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Export oriented units get extension of I-T benefit

Duty entitlement passbook scheme to continue for another year

A slew of measures to pep up export of traditional industries hit by the rupee appreciation, major spurs to cut down transaction costs, procedural simplification, extension of the popular duty neutralisation DEPB (Duty Entitlement Pass Book) scheme till May 2009 and also a one-year extension beyond March 2009 in income-tax benefit to 100 per cent export units are outlined in the annual supplement to Foreign Trade policy.

Releasing the final year supplement to the FTA (2004-09) here on Friday, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, announced an export target of $200 billion for the current fiscal, against $155 billion export performance achieved in 2007-08.

He said the achievement fell short by $5 billion due to the effect of an appreciating rupee by more than 12 per cent against the dollar in 2007. If trade in services were added, India’s commercial engagement with the world would be $525 billion, he said.

In order to achieve the export target, Mr Nath announced tax refunds and interest subsidies to a spate of export segments that are labour-intensive in nature such as marine products, leather, textiles and handicrafts and 5 per cent additional duty credit for export of toys and sports goods.

Source and more details at: The Hindu Business Line

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India on Saturday said it is launching a ‘Certificate Course in Accounting Technician’ to cater to junior accounting job requirements in rural areas.

The course is being introduced in both English as well as Hindi languages and the fee is Rs 8,600, the institute said in a statement.

The course has a duration of one year and would have six papers, practical training, orientation programme and computer training.

It is divided into two parts. In the first part, called the Entry Level, a student has to appear for four papers and in the second part — Competency Level — a student has to take two papers.

The first entry level examination will be held in December 2008, it said.

Any student who has completed 10+2 will be eligible for examination at entry level. Commerce graduated would be exempted from entry level.

To meet the growing demand for chartered accountants, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has upped its intake of students.

It admitted a record 125,000 students last year. This year, after exams are conducted in May and November, the institute plans to take an even higher number of students.

As a result, ICAI hopes there will be an annual addition of around 25,000 to the army of chartered accountants in the country from 2010 onwards. This is more than double the 10,000 to 12,000 chartered accountants it churned out annually between 2001 and 2006. The student intake then averaged between 35,000 and 40,000.

With the boom in the corporate sector, there has been an unprecedented rise in the demand for chartered accountants in the last few years and this has improved their remuneration manifold. The average annual pay packages in the last round of placements at the ICAI too touched a new high of Rs 5.94 lakh, compared with Rs 4.79 lakh in 2007.

Aware of the growing demand for skills commensurate with basic tasks like accounting and book keeping, the ICAI recently launched a two-year course aimed at creating a second tier of accountants. This will lead to another 50,000 accountants being produced annually, taking the total number of accountants to around 75,000.

While there are no definite numbers on the shortage of accountants, experts say the deficit will be massive. “Given the current boom in the economy, along with other reasons like increasing financial norms and risk management in companies, the need for skilled accountants is bound to rise,” an expert said.

“There is no estimate as of now but a report of the Ministry of Human Resource Development has put the shortage of finance professionals in the country at around 200,000 by 2009,” Amit Azad, a consultant said.

Besides opening up computer labs across the country to impart IT training to CA students, ICAI is also coming up with a 25-acre campus at Jaipur that will be developed into a centre of excellence where students will be taught management skills in a three-month residential programme.

Encouraged by the rising student registration, both in the country as well as abroad, the ICAI has, from this year, allowed articleship training overseas as well. Earlier, a student pursuing the chartered accountant course abroad had to come to India for a three-year articleship training.

“ICAI is conscious of the need for skilled as well as employable workforce. We are confident that we will meet the requirement of the growing economy. There is no restriction on the student intake and with our teaching expertise, infrastructure and growing membership, we are hopeful to bridge the skill gap in future,” ICAI president Ved Jain said.

ource: Business Standard