Resentment Towards FMO’s Approach on Direct-Indirect Taxes & Corporate Affairs: CAAS

Resentment Towards FMO’s Approach on Direct-Indirect Taxes & Corporate Affairs: CAAS

To,

The Finance Minister,

134, North Block,

New Delhi – 110011

Sub: Resentment towards Approach of FMO on Direct-Indirect Taxes & Corporate Affairs

Respected Madam,

Your good self may be already aware of Chartered Accountants Association, Surat (CAAS), which works for ensuring best practices in tax compliances vis-à-vis providing better working conditions for our members, Chartered Accountants, their staff members, and the industry (“the Stakeholders”).

As an Association of Professionals, it is unfortunate to write this letter of resentment, which is a direct result of the actions of Government Officials in the North Block, and it seems your good self is under oblivion to flag these actions as unwanted and counter-productive. Madam, with great powers, comes great responsibility, and of which we are well aware as a group of community representatives of nation builders. However, as an elected representative, we highly advise your good self to tread with caution with these ultimate powers of finance and economy. We are an association of CAs from Surat, the 9th largest city of India and the fastest growing city of India.

We are writing this letter to apprise you of the ground realities, the grievances, hardships experienced by the Small and Medium Practitioners (SMPs), the Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and their staff members respectively. Such realities would even not be dug out by the government intelligence offices, despite spending time and money on the same. We are simply a voice on behalf of this stakeholder and none of our office bearers have any personal interest in criticizing FMO actions and policies, but they stem out on account of the following:

1. Actions ultra-vires the Citizen’s Charter:

The Citizen’s Charter recently unveiled in the year 2020 states as follows: The Charter commits to provide fair, courteous, and reasonable treatment to the taxpayers while expecting the taxpayers to be honest and compliant. However, we feel that either we have failed to comprehend the meaning of fair, courteous, and reasonable treatment of the tax payers or the Income Tax Department’s actions are ultra-vires the Citizen’s Charter. Your good self needs to take corrective action for the same.

2. Deteriorated working standards and health of the stakeholders:

Chartered Accountants Association, Surat (CAAS), as its annual ritual organizes comprehensive health checkup programme for the CAs of Surat, usually after the end of hectic Audit Season. In the last 3 years we are astonished by the findings to see that:

• Nearly all CAs have a heavy deficiency of Vitamin D3
• Most CAs have higher Cholesterol Levels

Apart from the findings of health checkups, most CAs have developed hypertension, insomnia, diabetes, liver, and cardiac diseases, on account of their sedentary work environment. Similar is the condition of employees of the client staff. People are held hostage in a cyber-world with a ransom in the form of Late Fees and Interest and a threat to levy a penalty or to initiate prosecution. No other words better describe the situation than the term “Tax Terrorism”.

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