the essay of 8 October 2025 · the untouched capture
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong><font color="#663399">OCTOBER 08, 2025 </font></strong></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#FF6633" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong> Sitare Zameen Par</strong></font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong><u>By Vijay Kumar</u></strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong>ON </strong>6th October 2025, the Taj Palace in New Delhi transformed into a fiscal constellation. Economists, judges, ministers, and mandarins descended-not for a summit, but for a Congress. Not to debate policy, but to decode it.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Welcome to TIOL TAX CONGRESS 2025.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Before the microphones warmed up and the metaphors flew, we had to acknowledge the sheer weight of the guest list. These weren't just attendees-they were the people who manage the finances of nations, shape tax codes, and occasionally rewrite economic history.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We had with us:</font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Lord Nicholas Stern, globally recognised economist, banker and academic, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics and Member of the House of Lords;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Dr. Shankar Acharya, celebrated economist who was Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India for eight years;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Dr P Thiaga Rajan, Minister for IT & Digital Services, Govt of Tamil Nadu;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri. NK Singh, former Revenue Secretary, Rajya Sabha MP, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chairman of 15th Finance Commission;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Justice Sanjiv Khanna, former Chief Justice of India;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Tanzania;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri N Venkataraman, Additional Solicitor General of India;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">H.E. Anisa K Mbega, Ambassador of United Republic of Tanzania;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri Shashank Priya, Member (GST), CBIC;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri Sanjay Bahadur, Member, CBDT;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri M K Sinha, CEO, GST Network;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri Pramod Kumar, former Vice President, ITAT;</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Shri Sumit Dutt Mazumdar, former Chairman, CBEC;</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">From the Himalayas, a special delegation from Nepal:</font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Prof. BISHWAMBHER, PYAKURYAL, professor of Economics for 39 years at Tribhuvan University.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Ms. BHAWANI RANA Former President of Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">SHRI MADHU KUMAR MARASINI Former Finance Secretary, Nepal</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Ms. Anjalika Sinha, a fourth-generation advocate in Nepal, whose father is a minister in the new cabinet.</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">And yes, the room brimmed with industry leaders, judges, officers, consultants, and lawyers-too many to list, but none too dull.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">How do you host a fiscal summit without spreadsheets? Easy. Just hand out microphones and let the economists do what they do best-talk sense, raise eyebrows, and occasionally rewrite history.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I kicked off the day by welcoming Anjalika Sinha, our youngest guest and Nepal's Gen Z lawyer, already fluent in both law and legacy - and the other distinguished guests.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Before the microphones warmed up, we launched a book that's part editorial archive, part institutional mischief, and entirely TIOL: THE COB(WEB) TURNS TWENTY: 60 TALES OF INTAXICATING SAILING, authored by our founder editor, Dr. Shailendra Kumar.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It's not a memoir-it's a mosaic. Sixty tales that chronicle two decades of fiscal fog, editorial clarity, and the occasional tax tempest. The book was launched by Shri N Venkataraman, Additional Solicitor General of India, with the precision of a litigator and the flair of a fiscal raconteur.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Then came the inaugural session, opened by Hon'ble Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of Tanzania, and Shri Shailesh Haribhakti, seasoned economic thinker and moderator-in-chief. Between judicial wisdom and economic foresight, the tone was set: this Congress would not be a seminar-it would be a conversation.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">And just like that, the Congress was officially underway. No ribbon cutting. Just ideas, microphones, and a room full of people who've read more footnotes than fiction.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Technical Sessions (Jest GST Remix)</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The GST 2.0 session was chaired by Shri Shashank Priya, Member (GST), CBIC, and moderated by the formidable advocate Shri Jai Kumar-who asked questions with the precision of a scalpel and the timing of a tax raid.