LEARNING EVENTS AT BCAS

1. MEETING ON COMPANY LAW: SCHEDULE III AND CARO

On 7th April, 2023, the Students Forum under the auspices of the HRD Committee organised a virtual’ Students’ Study Circle meeting on the topic “Company Law: Schedule III and CARO”.

In her presentation, CA Nidhi Patade, explained the Schedule III and applicability. The main focus of the session was on the disclosure aspects under the schedule and challenges thereon.

Under the guidance of the mentor CA Vijay Gajaria, important disclosures requirement such as Benami Properties disclosure, promoters’ shareholding, property plant and equipment, trade payable, etc. were discussed in detail along with format and
examples.

Applicability of CARO 2020, its applicability and clauses were also discussed with a CARO report for better understanding of students.

The interactive session also addressed the questions raised by the participants.

The Students’ Study Circle program is designed in a way to train students under the guidance of the Mentor.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlFlrOxniWk

2. SUBURBAN STUDY CIRCLE MEETING ON “ANALYSIS OF SECTION 45(4) AND 9B OF INCOME TAX ACT, 1961”

Suburban Study Circle Meetings on “Analysis of Section 45(4) and 9B of Income Tax Act, 1961”, held in two parts, were addressed by CA Upamanyu Manjrekar as a Group Leader and chaired by CA Amit Sawant.

CA. Manjrekar made an insightful presentation with inputs from Sawant and shared his views on the following:

• Applicability of Section 45(4) and 9B
• Comparative analysis of erstwhile Section 45(4), new Section 9B and Section 45(4)
• Case studies illustrating operation of provisions
• Interpretational issues such as determination of nature of capital gains
• Insightful discussion on Supreme Court case of ‘The Commissioner of Income Tax vs. M/s. Mansukh Dyeing and Printing Mills’
• Process to be followed in case of double taxability
• Supreme Court judgment on applicability of Section 45(4) of the Income Tax Act in cases of subsisting partners of a partnership, transferring the assets in favor of a retiring partner.

The session was knowledgeable, practical and all the points were very well covered with numerous case studies to make it simpler for the group.

Both sessions had wonderful interactive participation from the group. Large number of queries from the participants were satisfactorily addressed by CA. Manjrekar. The participants also benefited from the elaborate presentation shared by the group leader

3. XII^TH RESIDENTIAL STUDY COURSE ON IND AS

The Accounting and Auditing Committee of the BCAS organised the XIIth Residential Study Course (RSC) on Ind AS (in physical mode) at The Dukes Retreat, Khandala which was attended by 66 participants from across India.Welcoming the participants, CA Mihir Sheth, President, BCAS mentioned that the topics selected for the RSC were of great importance to the accounting and auditing fraternity and requested the participants to derive the maximum benefits. He concluded by giving his best wishes for the success of the RSC.

In his opening remarks, CA Manish Sampat, Chairman, Accounting and Auditing Committee traced the history of the previous RRCs and gave a broad overview of the structure and topics selected for the current RSC and thought process behind the same.

The RSC comprised three engaging papers for Group discussion along with two interesting presentation papers and an excellent Panel discussion.

The paper for group discussions comprised following topics:

• Case studies on the Intricate issues of Ind As Standards across Industries
• Case Studies on Consolidated Financial Statements (Ind AS 110) and Business Combinations (Ind AS 103)
•  Case Studies on Intricacies in Financial Instruments (Ind AS 32 and Ind AS 109)

Presentation Papers comprised following topics:

• Recent Development in Global Reporting Framework
• ESG- Concepts and Reporting

A Panel discussion was organized on:

Preparing for Regulatory Challenges and Managing Stakeholders’ expectations in Auditing. The Panel discussion gave the perspective from the viewpoint of Auditors, Audit Committee Representative and the Industry. It was very well moderated to generate interesting discussion.

The Auditor perspective was shared by CA Ashutosh Pednekar. The Audit Committee perspective was represented by CA Sanjay Khemani while the industry perspective was shared by CA Raj Mullick. The session was moderated by CA Raman Jokhakar.

Other speakers at the event included CA Dr. Anand Banka, CA Parag Kulkarni, CA Sarvesh Warty, CA Himanshu Kishnadwala and CA Raj Mullick.

The RSC concluded with closing remarks by the Chairman. He thanked all those who contributed to making the RSC a grand success. He also invited some of the participants to share their experience of the RSC and feedback.

