By R Krishnan

'COMPUTER Training Institutes' - are they 'Vocational Training Institutes' or not ? Will it be a little too much if anyone would qualify the CBEC as incorrigible ? May be not, if its ways and functioning over the past several years are to be taken into account. Many learned ones, both from within and outside the Department, have time and again, through articles and editorials, laboured to convey and convince the Board on many issues of national interest. But to no avail. You can wake up a sleeping man; but can you ever wake up someone who pretends to be asleep ? Some of the most brilliant eye openers and suggestions came from the likes of Mr Vijay Kumar, TIOL , Swami Associates and the ELT. The praisworthy Himalayan efforts of all these greats have gone down the drain.

To quote an ancient Tamil aphorism "However hard one might try to wisper the words of wisdom into the ears of a donkey, is it ever going to stop howling and wailing in its own inimitable voice"; something akin to a dog's tail. And yet another one in Malayalam conveys "who ever has found a remedy for bald head and envy" ! There appears to be no remedy to this illness of incorrigibility. But, however, with a committed and far sighted person like P. Chidambaram at the helm, there is still room for hope, if only he takes things seriously. The CBEC should be throughly revamped and replaced with talented, judicious and committed ones. Alternatively, an advisory council or panel may be set up within the Board which should include experts from the industry and legal faternity. All new rules, amendments, notifications, circulars etc. should be throughly subjected to scrutiny by this body before issue. This way all future blunders can be eliminated.
   
The much tom tommed and over-publicized Cenvat Credit Rules 2004 is ample testimony to the Board's indifference. There was  wide appreciation and praise from all the quarters over the 'path breaking' generosity afforded to the industry in circulating the draft rules, as though to exhibit the Board's genuine concern. The rest is history; an anti cimax - the whole show turned out to be a damp squib indeed ! The draft rules were poured into the new bottle almost verbatim, caring a damn to the inumerable suggestions that flooded the Board's office. Is not 'incorrigible' the apt adjective ?

Our learned Board enjoys wild games. Some of the situations leave ample room to doubt the Board's sincerity. One is at a loss to understand as to what the law makers' intentions really are.  As a glaring example, take a look at the Service Tax Notification 9/2003 dated 20/6/2003 as amended by 1/2004 dated 1/2/2004 and its graduation into Notifiction No. 24/2004 dated 10/09/2004.  The former wholly exempted the following services  from the levy of Service Tax  upto 30/07/2004.

a)  Vocational Training Institute  

b)  Computer Training Institute  or

c)   Recreational Training Institute

The latter restored the exemption w..e.f 10/09/2004 on the following, without any specified time limit.

a)   Vocational Training Institute

b)  Recreational Training Institute : On the face of it, Computer Training Institutes, having been omitted, no more enjoy the exemption. But then where is place for common sense and logic  with the lawmakers and bureaucrats ? The Department has been quick in hunting for their hapless victims and bring them to books. But I hope all of them do not remain ignorant.  Going by the definition given by the law makers to the term 'Vocational Training Insitutue' ( incidentally or mercifully, it remains the same after 10/09/2004) it is wide enough to cover Computer Training Institute. Going by the Oxford or Chambers Dictionary, 'vocation' means profession, occupation, business etc. among other meanings.  Vocational means something concerned with or in preparation for a trade, occupation etc.  The above notifications define Vocational Training Institute as one that imparts skills to enable the trainee to seek employment or undertake self-employment , directly after such training or coaching.  Now pray, tell us, what you mean by Computer Training Institute ! If it is not a Vocational Training Institute as defined above, then what else it is ? Is it not just a matter of common sense ?

By omitting the Computer Training Institute from the new notification, without a proper explanatory clause, the Board has only let loose an otherwise avoidable battle of litigation between the revenue and the assessees and enjoy the joke for sometime.  If the Board really felt about the superfluousness of the presence of the term Computer Training Institute on the above lines, it would have done better by inserting an explanation to let Vocational Training to include Computer Training. Even if the intention was otherwise, an explanation to that effect was inevitable.

In their eagerness to meet the deadline of obtaining the registration before the 31st October, many gullible CTIs have succumbed to the pressure and obtained registration. A few determined ones, however may hold back to give it a fight.  

Be it as it may, what about the period from 1st August to 9th September? i.e. the death of notification no 9/2003 and birth of notification no. 24/2004. All the three categories will have to discharge the Service Tax liability for the above mourning period. The Revenue will soon pounce on them for recovery in the absence of any asylum by the Board.  

Either way, will the not-so-learned  CBEC be pleasaed to act without any loss of time, before it is too late ?  

Om Shanti !

(The author works with a well known corporate house )