Amnesty Scheme: A Generous Act By the Government

The problem of black money corroding the economy of the country is not a new or recent problem. It has been there almost since the Second World War and it has been continuously engaging the attention of the Government. The Government has adopted various measures in the past with a view to curbing
the generation of black money and bringing it out in the open so that it may be available for strengthening the economy. One such way is through Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES).

The concepts of confession and absolution are rooted in human history and religion—it is hardly a surprise that they would permeate into the legal realm as well. After all, amnesty schemes in tax laws are nothing but an extension of the aforesaid concepts. India has experimented with tax amnesty schemes in the past with mixed results. In the past, the government brought VDIS scheme under income tax and the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme for indirect taxes.

The newly introduced Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013 (VCES) embodies the concepts of confession and absolution specifically in the context of service tax by providing for amnesty vis à vis specified scenarios of transgression of service tax laws. The Service tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013 (VCES) has now offered a lifeline to persons who have not complied with the law in the past, to set their service tax records straight. “VCES”‐A tool, designed by the Central Government which was announced in this Union budget, aims to iron out the past non‐compliance under service tax. By using a system of taxation by confession “VCES” will not only broaden the tax base, but also helps in smoother filing of returns by the non‐compliant assessees. The declarants under VCES will not just be exempt from penalties but can also do away with payment of interest and the risk of possible prosecution.

The eligibility for VCES is restricted to service providers who have not paid service tax or filed service tax returns for the period October 2007 to December 2012. In order to avail the benefit of VCES, the taxpayer would be required to pay the due tax which, if accepted by the tax authorities, will lead to an immunity from the levy of interest, penalty and any other proceedings under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 (hereafter, the Act).Service tax amnesty scheme has so far yielded Rs 1,500 crore in revenue for the government, with 6,283 assessees taking advantage of the VCES that was announced in the Budget 2013-14. Last day for this scheme is 31st December, 2013. 

The Finance Minister said  that the Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) will be the last opportunity given to tax evaders so that they can come clean and make a fresh start. He advised the service providers not to expect another such offer within the next 20 years. 

So what are you waiting for? Grab this opportunity by its horns.

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Vanijya Utsav 2014 Volunteer Form

The Commerce Society, Hans Raj now invites volunteer applications for Vanijya Utsav 2014.
Applicants can register themselves here.
Applicants are also requested to mail their CV at info@commercehansraj.in

Registrations close January 6, 2014.

Happy New Year!

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What Harshad Mehta Did- The Stock Scam

In the early 1990s, the banks in India had to maintain a particular amount of their deposits in government bonds. This ratio was called SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio). Each bank had to submit a detailed sheet of its balance at the end of the day and also show that there was a sufficient amount invested in government bonds. Now, the government decided that the banks need not show their details on each day, they need to do it only on Fridays. Also, there was an extra clause that said that the average percentage of bond holdings over the week needs to be above the SLR but the daily percentage need not be so. That meant that banks would sell bonds in the earlier part of the week and then buy bonds back at the end of the week. The capital freed in the starting of the week could then be invested. Now, at the end of the week many banks would be desperate to buy bonds back. This is where the broker comes in. The broker knew which bank had more bonds (called ‘plus’) and which has less than the required amount (called ‘short’). He then acts as the middleman between the two banks. Harshad Mehta was one such broker. He worked as a middleman between many banks for a long time and gained the trust of the banks’ senior management. Let’s say that there are two banks A (short) and B (plus). Now what Harshad Mehta did was that he told the banker at A that he was dealing with many banks and hence did not know who would he deal in the end with. So he said that the bank should write the cheque in his name rather than the other bank (which was forbidden by law), so that he could make the payment to whichever bank was required. Since he was a trusted broker, the banks agreed. Then, going back to the example of bank A and B, he took the money from A and went to B and said that he would pay the money on the next day to B but he needed the bonds right now (for A). But he offered a 15 % return for bank B for the one day extension. Bank B readily agreed with this since it was getting such a nice return

Now since Harshad Mehta was dealing with many banks at the same time he could then keep some capital with him at all times. For example, he takes money from A on Monday, and tells B that he’ll pay on Tuesday, then he takes money from C on Tuesday and tells D that he’ll pay on Wednesday and the money he gets from C is paid to B and as a result he has some working capital with him at all times if this goes on with other banks throughout the week. The banks at that time were not allowed to invest in the equity markets. Harshad Mehta had very cleverly squeezed some capital out of the banking system. This capital he invested in the stock market and managed to stoke a massive boom.

