamal Shah

CA. Samir Kapadia