The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), in a statement on, Saturday expressed “strong resentment” in the way some investigating officers have allegedly treated chartered accountants (CAs) and have resorted to arrests.
Chartered accountants had been protesting earlier this week in Gurugram in the case of arrest of two CAs in an alleged GST dispute. The protest was about the way they were arrested and treated while the businessman allegedly involved was not arrested, according to a person informed about the case.
An email sent to the finance ministry on Saturday remained unanswered at the time of publishing.
ICAI said the matter related to recent arrest of chartered accountants and other instances of alleged ill- treatment of chartered accountants by investigating authorities was discussed on Saturday at its Council.
“The Council members expressed their strong resentment on the manner in which certain investigating officers are treating chartered accountants and are directly resorting to arrests. The Council was also apprised of the strong feelings of members throughout the country regarding ill-treatment being meted to certain members rather than taking strong action against the actual perpetrators,” ICAI said.
The professional body said its Council has resolved to form a group comprising its members to interface with the authorities in order to ensure that just and fair treatment is meted out to chartered accountants and that they are not made soft targets.
Tax officials have been on an enforcement and compliance improvement drive in the last several months and in certain cases, have arrested businessmen, traders and accountants. Most of these cases relate to alleged irregularities in claiming or passing on tax credits.
