1. Suburban Study Circle Meeting on “Navigating the New Income Tax Bill, TDS, Deductions & Critical Provisions” on Thursday, 13^th March, 2025 and at C/o SHBA & Co. LLP, Andheri (E), Mumbai.

Suburban Study Circle Meeting on “Navigating the New Income Tax Bill, TDS, Deductions & Critical Provisions”, was led by CA Upamanyu Manjrekar & CA SnehalMayacharya, where they delved into critical amendments in the Income Tax framework, with a focus on TDS, deductions, and key provisions. The discussion highlighted changes in terminology, procedural updates, and practical implications for businesses and professionals.

Key changes discussed included:

• Modifications in Income Tax Bill Wording – Minor yet impactful changes in phraseology, altering interpretation and compliance requirements.
• TDS Revisions – Updates on applicability, rates, and compliance, including sector-specific changes.
• Procedural & Compliance Changes – New filing requirements, reporting obligations, and penalty structures.
• Impact on Business & Professionals – Discussion on how the amendments affect different taxpayer categories.
• Group Interpretation & Case Studies – Open discussion on ambiguous provisions and their practical implementation.
• Retrospective vs. Prospective Amendments – Debate on whether certain provisions apply retrospectively or prospectively.
• Practical Challenges & Solutions – Addressing common compliance difficulties and suggested best practices. The session was highly interactive, with participants engaging in insightful discussions and real-world case studies. CA Upamanyu Manjrekar & CA SnehalMayacharya provided clear explanations, ensuring attendees left with a well-rounded understanding of the amendments and their implications.

2.  HRD Study Circle on The Secret Formula of Successful ENTREPRENEURS on Tuesday, 11^th March, 2025 @ Virtual.

The Human Resources Development Committee Organised a Talk on Topic “The Secret Formula of Successful ENTREPRENEURS” on 11^th March, 2025. Faculty Mr. Walter Vieira

The takeaways from the workshop are briefly given below:

1.  Comparing entrepreneur with a turtle he quoted James Byrant Conant who said – “Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”All cannot be entrepreneurs. Those who stick their neck out — take risk, have perseverance, conviction in their idea and believe in themselves could become excellent entrepreneurs
2.  Entrepreneurship is a process of creating something new and needs deep study of business environment backed up by Fundable business plan.
3.  There is a certain degree ofaptitude and attitude that is needed to do business and move further as Entrepreneur

They are

a) Creativity and flexibility b) Resilience c) Humility to accept success and failure d) Perseverance e) Spirit of adventure f) People skills with a back-up technical knowledge in the subject

There were 167 participants who attended the meeting and good number of them asked questions which were well answered by the faculty.

3. Indirect Tax Laws Study Circle Meeting on Tuesday, 25^th February, 2025, @ Virtual

The Group Leader & the Group Mentor introduced the participants to the topic and dealt with the relevant provisions & clarifications before proceeding to the case studies covering the following contentious & practical issues on the topic:

1. Can an application be filed u/s 128A filed when there is a demand for only interest & penalty?
2. Distinction between self-assessed liability and whether section 128A can be invoked if an Order is passed confirming demand for such self-assessed liability?
3. Practical challenges in adjusting liability when payment is made in GSTR-3B / pre-deposit while filing an appeal / third party recovery against DRC-13.
4. In case of appeal Order, section 128A application to be filed against the appeal Order or adjudication order?
5. Is section 128A option available if the Appeal Authority remands the matter?
6. Can application for rectification of order for demand confirmed for multiple points, including section 16 (4) be filed?
7. Can the rectification order for demand confirmed u/s 16 (4) go beyond the scope of the original notice?
8. Availability of refund of pre-deposit paid in case of successful appeal order for demand u/s 16 (4)

The meeting was attended by 50 members. The participants appreciated the efforts of the Group Leader and Group Mentors.

4. Tarang 2K25 – The 17^th Jal ErachDastur CA Students’ Annual Day on Saturday, 22^nd February, 2025 @ M M Pupils Own School — Khar.

The completion of the November 2024 CA exams commenced the preparations for the grand Tarang 2k25. The stage was set for the awe-inspiring event to happen, and it was when the Students’ Team and members of the Human Resource Development Committee (HRD) met to re-write the success story of the marvellous legacy of the past 16 years.

The 17^th year of Jal ErachDastur CA Students’ Annual Day under the brand of ‘Tarang’ had to be engaging, enthralling, and magnificent. With this mission in mind, the Students’ Team started upon the journey for delightful Tarang 2k25 under the requisite guidance of CA MihirSheth, CA DnyaneshPatade, CA Jigar Shah, and CA Utsav Shah. MsPrachi Shah and Mr Paras Doshi were appointed as the student coordinators.

