ONLY CAs CAN AUDIT, CERTIFY SALES TAX RETURNS : SC

The Supreme Court upheld the order which had said that only chartered or cost accountants will be eligible to audit and certify sales tax returns. A bench comprising Justice HK Sema and Justice Markenday Katju dismissed the petitions filed by the Sales Tax Practitioners Association of Maharashtra and the Bar Council of Maharashtra. It upheld Bombay High Court order which had
said that only chartered accountants or cost accountants would be eligible to certify sales tax returns.
The high court while upholding an amendment to Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act had observed that “the objective is to facilitate prevention of evasion of tax.” The Act makes it mandatory for traders- with annual sales of over Rs. 40 lakh – to file sales tax returns verified only by chartered or cost accountants.