Dear CTC Family Member,

I hope this message finds you in good and cheerful spirit as, I am sure, you must have been rejuvenated after enjoying the spirited festival of Diwali – the festival of light and ‘dhoom’ – as well as Eid and also after having much deserved rest post the October deadline. Of course, the timing and the manner of showering the ‘charity’ in the form of extension of the date of filing corporate return do leave a bitter taste. At the cost of repetition, I must say that I fail to understand why an amendment or a change – that too, a procedural one – always has to be a complicated exercise, full of drama with last minute suspense and tension, when the very same exercise can certainly be done in a smooth and timely manner. The sorry episode this time really makes one wonder whether the time has come to have a serious dialogue with the authorities to resolve the issue of such type of situations. At least, combined voices of the professionals scattered all over India deserve better treatment and respect.

However, the world moves on, and so is the CTC; which is buzzed with activities. We have chalked out varied programmes for the coming months. The column "The Chamber News" of this issue carries announcements in this regard. The emphasis this time is to structure each of the programmes in such a way that it gives feeling of satisfaction to the participants. The programmes are designed keeping in mind practical utilities for practising professionals. I sincerely solicit your views and suggestions as well as feedback on all aspects of the programmes; from the venue, timing etc. to the topics covered. The programmes are designed for the members, by the members. As such, your feedback on those issues is of immense value.

The seminar on "Assessment Proceedings – Legal & Practical Aspects", scheduled to be held on 18-11-2006, deals with a very important – but very often underestimated and overlooked – area of learning. Most of us take this vital exercise of assessment for granted, as if there is hardly anything to learn on this aspect. But you will be amazed to know that it is not so. In fact, a small mistake, a small lapse, a small innocuous looking statement or averment made during the proceeding – or absence thereof – may make a lot of difference. One should always keep in mind the fact that more often than not, it is very difficult to cure or overcome a mistake committed during assessment stage, at appellate stage. As such, the importance to learn about legal and practical aspects concerning assessment proceedings can hardly be overemphasized.

An area of law, which is gaining much importance, is stamp duty and registration. For these topics, unfortunately, there is not much reference book or material to come to the rescue of tax professionals. Hence the importance of the Lecture Meeting on "Recent issues under the Bombay Stamp Act and Registration Act" on 7-12-2006. Similar is the case regarding laws of succession and family arrangement & partition. A half-day seminar dealing with these topics is scheduled on 10-2-2007.

Section 80IB(10) concerning housing industry is raging with controversies. With not much precedent on hand, one really finds it difficult to deal with the varied complex issues arising out of this provision. The Lecture meeting on "Housing Projects & Section 80IB(10) of Income-tax Act, 1961 – Current Issues" scheduled on 12-1-2007 attempts to douse some of the burning problems.

One of the flagship programmes of the CTC has been Education Course. This pioneering programme – which is found worth emulating – enters 19th year. The Course, starting from 6th January 2007, focuses this time on Fundamental concepts & recent controversies covering almost entire charging sections of the Act.

A new and innovative initiative is being taken by organizing Orientation Course on International Taxation, to cater to the needs of those who want to grasp the basics of international taxation. The course is scheduled to start from December 2006.

The much awaited RRC this time is to be held at Mahabaleshwar, the Queen of hills, taking into consideration the suggestion given by many members to hold RRC this time at a nearby place. The RRC is a ‘power packed’ one, with a galaxy of paper writers, speakers, Chairmen and Trustees of the Brain Trust; certainly, a very good value for money. Please enroll at the earliest as the capacity of the venue is limited.

These are, of course, a few of the programmes, apart from regular Study Group and Study Circle meetings, which are scheduled in pursuit of our goal to spread education. I look forward to your participation in the programmes and hope that you will find them useful and fulfilling.