IT: The Tribunal had made
certain observations about CA profession, the conduct of students pursuing the
CA courses and also about the ICAI in its order. ICAI was of the view that such
observations of ITAT had been viewed by public at large that ITAT had found
fault with conduct of ICAI. Thus, ICAI filed miscellaneous application for
removal of such observations. ITAT was of the view that such observations had
not conveyed the intended message, thus, it replaced that paragraph (containing
such observation) of its order.- Vijay V. Meghani v. ACIT [2015]
61
taxmann.com 114 (Mumbai - Trib.)
Facts:
a)
The Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India (ICAI) had filed this miscellaneous application with the
submissions that some of the observations made by the Tribunal in case of Vijay
V. Meghani v. Dy. CIT [2014] 49 taxmann.com 88 (Mumbai - Trib.) had
resulted in a mistake apparent from record and, hence, the same needs
rectification under Section 254(2) of the Income-Tax Act.
b)
The Ld. Counsel appearing for
ICAI had submitted that Tribunal had made certain observations about CA
profession, the conduct of students pursuing the CA courses and also about the
ICAI in the impugned order. Such observations made by the Tribunal in paragraph
9.6 of the order had been interpreted or understood by the public at large in a
manner that the Tribunal had found fault with the conduct of the ICAI.
Accordingly, he submitted that such observations made by the Tribunal had led
to unintended results affecting reputation of ICAI.
c) Paragraph
9.6 is reproduced below:
If it is presumed for a
moment that all the C .A.s have concurred with the said view, then it only
shows that the C .A profession is losing its grip over the Income tax matters,
which is another cause of concern for ICAI…
We notice that the ICAI
does not appear to have taken steps to contain mushrooming growth of such
coaching institutes, which indulge in manufacturing of Chartered Accountants
through class room model, which may ultimately have undesirable effect on the
quality of Chartered Accountants, since the habit of thinking, introspection,
application of mind is replaced by spoon-feeding, which kind of teaching
discourages independent thinking…
Any compromise on the
quality of Chartered Accountants would not only affect our Country very badly,
but is also expected to endanger the pioneer position enjoyed by the Indian C.A
fraternity vis-à-vis their counter parts in other parts of the world. In our
view, the ICAI should seriously take note of these alarming practices slowly
emerging in our Country and should take appropriate corrective steps, lest the
confidence reposed in C .A.s by the public should get diluted”.
Held:
1) The observations made by the
Tribunal about the CA profession and conduct of the students pursuing the CA
course were not necessary to adjudicate the issues that were urged before the
Tribunal by the appellant, Sri Vijay V Meghani. However, the Tribunal being a
part of Government of India, should not shut its eyes when it notices that
certain developments occurring in the Country may affect the Country as a
whole, more particularly when the reputation of particular profession, from
whom the Tribunal is getting assistance in the dispensation of justice, is at
stake. There cannot be any controversy that the interest of our Country is supreme
and no citizen can or should compromise on the same. The observations were made
in the impugned order in that context only and it was not the intention to
target any particular person or the ICAI.
3)
According to Ld. Counsel, the
said observations had given room for misinterpretation and resultant
controversies. Accordingly, the paragraph 9.6 of the order was modified as
under:
“However, if it is
considered for a moment that the above said C.A. firm has really given such
advice to the assessee herein and accordingly it has furnished the letter and
affidavit, then it is
“However, if it is
considered for a moment that the above said C.A. firm has really given such
advice to the assessee herein and accordingly it has furnished the letter and
affidavit, then it is
a cause of concern to one
and all. We have already noticed that the self study model coupled with
„on-site articled clerk training‟ embedded in the Chartered
Accountancy course aims to achieve high quality education and training. The
articled clerk training conceptualized in the C.A education inculcate the habit
of thinking, self introspection, application of mind, analytical ability etc
and they enable the C.A students to have strong grip over the subjects and help
achieving expertise in the domain fields. The commendable feature of the C.A
Course is that, as stated earlier, the C.A students are given training by
practicing Chartered Accountants during their articled clerk training program.
Thus the methodology adopted by the ICAI enables the C.A. students to become
thorough professionals with versatile knowledge and innovative mind. The
practical training given by the practicing Chartered Accountants during the
articled clerk period, in our view, is the fulcrum centre of the study module
of the C.A course and the students pursuing the C.A course should and must
utilize the opportunities provided to them or encountered by them during the
articled clerk training period to the maximum possible extent. In the recent
past, a number of Coaching institutes have been established to give coaching to
the students pursuing C.A course. While the self study model and articled clerk
training may be supplemented with the coaching given by such institutes, any
compromise on the practical training intended during articled clerk period or
mere obtaining a C.A degree without practical training would not make the
students full fledged chartered accountants and the same would go against the
self study model conceptualized by ICAI and there should not be any doubt that
it may have undesired results, which may affect the Country as a whole.”
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