He took the price of ACC from 200 to 9000.Thats an increase of 4400%!!!The market went up like crazy and the bulls were on a mad run. Since he had to book profits in the end, the day he sold was the day when the market crashed. The same day Vijaya Bank chairman committed suicide by jumping from the top of the banks’ office. The chairman knew that when it would become public that he had written cheques in the name of Mehta, he would be dead meat. One rather unknown fact about this scam is that there was a very important player in this scam who managed to keep a very low profile. That man was Nimesh Shah. He was just as involved as Harshad Mehta but he knew how keep out of the hands of the law. Nimesh Shah still deals in the stock market and is known to be a heavy player. Harshad Mehta is now dead. It is rumored that when he died, he still had 10% of ACC shares with him.

Source: www.bullrider.com

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Insignia 2014

Insignia is a National Level Management Festival for undergraduate students on the 25th and 26th of February, 2014 organized by the Xavier’s Commerce Society of St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata.

One of the largest management fests of India, it is a forum that brings together the foremost talents from all over the country for two days of intense yet healthy competition, with the objective of putting to test one’s talent, skill and creativity. Over the two days, participants from esteemed commerce, management and economics colleges compete in events in varied fields such as Best Manager, Finance, Marketing, Public Relations Management, Human Resource Management and Entrepreneurship among many others. The challenge is not only to compete against the best colleges but also to be able to meet the numerous expectations that each separate event brings with it. These events are carefully crafted to gauge the analytical and entrepreneurial ability of the participants as well as to enlighten and entertain the audience.

Those who are interested in going to Kolkata and participate, please CLICK HERE.

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Report on Informative Session on 'Rupee in Crisis'

The Commerce Society of Hansraj College organized an Informative Session on the Topic ‘Rupee in Crisis’. It consisted of a group discussion and question hour session on the topic for first year students. It was the first time, that the society took such an initiative.

Date: 28 October 2013

Time: 12:20 PM

Venue: Seminar Room

The colloquy was initiated by Shubham, a member of Commerce Society, who threw light on the fluctuations in the value of rupee over the years. The students actively responded to the points put forth by him. This was followed by Shivi and Pratibha, members of Commerce Society, briefing the students on the causes and impacts of rupee depreciation and critically analyzing the measures taken by the RBI to control the falling rupee. 

Well engrossed, the students asked several questions to satisfy their queries and indulged in a brain storming discussion. Then, there was a question hour round wherein the students were asked questions on the Indian Economy. Finally, Saksham and Ruchika were awarded certificates of appreciation and prizes for being the most active participants.

The event culminated with a vote of thanks delivered by Mani Bansal, president of the Commerce Society. The program, thus achieved its objective of enlightening the students, who were full of praise and appreciation.

- By Shaurya and Sirjan

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Informative Session: Rupee In Crisis

The whole Indian Economy shivered as Rupee touched 69 against dollar. All hopes of revival are pinned at newly appointed RBI Governor  Raghuram Rajan. What all measures did he take? Was there any positive impact? What led to fall in rupee value in the first place? Is there any benefit that our economy is deriving from the rupee freefall?
Curious? Find out this or much more!

The Commerce Society, Hans Raj College, presents Informative Session on Rupee in Crisis.

Date: October 28, 2013
Time: 12.20 PM
Venue: College Seminar Room

First Year students can register themselves here : 

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Report on 'Corporate Social Responsibility' Seminar

The Commerce Society of Hans Raj College organized a seminar on ‘Business Ethics, Corporate Responsibility and Organizational Transformation’. 

Date: October 23, 2013.

Venue: Seminar Room

Time: 12:30 P.M

The Seminar was organised for the first and second year students. Also present there was the staff of Commerce Department. The Chief Speaker was Prof. K.V. Bhanu Murthy, Faculty, Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics; Delhi University. He himself is an alumnus of Hansraj College and did Economics honours (1968-1971). Sir has demonstrated excellence across teaching, research and service for many years.

The event commenced with a speech by the Principal, Dr. V.K. Kawatra and felicitation of the Speaker and the Principal, Ms. Beauty Das, Convener of Commerce Society. Prof. Murthy then started with the presentation on Business Ethics to develop an understanding and to get over with the hazy notions on the theme. His main focus of the discussion was corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and environmental accountability.

The students were so engrossed in the seminar that they raised quiet challenging questions and clarified their doubts. This was followed by a discussion among the students, teachers and the chief speaker.

The program ended with a vote of thanks by the society members and the convener. The seminar was a huge success. Commerce Society, once again demonstrated effective team management and established a new benchmark for its success. We wish to organize more such events in future.

