My dear and respected fellow members in the AIFTP Family.

This is your President once again before you to say a hello to all of you.

Since the last message we have seen a lot of developments taking place on the direct taxation front and the hottest topic of today is the Income Disclosure Scheme, 2016 and its impact over the economy of the society. The contents of the scheme have been raising many eye brows across the nation in regard to legal sustainability. Many of our learned members have been on the whats up of the Federation posting their individual opinion and views which of course vary from person to person from the point of perception. Anyway there have been suggestions pouring in impelling upon the need to submit a comprehensive representation to the Finance Ministry pointing out the infirmities flowing out of the scheme. That apart, requests and suggestions are also being emanated from many quarters as to explore the possibility of a court fight on the validity in case the suggestions are not heeded to.

Of course every aspect would be examined from several points of view in consultation with all the stakeholders and ultimately a decision would be taken that would facilitate initiation of appropriate and apt action from AIFTP.

Friends, the pace of membership growth appears to be snailing in which case our target of 1,000 new members by the end of December 2016 would be failing, only to remain as a rightmare where signs for failure appear to be so, we would all work together to see that the target reaches and at times exceeds. We therefore exhort upon all the learned members of the NEC as well as the Managing Committee members from every zone to devote some kind of time for this aspect and help the organisation to reach the goal.

Many of our senior brothers have been articulating their valuable views on the Model GST Draft Bill uploaded on the portal of Ministry of Finance for public domain and we are all waiting for passage of the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2014 pending in the Upper House of Parliament that would only pave the way for introduction of the GST in our country. we hope that as the past experience proved that every transitional change would always benefit the litigation to grow more and more and as such there is nothing to see that would worry the members of the professional fraternity as we all know that law will always be full of loose ends and lacunaes deserving filling up or plug out the loopholes by way of judicial interpretation and clarification. Therefore no member of the professional fraternity be it a legal practitioner or a tax practitioner at the grassroot level to feel any kind of disheartening or desperation on account of the GST to come, if at all if it is destined to visit the Nation, whose success or failure would always depend upon the test of the times.

We once again appeal to one and all to strengthen the hands of the Federation with many more new members and to increase the growth of the journal which is the mouth piece of the Federation on legal education.

Jai Hind

Dr. M. V. K. Moorthy
National President