More than a decade ago, while being Chairman of IEEE, Hyderabad Section, I had got into correspondence with you about the possibility and justification of exemption of income-tax on the payment of subscriptions by individuals to various professional societies such as IE(I), IEE (U.K.), IEEE (U.S.), CSI, IETE, and the like that might run into several thousand rupees annually. The local income-tax department and even the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) expressed that such expenditure together with expenses on other professional requirements, were to be charged to / taken care of by “standard deduction” being available to all salaried individuals. Now that the Finance Minister has scrapped this valuable concession to the salaried class for the past two years (and surprisingly nobody has raised the point), how are the individual professional engineers going to account for these professional membership, if they are in service not exercising any profession. Is there any hope for breather somewhere?
Many of the salaried employees, who are professionally qualified, would like to retain their professional qualification and continue their membership with their professional associations by paying annual subscriptions and participate in any updating courses. It would be a reasonable deduction in the hands of the employees, but then, there is no provision, which would allow such deduction. Cost of attendance in seminars conducted by professional associations can be allowed in the hands of the employer, if the employer meets the same. But where the employee himself meets such cost or pays annual fee, which may entitle him to a concessional participation, there is no deduction now available.
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