APRIL 26, 2010
By TIOL News Service
IT was the evening of Friday the 23rd April, 2010 and the venue was Silver Oak, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road , New Delhi. The event was the grand celebration of Taxindiaonline.com's tenth anniversary and the inaugural launch of Taxindiainternational.com.
The evening unfolded with the arrival of guests - top executives of trade and industry, former bigwigs of the Revenue Boards, top tax lawyers and consultants and within minutes the hall was packed to the brim and overflowing into the corridors of India Habitat Centre.
The star dignitaries – Mr SSN Moorthy, CBDT Chairman, Mr. V. Sridhar, CBEC Chairman, Mr. Sunil Mitra, Guest of Honour - Revenue Secretary, Dr. Swati Piramal, President ASSOCHAM, several Members of the Revenue Boards and senior officers arrived at the venue and awaited the arrival of the Chief Guest for the evening, Hon'ble Union Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr Salman Khurshid.
With the arrival of the Hon'ble Minister, the event took off in style with the Editor-in-Chief felicitating the dignitaries and inviting them to grace the podium.
Mr. Shailendra Kumar, Founder-Editor delivered the welcome address to the august gathering. He recounted the early days of TIOL and the eventful decade that passed by in shaping TIOL as one of the top rated websites in the field of taxation. He spoke of the internet revolution that spread to the length and breadth of the country in the last decade and a half putting India behind the United States of America and China. He further stressed the need for a dedicated website to disseminate information in the field of international taxation and the void that could be filled with the launch of Taxindiainternational.com, which would help in opening up the nitty-gritty of the prevalent tax legislation for cross border transactions in India to the world.
A short film on the evolution of TIOL was played to the audience. Eminent tax lawyers and corporate personalities recounted the contribution of TIOL in bridging the time-lag in delivery of information emanating from the North Block to the trade and industry, which helped in keeping them up to date with the latest in the field of taxation laws.
Dr. Swati Piramal, President, ASSOCHAM, in her address stressed the need for a simplified approach to administration of tax laws by the officials and expressed the hope that the forthcoming reforms in tax laws with the introduction of a new Direct Tax Code and roll-out of GST, would pave the way for transparency in administration of tax laws in the country. She called for greater partnership between the tax administrators and tax payers which could help in paving the way for achieving the desired growth in Indian Economy.
Mr. D P Sengupta, Former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and the Consulting Editor of Taxindiainternational.com stressed the importance of a portal exclusively for international taxation. He observed that with integration of Indian economy into global economy, the challenges in understanding the complexities of cross border transactions have grown manifold and stressed the need for a robust administration of international tax laws in India. In this context, he elaborated the relevance of TII, which would help in spreading awareness to the world about the latest developments in the field of international taxation in India .
Mr. SSN Moorthy, Chairman, CBDT, spoke of the importance in understanding the nuances of international taxation in the ever-evolving complex trade transactions in a globalized world. He highlighted the need for a structured evolution of international tax language and spoke of bridging the gap between tax administration and tax payers with introduction of the new Direct Tax Code. He said that the experience proved that the transfer pricing provisions of the Indian Tax Laws are appreciated all over the world and they are keen to learn more about the methods followed by the Indian Tax authorities. The interpretative skills of the Indian taxmen, though sometimes litigious are also appreciated. He said there is a need to take the Indian experience to the outside world and understand the “emerging tax language” for which the new international portal would be the right platform.
Mr. V. Sridhar, Chairman, CBEC, recounted the reach of TIOL in disseminating information and how he came to know of his change in portfolio in the Board through TIOL on one of his visits abroad. He also spoke of a pilot project from WCO whereby the export documents of one country getting accepted in the country of import. The project is taken up on an experimental basis in a few European nations and based on the feedback and its success he hoped that it could be replicated in India and the rest of the world. He highlighted the efforts of TIOL in bridging the divide and spelt that there are potential opportunities for TIOL in associating with CBEC and WCO in developing an electronic Customs Tariff in India which could help in providing product wise information on effective tax rates that would ultimately benefit the traders in obtaining the latest information online.
The Guest of Honour, Mr. Sunil Mitra, Revenue Secretary, released the souvenir on this occasion titled ‘2010 – Celebrating ten years of Taxindiaonline.com'. In his address to the august gathering, he mentioned the need for greater awareness in the field of international taxation and the contribution of the Revenue Board in mopping up significant revenues from cross border transactions in India . He called for greater awareness within the trade in understanding the international tax laws prevailing in India and hoped that the launch of Taxindiainternational.com at this opportune moment would fill the void in integrating the Indian economy into the world economy in the field of international taxation.
The Chief Guest, Hon'ble Minister, Mr. Salman Khurshid, launched the ‘Taxindiainternational.com' with the click of a button amidst thundering applause from the audience and the dignitaries on the podium. On this occasion, he recounted his days as a student of law in Oxford University and recalled his association with Prof. Venables a man totally engrossed in the world of taxation and dedicated even his spare time to the field of taxation. The Minister recalled that though he is a lawyer by qualification his days in Oxford were the only time where he was remotely associated with tax. He made it known that apart from his other qualifications as a lawyer, politician, and writer, he is also an honest tax payer. He recalled that his venerated Professor would show the least interest in outdoor or indoor sports but would engross himself in tax games - a duel to solve complex tax related problems by competing individuals in the shortest possible time. He exhorted TIOL to conduct Tax Olympiad on the lines of Math Olympiad and Physics Olympiad and promised to inaugurate the first Olympiad as and when it is conceived and executed in the near future. He acknowledged the contribution of both the Revenue Boards in collection of taxes. He wished that Taxindiaonline.com and Taxindiainternational.com would serve the stakeholders with dedication and purpose.
Mr. Vijay Kumar, Editor-in-Chief compered the programme and proposed the vote of thanks to the dignitaries and welcomed the guests to the gala dinner that followed this event.
TIOL 10th Anniversary + TII Launch Album