4. WORKSHOP ON APPROACH TO LITIGATION UNDER GST

The Indirect Tax Committee organised a full day workshop on “Approach to Litigation under GST” covering the entire gamut of litigation under GST. The workshop received 190 registrations (109 members and 81 non-members). 70 participants attended physically while 113 attended virtually.The tone of the session was set by the key-note address delivered by Vipin Jain, Advocate by sharing important anecdotes from the experience he encountered during his legal carrier.

In the first technical session, Mr Deepak Mata, Dy. Commissioner explained how Department using AI/ML through different softwares obtains various data to identify instances of tax evasion and takes necessary actions. The inputs from Mr Mata gave an insight to the participants as to how the Department receives information from various sources, such as the income tax department, MCA, fast-tag, etc., to unearth tax-evasion and helped them understand the need to be careful while advising clients keeping various aspects in mind.

In the second technical session, Rinkey Jassuja, Advocate explained the provisions relating to notices under section 73 & 74, taking the audience through the necessary provisions, and explaining the ingredients which are necessary for a valid SCN and points to be captured while responding to the SCN.

The third session was addressed by CA. S S Gupta who gave the participants an insight into the appeal provisions, including pre-deposit and instances when a taxpayer should opt for writ route to get relief from High Court. He also dealt with the provisions related to condonation of delay and the importance of timely filing of appeal.

In the last session, Vinay Jain, Advocate, took up live case studies on various issues faced by businesses, such as GSTR-3B vs. GSTR-2A mismatch, circular trading, taxability of leasehold rights, cross-charge, etc.

The group leader of the Indirect Tax Study Circle, CA Deepali Mehta conducted a meeting to discuss seven case studies addressing the practical issues in reporting vis-à-vis turnover for applicability of turnover for e-Invoice, and other practical issues in e-Way Bills and e-Invoices. The presentation and discussion broadly covered the intricacies on the following topics:1.    Determination of turnover for e-Invoice while considering the specific transactions of WDV as per the Income Tax Act.

2.    Procedural lapse in the generation of e-Invoice and subsequent issues of credit eligibility, applicability of penalties thereon, if any

3.    Turnover issues for considering e-Invoicing when part of the services are exempted from generating e-Invoices

4.    Expiry of e-Way bill due to technical issue of conveyance like flat tyre, engine break down, etc. Penalty was paid under DRC-03 but whether same can be appealed later on to recover the same to prove the bonafide or any other remedy available to the registered person.

Determination of Jurisdiction against confiscation orders of goods in transit, whether in source state, destination state or transit state.

Issue of multiple e-Way bill in a single transaction of transshipment, whether updations will suffice or if PO is cancelled by recipient during the transit, then the issues emanating out of the same.

80 participants from all over India took an active part in the threadbare discussion on the seven detailed case studies and issues discussed with reference to various clarificatory circulars, jurisprudence including recent judgment in relation to Karanatak VAT for similar factors of tax invoice and collective discussion.

The HRD Committee of the Study Circle organised a hybrid meeting on the topic ‘Life and Breath’ on 14th March, 2023, by Shri Pravin Mankar.The discussion at the meeting revolved around the thought: ‘Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale. Do we really live? Are we aware of our Breath? Are we conscious of our breathing and breathing habits?’

Listed Below a few points/glimpses from the teaching imparted at the meeting:

1.    Pneuma, Breath of Life, is the natural life of the body.

2.    CA’s got interested in this subject because health is very important to be able to function physically.

3.    A fundamental law: debit the receiver and credit the giver.

4.    Life is about how to balance in order to be successful.

5.    Following important terms were discussed at the meeting:

a)    We are not aware of how much we receive.

b)    Who is receiving, who is giving, we are receiving, Universe is giving. If I receive more and give less or if I give more and receive less, there will be an imbalance.

c)    Give and Take is the law of life. We cannot keep receiving, we have to learn to give also. You can’t even take a breath without giving out breath. Try to continuously inhale.

d)    Law is the existence of a condition irrespective of circumstances.

e)    Life – Dharma.  Be clear of what you collect, you can give away what you collect. If you collect goodies you can give them out, if you collect rubbish, that’s what you’ll be able to give out to the society.

f)    Karma follows the law of Cause and Effect or reap as you sow.

g)   Dharma is the purpose for which you were born. Most of us don’t know why we were born.

h)    Disease is being ill at ease, physically or mentally.

