New I-T Code Before Year-End, Says Chidambaram

The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has told the first batch of income-tax return preparers to stay up-to-date with tax laws and occasionally go in for refresher courses to be in tune with changes in tax laws. He also wanted them to walk the straight path and refrain from advising clients on how to evade taxes. Stating that tax avoidance (involving some form of financial engineering) was lawful, he highlighted that tax evasion was unlawful. The Minister also promised to introduce a new simplified income-tax code before the end of calendar 2007. More than 90,000 people applied for the training as tax return preparers, of whom 47,227 were shortlisted by NIIT for entrance examination. Some 4,517 candidates joined training, of which 3,737 qualified for certification.