-        -  By Shaurya and Sirjan

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Report on Leadership Seminar

The Commerce Society, Hans Raj College organized a Seminar on “Leadership” for the first year students .

Date: October 18, 2013.

Venue: Seminar Room, College premises

Time: 12:20 P.M.

Topic: Seminar on ‘Leadership’

The seminar was conducted by Professor Jean Saldanha, Faculty IBS Gurgaon.  She holds a long experience in teaching and its effect could be felt in her words. Prof Saldanha was welcomed by our convener Ms Beauty Dash and other teachers present.

As soon as the seminar started the professor asked the students to give  examples of leaders from different fields. All the students enthusiastically listed out famous leaders like Indira Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Sachin Tendulkar among others.

To make the seminar even more interactive Professor Saldanha also asked the students to illustrate some qualities of a leader like humility, integrity, calmness etc. She also displayed a power point presentation to make the session more interesting for all students. Professor Saldanha then carried out a unique activity to stress that leadership is a complex process. The activity involved the students to explain one quality of a leader and illustrate it by a live example, while tying a thread to their finger. At the end of this activity, a web of thread had been formed in the centre of the room which depicted how leadership is a complex phenomenon.

This was followed by a quick round of debate where students debated on the topic  ‘Are leaders born or made’. Two teams were made, where three students were randomly picked for each team. They enthusiastically spoke and finally, the winners were chosen. The team supporting the notion ‘leaders are made not born’ won by a close margin.

In all, the session was very interactive and gave an insight to students as to how one can be a good leader. The seminar was a huge success due to the hard work of the society members and guidance of our teachers. We wish to organise more such successful events in the future.

-By Aakriti Mehra

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Report On Freshers' 2013

DATE    :  October 1, 2013

TIME     :  12.30 p.m.

VENUE  :  College Auditorium

 The much awaited Freshers’ 2013 welcome ceremony is finally here! The venue was decorated flawlessly by the creative team headed by Seenia Thukral. The beautiful posters attracted everybody’s attention.

We gladly invited all the bubbly and chirpy first year students to celebrate their admission into the institution of their dreams-the place where they will be spending the four most crucial years of their lives, the place where their crystal would but be moulded to fit into the Corporate world, the place which would decide their destiny.

The theme of the Freshers' was "CHILDHOOD ASPIRATIONS" implying that the freshers would come dressed  as the person they wanted to become when they were young. All the Students made an effort and came dressed, widely ranging from a businessman to Army Officer to Photographer.  The freshers came in full spirit, they were not just happy and excited, but were enthusiastic about complete participation in all the events scheduled for the day. 

The anchors Shaurya and Ishmeet, commenced the event. Mani Bansal, President, Commerce Society, Hans Raj College opened the event by enlightening the juniors with his words of wisdom and instilled in them the spark to leave no stone unturned in the coming four years of their college life. His words received appreciation from one and all.

The function started on an auspicious note by lighting the lamp of learning. The honours were done by our Principal, Dr. V.K. Kawatra, our H.O.D, Mr.Bharat Bhushan, our Convenor, Ms.Beauty Dash, other teachers, our President Mani Bansal and our Vice President Ishita Bansal.

Then Bharat Bhushan sir enlightened us with his words of wisdom and told us about how these four years were one of the most crucial time in our life.

Later our Principal Dr. V.K. Kawatra enlightened us with his valuable teachings. He emphasized on travelling that extra mile to turn our dreams into reality.

Followed by the words of a true teacher, our performances included :

1. A "Musical Performance" performance by Chitresh Bhatt and Prashant Hirwani, II year students. They left the audience truly excited and asking for more.

2. An energetic dance by Archita Garg. She mesmerised the crowd with her sizzling moves.

3. All the Freshers of B.com hons, Section 1, entertained the audience with their group performance. They sang various songs like ‘Yaaron Dosti’ and the audience cheered one and all.

4.  The music band, comprising of four versatile musicians- Tenzing Lagyal, Ajati, Izaz, Tempel with a great taste for guitar, sang a combination of Hindi and English Songs and had everybody's hands in the air.

5. Another sensational performance by a group of girls and boys comprising Rishabh, Anil, Sunishtha, Aanchal, Shivani and Shubham, even though some of them were freshers, they came in full spirit. They performed really well and the audience was enthralled.

6. A bhangra performance by Waras made a spectacular contribution to the fun and fraulic of the show.

The stage was taken over by Abhinav and Pranay and Shriya who did a fantabulous job in keeping the audience engrossed. The kept the momentum of the event going with their witty lines.

