The Hindu Business Line : <I>CAs on the warpath </I>

Chartered accountants are an angry lot these days and their ire is directed at the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, and his latest Budget. Mr Chidambaram has taxed certain services rendered by the CAs which were exempt from the service tax. And in doing that, he has inadvertently favoured lawyers.

From this year, if a CA represents a client before an Income-Tax or any other revenue official, his services will attract 12.5 per cent service tax. But that should not have been a bother as the tax is passed through to the client. What is worrying the CAs is that the client has the option of choosing a tax lawyer instead to represent him before the tax authorities and, for reasons that he has not elaborated, the Finance Minister is yet to extend the service tax net to cover lawyers.

Which, in effect, means that the lawyer would cost at least 12.5 per cent less than a CA. Despite throwing dark hints that Mr Chidambaram is himself a lawyer of eminence and hence his benevolence to own community, the CAs got no relief from the Finance Minister.

Incidentally, Mr Chidambaram has been asked about this omission on many occasions and he dodged the issue with a tongue-in-cheek comment that "many believe lawyers don't provide any service". Subsequently, he hinted that the service tax net might cover them too.

SPARRING GAME

Still on the Budget, a subtle game of one-upmanship was played out between the Finance Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker earlier this week. Once the Finance Bill got through the House, a pleased Mr Chidambaram turned to the Speaker and exclaimed that this was possibly one occasion when the Bill was approved with the least number of amendments.

The Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, did not let that pass. "What is that supposed to mean,'' he asked with a faint smile playing on his lips. Those who got the game understood that Mr Chatterjee, who belongs to the CPI(M), was making the point that perhaps because of the pressure of the Left parties, the Finance Minister had to be restrained in his Budget presentation and had included only those changes which would pass muster with the alliance partners.

FORMAL OR INFORMAL?

The British surely have strange protocols. This March the British High Commissioner's social calendar has been quite full, what with a series of visits by British dignitaries and the England cricket team.

So came one invitation to dinner in honour of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the Rt. Hon. Alderman David Brewer, CMG, which specified a dress code: Lounge Suit. Fair enough, formal dressing was in order for the meeting with the Lord Mayor of London.

Soon followed another invite, this time for a reception to celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II where Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, would be present, that is Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles. The dress code — informal!

Some Indian guests were left a wee bit bewildered — formal dress code for the Mayor of London and informal dressing for the heir to the British throne.

OUR BUREAU