Explore these points and correlate to life and breath.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofgTAk0UXxo

7. WORKSHOP ON PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF AUDIT FOR SME PRACTITIONERS.

A two-day hybrid workshop was held from 10th and 11th March, 2023 at the BCAS auditorium to comprehensively deal with various important and practical aspects of auditing for SME entities. The aim of workshop was to help SME practitioners improve the overall quality of audit, avoid pitfalls and make them aware of certain important aspects in audit. The workshop was attended by 35 participants in person and other 18 participants through virtual mode.The workshop started with the topic: ‘Standards on Auditing – Practical aspects and important considerations SQC-1, AQMM. CA Rajesh Mody covered overall Audit Strategy and touched upon important SAs based on his more than 25 years of experience in identifying and assessing the Risk of Material Misstatements (ROMMS) by being aware to sniff the red flags and respond to the same to obtain Sufficient and Appropriate Audit Evidences (SAAE) in order to arrive at the conclusion for opining on the true and fairness of Financial Statement. He also covered briefly the SQC-1 and AQMM besides answering the queries raised by the participants.

The next session was on ‘Practical Challenges – CARO Reporting’ by CA Tejas Parikh. The speaker touched upon important 8- 10 items in CARO reporting and dealt with peculiar aspects of those items and how the auditors have dealt with and reported the same in the 2022 audited accounts based on the Published Results of listed entities.

After lunch, the third session on FRRB/QRB Observations on Financial Statements, Learnings from NFRA Orders on Audit Reviews, Procedures, and Documentation commenced. Moderated by CA Amit Purohit, the session aimed to  create awareness amongst the participants to realize the importance of complying with the SA and avoid the pitfalls as observed by NFRA, FRRB and QRB.

The last session was on practical aspects on SA-320 Materiality determination, SA-315, SA-330 – Risk Assessment and Auditors response, SA-450 – Evaluation of misstatements identified during Audit by CA Nikhil Patel. The standards covered were the most fundamental and the backbone of all quality audits.

The day two of the workshop began with the SAs covering all reporting aspects of audit including SA-700 series on Audit Conclusions and Reporting and SA-265 – Communicating deficiencies on Internal Control evaluation by CA Ajit Vishwanath. He dealt with all the reporting standards very lucidly and explained important considerations with practical examples. His session was well received by the participants.

The next session SA-530 – Audit sampling, SA- 300 Planning an Audit, SA-230 Audit Documentation and peer review readiness was moderated by CA Harshvardhan Dossa. He explained provisions with real life case studies besides demonstrating how the samples are derived, the Audit Program, how the things are documented and the real folder management.. The participants appreciated the session.

Post lunch the session was on SA 520 – Analytical Procedures and use of Technology in Conducting Audit by CA Gautam Shah. The speaker demonstrated how simple tools like excel can be used to carry out various kinds of analysis to identify the red flags and outliers and then carry out audit procedures to obtain SAAE to derive quality results. He also demonstrated many real life case studies wherein he had used the analysis and arrived at quality samples for minimizing the risk of material misstatement (ROMM). He also named few specialised software for the benefit of the participants. The last session of two days’ workshop was on use of Tally features for conducting an effective Audit by CA Anand Paurana. The speaker demonstrated on live tally data and explained the features available in Tally ERP which can help auditor execute certain important audit procedures and derive meaningful samples for conducting quality audit thereby minimizing the ROMM. He also answered the issue raised by the participants.

The two-day workshop concluded with vote of thanks.

The Taxation Committee organised a Workshop on Penalties under Income Tax Act 1961. The Workshop was divided into two parts. The first part of the workshop was held on 19th January 2023 and the second on 27th January, 2023.The speaker of the Workshop, CA Jagdish Punjabi educated the participants about the recent amendments made in the penalty provisions. He gave an overview of the provisions of sections 271AAC, 271AAD, 271D, 271DA, 271E, 271J and sections 270A, 270AA, 273B.

CA. Jagdish Punjabi highlighted the distinctive features between the erstwhile penal provisions and the amended penal provisions. He pointed out various technical issues in the erstwhile penal provisions which have been plugged in the new provisions.

The speaker further enlightened the participants about various points which one needs to keep in mind while replying to notices issued for levying penalty under various provisions.

The workshop got an overwhelming response.