Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

06-February-2013 18:01 IST

The Directorate of Income Tax certified and felicitated the 2nd batch of successful students of Tax Return Preparer Scheme (TRPS), at a function held in the city today.

Shri S.S. Palanimanickam, Minister of State for Finance (Revenue) gave certificates to 40 TRPs from Delhi/ NCR. Shri Palanimanickam congratulated the graduating batch of TRPs and wished them success in their career. He applauded TRPS as a unique initiative to increase the tax payer base of the country, along with increasing employability of graduates.

TRPS is an initiative by The Directorate of Income Tax (DIT), Government of India, to increase awareness and compliance amongst taxpayers through larger community participation. NIIT has been mandated by DIT to train and certify Tax Return Preparers (TRPs) across the country. These TRPs are certified to file returns of individual and HUF income tax assessees as well as file TDS & Service Tax Returns of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Launched by the Directorate of Income Tax in 2006, TRPS is aimed at raising the level of awareness and compliance amongst marginal tax payers. The founding objectives include - providing an employment avenue for unemployed or partially employed graduates and reducing the cost of compliance for small tax payers – leading to an increased assessee base for the Government.

5000 TRPs were trained in the first batch and 3737 TRPs were certified after undergoing a rigorous selection process, training and certification exam.

To help TRPs file returns, a helpdesk manned by tax experts has also been set up. Further details about TRPs are available through a dedicated portal www.trpscheme.com

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DSM/RS/Ka

Tax Return Preparer Scheme expands certified preparers, facilitating return filing and taxpayer compliance for individuals and small businesses. The Tax Return Preparer Scheme (TRPS) trains and certifies preparers via NIIT to assist marginal and small taxpayers by preparing and filing individual and HUF income tax returns and TDS and service tax returns for SMEs, supported by an expert helpdesk; the scheme aims to expand the assessee base, reduce compliance costs for small taxpayers, and provide employment opportunities, with a second batch of 40 TRPs certified in Delhi/NCR and prior certification figures reported.