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The panel featured Shri M K Sinha (CEO, GST Network), Shri Sanjeev Agarwal (Tax Head, Luxury Automotive MNC), and Shri Rajat Chhabra (Partner, Taxcraft). Topics ranged from pre-deposit for appeals in GSTAT to anti-profiteering and amnesty schemes. Surprisingly, no tempers flared. No acrimony. Just constructive debate-proof that GST 2.0 might be more evolved than some political debates.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Departmental officers responded with candour and clarity. For once, the only thing missing was a dissenting note.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">AI - Accelerating India (and Consultant Anxiety)</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Next came the AI session, chaired by Shri Sanjay Bahadur, Member, CBDT. On the panel: Shri Rajesh Jindal (Principal DG, DG Systems, CBIC) and Shri Ashish Chandra (Chief Legal & Risk Officer, Junglee India Pvt. Ltd.).</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Moderator Shri Shailesh Haribhakti opened the floor to the audience-and the questions came fast: What can AI tell on arrest? Can it replace advocates?</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The experts reassured the room: AI may be accelerating India, but it's not replacing consultants anytime soon. If anything, it's giving them more work-and more existential questions to bill for.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">M&A 360°: Tax Navigation & Value Maximisation</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This session was chaired by Shri Ajay Vohra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, and moderated by Ms Poonita Harsh Kundra, Partner, Vaish Associates.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It was a masterclass in fiscal choreography-where mergers met margins, and acquisitions were dissected with surgical precision. No jargon was spared. No loophole left unexplored.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Awards & The Fiscal Conversation</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">After the technical sessions, we paused for applause. The TIOL Awards were presented across categories-trade, Department, consultants, and law schools. Recognition was given not just for compliance, but for courage, clarity, and the occasional creative interpretation of tax law.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But the most intellectually charged moment of the day came next: A ‘Fiscal Conversation' on "How should India navigate the stormy geo-economic and geopolitical turmoil" featuring Lord Nicholas Stern and Dr. Shankar Acharya, anchored by Shri NK Singh.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It wasn't a panel. It was a duel of minds-moderated with surgical precision and a touch of theatrical flair.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">NK Singh opened with a lament</font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">"We're witnessing the terminal decline of international institutions-including the WTO. And yet, Trump is getting away with it. The Europeans lined up to play court. The Japanese endured insults. The Swiss were spurned. Nick, how long will this supine attitude last?"</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Lord Nicholas Stern responded:</font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">"I hope not very long. The answer is coalitions. Build them. Strengthen ties with Asia. Don't get picked off one by one. Institutions take time to build and seconds to destroy. If the US steps away, they'll be the losers. Short-run policies bite back."</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Dr. Shankar Acharya added:</font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">"India must reach out to Asia. We missed RCEP. But we should try to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Coalitions matter." </font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">NK Singh closed with statesmanlike optimism: </font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">"If Trump is a disruptor, the world must adjust and outlast. Sanity and reason will triumph-though some may pay a high price." </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It was a conversation that felt less like a fiscal debate and more like a geopolitical opera-with trade agreements as verses and WTO as the fading chorus.</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Tributes, Citations & Closing Moments</font></p> <p align="justify"><img src="https://admin.taxindiaonline.com/UploadedFiles/Customs/CaseLaws/2025/Jest081025.PNG" style="float:right; height:304px; width:462px"/></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Congress wasn't just about policy and panels-it was also about memory and meaning. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">TIOL Outstanding Diaspora Award 2025</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Conferred posthumously on Lord Meghnad Desai, and received by Ms. Kishwar Desai, who turned grief into grace and humour into homage. Her speech had the audience in splits-and then in silence. She spoke of his crowded library, his sharp wit, and the quiet ache of absence. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Our citation for Lord Meghnad Desai mentioned: </font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Lord Meghnad Desai: The Maverick Economist. The Diaspora Luminary. The Voice That Crossed Borders Without Losing Accent. