- Brings convenience of Tax filling to the doorsteps
of Tax payers, even in remote
locations Guwahati, March 24, 2009: At the convocation ceremony of
the Tax Return Preparers (TRPs), with Skill augmentation for filing of TDS and
ITR forms held in the city today; Member, Revenue, Central Board of Direct
Taxes, Mrs. Saroj Bala along with Mr. Kalyan Chand, Director General of Income
Tax (Admin) and Mr. Vipul Rastogi, Head – Enterprise Solutions (India), NIIT
felicitated the students and certified them as ‘Tax Return Preparers’.
TRPS is an initiative by the Department of Income Tax, Government of India
to increase awareness of tax laws by enhancing community participation, with
NIIT being mandated to train the certified Tax Return Preparers (TRPs) across
the country. The success of this drive can be gauged from the fact that over
40,000 Income Tax Returns were filed last year by TRPs.
The training was conducted to strengthen the skills of the existing TRPs,
by providing them skill augmentation for filing TDS for Small Enterprises &
the new ITR Forms for Tax payers. Most of the successfully certified TRPs
underwent the special skill augmentation training program, which was conducted
across multiple locations all over India.
Addressing students, Mrs. Saroj Bala, Member, Revenue, Central Board of
Direct Taxes said “We are committed towards simplifying the Tax filing
procedures for the benefit of the Tax payers. We are pleased to extend the scope
this year by providing skill augmentation on TDS & IT Forms through NIIT,
whose expertise in training delivery will empower the TRPs to bring the
convenience of Tax filing to the doorsteps of the Tax payers.”
“The TRPs underwent a rigorous training programme by NIIT, on
Income Tax filing procedures and are now certified by the Department of Income
Tax as qualified Tax Return Preparers”, added Mr. Kalyan Chand,
Director General of Income Tax (Admin)
Speaking on the occasion, Mr
Vipul Rastogi, Head- Enterprise solutions (India), NIIT said, “The Tax
return preparers from the East Zone are now ready to address the Tax filing
needs of the region. Through skill augmentation, they can also provide Tax
filing assistance to MSMEs (Micro Small Medium Enterprise) who do not have means
to hire professional Tax consultants to file their taxes.”
“I would like to thank the Department of Income Tax which has been
a constant support and without whom this success would not have been possible”,
he added.
The additional skills imparted to the current batch, will not only increase
the scope but will also bring the convenience of Tax filing to the doorsteps of
the Tax payers. The objective of the TRP scheme is to increase avenues for
employability for unemployed and partially employed graduates, reduce cost of
compliance for small taxpayers, increase assesee base, increase awareness of tax
laws and community participation. Training on Service Tax, which follows
shortly, will further increase the scope and reach.
The convocation was widely attended by the TRPs from the East Zone and will
move on to West and South zone to finally culminate into a grand finale at the
North zone.
About TRPS
TRPS is an initiative by the Department of Income Tax, Government of India
to increase awareness of tax laws by enhancing community participation. The TRPs
are put through rigorous training program on Income Tax filing procedures along
with usage of software and on-line tools. The curriculum was designed by experts
(Taxmann, SME’s and NIIT content based on instructional design methodology). The
successful candidates, now referred as ‘Certified Tax Return Preparers’ obtain a
unique Identification Number from the Income Tax department.
The training conducted is, “End to End” from identification of opportunity
to filing of claim, introduction to policy, market identification and lead
generation, handling of customer situations, introduction to scheme to
customers, filling up of ITR forms, TDS forms, credit mechanism, rewards
etc.
To help TRPs file returns, a helpdesk manned by a tax expert has been set
up. Further details about TRPs are available through a dedicated portal
www.trpscheme.com and a call centre.
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