Tarang, when described, is an ecstatic annual CA students’ celebration mainly intended to provide a platform for CA students to unleash their talent and creativity in areas of public speaking, writing skills, performing arts, business, technical, and innovative skills. Additionally, the event also intends to act as an insight and potential gateway into the real world outside academic books by providing access and tutelage by skilled and experienced leaders in the form of participation in various fields with a view to building interpersonal and team-building skills with an opportunity to fraternize and network with hundreds of like-minded students.

The event was organized under the auspices of the HRD Committee of BCAS. All meetings were held in offline and online format. The event was supported by a total of 30 volunteers. Tarang 2k25 completely changed the dull and monotonous perception regarding CA students when they were witnessed as event managers, anchors, talented dancers, and photographers too!

As intended, it was truly an event ‘Of CA Students, By CA Students and For CA students.’

Tarang 2k25, to our surprise, saw a huge enrollment of around 350 students despite the pending due dates. There were an overall 165 participants in Tarang 2k25, along with the highest number of participants in the ‘Treasure Hunt’ too. The event became very popular, and we received huge enrollments along with amazing ideas that were pitched to the judges, which were worth the watch.

Also for the very first time Mock Stock exchange was organised specially for CA students where around 75 students participated.

The 17^th Jal ErachDastur CA Students’ Annual Day – ‘Tarang 2K25’ elimination rounds were held at the BCAS Hall on the 15^th and 16^th of February 2025, To keep the fun going and the crowd engaged, the students’ team had organized various online games and networking sessions, This provided a unique opportunity for all the participants to build a productive and constructive network along with a lot of fun too.

The Grand Finale of Tarang 2k25 was held at MM Pupils School, Khar on the 22-2-25 from 3 pm onwards. We were delighted to have Bank of Baroda as the sole sponsor for the prizes of the winners of the various games and quizzes held offline. Arrangements for various exciting games were made to engage and build excitement among the audience before the event’s commencement.

The grand finale commenced at 3 pm with the lighting of the divine lamp by the HRD Committee with the Ganesh Vandana and Saraswati Vandana being played in the background to seek blessings and express gratitude to Lord Ganesh and Maa Saraswati.

The winners of the competition representing their firms were announced as follows:

Invest, Conquer, Compete (Mock Stock Exchange) – Winning Team – Dikshant Pandiyan, Jainil Sheth and Priyansh Jindal

Reel Making Competition ‘Shutter Stories’ – Sushil Khubchandani

Photography Competition ‘The Capture Challenge ’ – Anjali Vaishya

Antakshari Competition – ‘Suronke Maharathi’ Winning Team – NikunjPatel ,Harshita Dave and Rahul Jaiswar

Debate Competition – ‘The Battle Of Perspectives’ Winning Team – Sanjog Shah, Jainam Doshi, Vedant Agarwal and Madhur Bhartiya

Best Debater – Vedant Agarwal

The Rotating Trophy went to – Vedant Agarwal (SRBC and Co)

Talk Tastic – Winner – Piyush Gupta

2nd – Neha Agnihotri

3rd – Sejal Bagda

The Rotating Trophy went to – Piyush Gupta (DBS Bank)

Essay Writing Competition – ‘Pen- Power- Play’ 1st Prize Winner – Dhairya Thakkar

2nd Prize Winner – Neha Agnihotri

3rd Prize Winner – JesikaSahaya

The Rotating Trophy went to – Dhairya Thakkar (JHS Associates)

Talent Show ‘CA’s Got Talent’ Best Performer – Music Category – YashLadha

Best Performer – Instruments Category – Mithil Category

Best Performer – Dancing Category – The JDians

Best Performer – Other Performing Arts Category – Param Savijani and Rishit Raithatha

Pirates Plunder (Treasure Hunt) winners – Rushi Ghuge, Siddharth Gada and Yash Khalse

Hearty Congratulations to all the winners and their firms.

The euphoric evening was superbly anchored by the Master of Ceremony with their unmatched energy and mind-boggling acts to keep the audience engaged throughout the event.

With the 17^th edition reaching new milestones and the scale increasing, all eyes are now set on what the anticipated 18^th edition would have to offer. One thing is clear, the sky will not be the limit for the goals set to be achieved.

II. BCAS Quoted in News & Media

BCAS has been quoted in various esteemed news and media platforms, reflecting our thought leadership and commitment to the profession. For details

Link: https://bcasonline.org/bcas-in-news/