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">From Vadodara to Westminster, Lord Meghnad Desai has never followed a script-he's rewritten them. As an economist, professor, parliamentarian, and public intellectual, he spent over six decades challenging orthodoxy, championing pluralism, and proving that diaspora doesn't mean distance-it means depth. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">His economic writings unravelled orthodoxy with the precision of a surgeon -and the mischief of a cartoonist. In Marx's Revenge , he cheekily argued that capitalism outlived its critics-Marx included. </font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It was a moment where satire met sentiment-and both stood still. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">TIOL Kautilya Global Award 2025</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Presented to <strong>Lord Nicholas Stern</strong>. Our citation echoed the title of his landmark book: </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Why are we waiting? </font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">That's not just a question. It's a challenge. And it's the title of Lord Nicholas Stern's landmark 2015 book. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">In that book, he concluded with a call to action that still echoes across continents: </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We are at a remarkable point in history. We have a chance to combine the profound structural changes we are seeing in the world economy and extraordinary technological change on the one hand with a rapid transition to a low-carbon economy on the other. We can simultaneously find a much more attractive way to grow and develop, overcome poverty, and radically reduce the grave risks of climate change. We must decide and act or the opportunity will be lost. The time is now. Why are we waiting? </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Lord Stern has never waited. From the Stern Review of 2006, where he declared climate change to be "the greatest market failure in history," to his 2015 book Why Are We Waiting? Lord Stern has never been afraid of asking the hardest questions-or of answering them with clarity, urgency, and hope. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But beyond the statistics, models, and projections, Lord Stern is something rarer: a philosopher of progress, a cartographer of possibility, and-if we may add-a relentless optimist who insists that courage can be more contagious than carbon. </font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><font color="#0033ff" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">TIOL Fiscal Heritage Award 2025</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong>Presented to Dr. Shankar Acharya</strong>, former Chief Economic Adviser. Our citation read: </font></p> <blockquote><p align="justify"><font color="#ff0000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Dr. Shankar Acharya - Architect of Reform. Guardian of Stability. Voice of Reason. Occasional Slayer of Economic Nonsense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">His fingerprints are on India's tax reforms, external sector policies, and fiscal frameworks. Dr. Acharya quietly shaped history-with a spreadsheet in hand and an eyebrow raised at economic folly. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">For decades, he has been the conscience of India's economic discourse: never shrill, always sharp. </font></p><p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">From the World Bank to North Block, from policy papers to public debates, Dr. Acharya has always reminded us that reform is not a sprint-it's a marathon with fiscal shoes and political weather.</font></p></blockquote> <p align="justify"><img src="https://admin.taxindiaonline.com/UploadedFiles/Customs/CaseLaws/2025/Jest0810252.PNG" style="height:249px; width:373px"/></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Justice Khanna also spoke at length about tax law and economics, quoting judgments with the elegance of a jurist and the precision of a poet.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We then celebrated the 25th anniversary of TIOL</font></p> <p align="justify"><img src="https://admin.taxindiaonline.com/UploadedFiles/Customs/CaseLaws/2025/Jest0810253.PNG" style="height:271px; width:362px"/></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">With Lord Nicholas Stern, Dr. P Thiaga Rajan (Tamil Nadu Minister) and Mr. Sumit Dutt Majumder, former Chairman, CBEC. A moment of institutional pride, editorial nostalgia, and a few smiles over how far we've come (and how many acronyms we've survived).</font></p> <p align="justify"><img src="https://admin.taxindiaonline.com/UploadedFiles/Customs/CaseLaws/2025/Jest0810254.PNG" style="height:287px; width:211px"/></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As I escorted Lord Nicholas Stern out, I told him,"<em>next time we meet, you should be a Nobel Laureate."</em></font></p> <p><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We are confident he will get it! </font></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#ff0000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Until next week</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Comments/feedback welcome at <a href="mailto:vijaywrite@tiol.in" target="_blank">vijaywrite@tiol.in </a>or 9848111243 (WhatsApp)</font></p> </body> </html>