The first round of the Mr. & Miss Freshers' was a 30 seconds introduction round wherein they briefed the audience about the dream they had and why they always dreamt of becoming so. All the students were given a memento, to mark the beginning of a new journey and welcome them to the College.

Our esteemed judges for the contest were Ms.Sonal Gupta (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Commerce) and Ms.Deepshikha  (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Commerce ) who did a commendable job in shortlisting 10 girls and boys for the final round of the Freshers'.

Damandeep, Garima, Uday, Ruchika (From left to right)

The final round was a dance and question answer round amazingly hosted by Sonika and Abu where all the shortlisted candidates participated with all enthusiasm. They made the audience roll over their bellies with their stint. Our technical Team definitely deserves a mention for the well coordination of the Sound Management.

The well deserved titles were given to the four best performers of the day:

Mr. FRESHER : Uday

Ms FRESHER: Garima

Mr. BEST DRESSED :  Damandeep

Ms. BEST DRESSED : Ruchika

The Food Management was handled in an effective manner by the Event Management Team headed by Dhruv Goel. The students were overwhelmed by the courtesy and affection with which team served Dominoz Pizza and the soft drink.

The much awaited freshers ended with a sweet vote of thanks.
The Commerce society wishes all the best to the first years for all their future endeavours. We hope to that the next 4 years of the college life moulds them into personalities who are all set to ablaze the Corporate world.

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Seminar on 'Leadership'

Leaders are not born but made. Given the opportunity for feedback and practice, those with the desire and persistence to lead can become great leaders. Don't follow the long path of trial and error to succeed but learn to be a leader! Struggling on the 'how' part? Well, The Commerce Society, Hans Raj brings you the solution! 

Presenting a Seminar on 'LEADERSHIP'

with
Prof. Jean Saldanha, Faculty IBS Gurgaon.

Date: October 18, 2013

Time: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Venue: College Seminar Hall

First Year students can register themselves here:

Hope to see you there!

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Seminar : Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

Times have changed. Today a company is required to embrace a much broader perspective that is also inclusive of the society at large. The Government has now announced a new provision under The Companies Act which requires a Company to contribute 2% of its turnover towards CSR.
Come and learn what it actually means, the difficulties it will create and how it could prove to be an all new opportunity for some!
The Commerce Society, Hans Raj presents a seminar on:

"Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility " 

with

Prof K.V. Bhanu Murthy (PhD)

Faculty, Delhi School of Economics. 

Co-Author of the book 'Politics, Ethics and Social Responsibility of the Business'. He has demonstrated excellence across teaching, research and service for many years.

Date: October 23, 2013
Time: 12: 30 PM
Venue: College Seminar Hall
II Year students can register themselves for the event Here.
Join us!

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Biz Quiz Savant

The Commerce Society, Hans Raj College commenced with its series of monthly events for the academic year 2013 – 2014 on 27^th September 2013 with ‘The Biz Quiz Savant : A Business Quiz Like No Other’.

Venue: NR 4, College Premises.
Time : 1.00 PM

The competition comprised of three rounds, the first round being a quiz of 30 questions. The questions for the round were interesting, unique and planned in a manner that tested the students’ knowledge in all spheres 60 students, in teams of two, participated and only twenty made to the next round.

The round consisted of questions divided in seven categories:

·          Academics

·          Branding

·          Guess the person,

·          Guess the company,

·          Finance,

·         General knowledge, and

·         E-business

The teams were given preference according to their scores, and one after other they had to select categories. After the selection, a question was asked from the topic they selected, while every category had the ceiling of three selections. Only 30 seconds were provided to answer every question. This round really tested their mettle, as apart from knowledgeable in the particular area they also had to be quick. Finally, the top 2 teams proceeded to the third round.

This round was really different, and the first of its kind. The two teams were given a symbol – O and X. For every right answer they give, they had to put their symbol on the tic-tac-toe – a grid with 9 spaces. The team who joined three symbols first would be winners. This round was the true show-stealer. The questions were fantastic, and the suspense unbearable. The added smartness to be used in the grid truly required each participant to give their best.  The groans and applause from the audience ensured that every one of us was equally invested!

The winner were:

Shraishth Jain and Arnav Jain

Runners up:
Piyush Poddar and Sunishtha Joshi

The huge success of the event could not have been possible without the guidance of our teachers and seniors, hard work of the organisers, and the enthusiasm of the participants. Once again, The Commerce Society established a new benchmark for its success.

We congratulate the winning teams, and hope to organise more such events in the future.

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