The Hindu Business Line : Help is on the way for filing of returns

TRP scheme
Must have a graduation degree in commerce, law, economics, maths, statistics or management
Will be free for self-employed, small businessmen, salaried employees, senior citizens and women having total income up to a specified amount
To train 5,000 tax return preparers in 2006-07

New Delhi , Nov. 6

Small taxpayers can soon look forward to some assistance coming their way for preparing income-tax returns. The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Monday announced the launch of a `Tax Return Preparers Scheme' to train unemployed and partially employed people to assist small taxpayers in preparing their income-tax returns.

In the current financial year, the scheme is being launched on a pilot basis to train 5,000 tax return preparers (TRPs) at 100 centres in around 80 cities across the country.

Mr Chidambaram said that these 5,000 TRPs would be certified by the second week of February 2007.

"The idea is to put in place a low cost, reasonably good quality service to assist small taxpayers in preparing their returns of income.

"People must get into the regular habit of filing tax return whether they have a taxable income or not.

"Advertisements inviting applications for TRPs will appear tomorrow and day after", Mr Chidambaram told reporters today.

Under the scheme, assistance in filing tax returns free of cost would be extended to self-employed and small businessmen, salaried employees, senior citizens and women having total income up to a specified amount.

The minimum qualification for undergoing training as tax return preparers would be a graduation degree in commerce, law, economics, mathematics, statistics and management.

The training, for nine days with eight-hour sessions each, would be imparted to prospective tax return preparers by the Income-Tax department with the help of a training partner, NIIT, using class-room training and Web-based teaching.

He also said that the TRPs would be given 3 per cent of the tax collected for the first year's return of a new taxpayer, 2 per cent for the second year and 1 per cent for the third year, on the returns prepared by tax return preparers.

There would be no charge for new assesses. However, from existing taxpayers, TRPs will collect Rs 250 for return of one-assessment year.

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