Action can be taken against a CA for lapse outside work
Q: Can my daughter take maternity leave more than 12 weeks?
a: The government has announced that maternity leave should be extended from 12 to 26 weeks
I had appointed a chartered accountant to look after my share portfolio in India as he is my friend. He had made it clear that he was not acting in his professional capacity as a chartered accountant. However, he took advantage of the fact that I am in the Gulf and entered into certain transactions behind my back which have adversely affected me. Can I take action against him by filing a complaint to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India? Will they act on the basis of my compliant against him?
Assuming that substance is found in your complaint and that you have actually suffered a loss, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), after making due inquiries and after giving the chartered accountant an opportunity to be heard, may take disciplinary action against him. This would be despite the fact that the chartered accountant acted as your friend in his personal capacity and did not act as a professional.
The Supreme Court of India has recently held that disciplinary action can be taken by the ICAI against a chartered accountant if his conduct or lapse is outside his field of work and it is not related to his professional assignment. This decision is on the basis that a chartered accountant, even while acting in his personal capacity, can be penalised if he brings disrepute to his profession. The judgment of the Supreme Court has upheld the right of the Institute to suspend the certificate of practice or even cancel it in an appropriate case.
My daughter is working in India in a private company. She is likely to go on maternity leave in the next few weeks. Her company has agreed to give her 12 weeks’ leave. My daughter would like to take more leave. Can she do so?
Recently, the government has announced that maternity leave should be extended from 12 to 26 weeks and that the employer cannot terminate the service if the employee asks for more than 12 weeks’ leave but upto a maximum of 26 weeks. In order to compensate companies and employers, the Government of India would reimburse the amount to the employer to the extent of 7 weeks’ leave. The amount will be paid by utilising the Labour Welfare Cess collected by state governments. A large amount of more than Rs320 billion has been collected, but only Rs75 billion has been spent. Therefore, the government has decided to reimburse the employers and private companies to the extent of 7 weeks’ maternity leave, so that the accumulated amount lying in the fund can be utilised for employees’ welfare.
As I am returning to India shortly, I want to start consultancy in respect of the solar rooftop business. Is there any potential in India for this type of business?
Most experts believe that solar rooftop installations have tremendous growth potential. Though there is uncertainty in respect of the applicable GST rates, there was a 75 per cent increase in solar rooftop installations in India in the current calendar year upto September 30. The total solar rooftop capacity is 3,399MW. The government has a target of 40GW by March 2022. Commercial and industrial installations dominate with a 70 per cent share, while the residential segment market is around 10 per cent. Third party developers own and manage projects on customer’s site. In the inverter market, Chinese companies command 43 per cent share of the total market. Therefore, your consultancy business has great potential.