Welcome to Income Tax
Bar Association Calcutta

Ninty eight years ago, sometime in the month of April, 1924, Shyamlal Sarkar, Bhut Nath Kar, Sashi Bhowmic, Amritlal Majumdar and Jyan Ranjan Roy, five of the then senior most lawyers of Calcutta, practicing direct taxes, joined their hands together, to form an association to protect the interest of the practicing lawyers, under the name of ‘INCOME TAX BAR ASSOCIATION, CALCUTTA’, in a small room within the Income Tax Office building at Beadon street (near Scottish Church college), Calcutta.

Subsequently, in the year 1929, the Bar association office was shifted to a very small and stuffy room at the back stairs of the Income Tax Office building at 6, Esplanade East, Calcutta, but in the very next year on account of the growing membership strength, the association was allotted a comfortable room at Metcalfe Hall, at 1, Hare street, overlooking the Ganges.

Thereafter, in the month of June, 1937, the Income Tax Office was shifted to 3, Government Place West, (which was known as Central Secretariat building) and by that time our membership strength also grew to 32 and an even more spacious room was required. So the association was allotted a nice and spacious ground floor room on the western block of the said building.

The Bar association occupied this building from the year 1937 to 1962 and it is in this building that the activities of this Bar association grew leaps and bounds gaining in membership strength supported by a well stocked library. Thereafter, in the year 1962, when AYAKAR BHAWAN was built the Bar Association was allotted a room on the ground floor and with membership strength of 102, the office of the association shifted to the said building at P-7, Chowringhee square, in the month of February’62.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata Benches, was also functioning in Calcutta and in the year 1972, the Bar association was allotted a separate spacious room in the Tribunal building at ALP Bhawan 7th. Floor, 225/C A.J.C.Bose Road, Calcutta , where a second library of the Bar was set up.

Subsequently, in the month of June, 1987, with the initiative of the then President Shri Chittaranjan Banerjee, and by the grace of the then Chief Commissioners of Income Tax Sri S.K. Gangopadhay and Dr. N. R. Shivaswami, the present premises of the Bar Association at AYAKAR BHAWAN (Annexe) was relocated with a membership strength of 374.

Since then the membership continued to grow and at present the Bar Association carries a total weight of 441 Advocates. It is worthwhile mentioning that two of our esteemed members Dr. Debi Prasad Pal and Shri T. D. Sugla, were elevated to the position of Hon’ble Judges of Calcutta High court and Bombay High court, respectively.

Similarly, three of our Learned members Shri A. C. Moitra, Late A. R. Haldar and the Late S. L. Banerjee were appointed Hon’ble Judicial Members, of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. Furthermore, three of our members Late Beni Shankar Sharma, Late Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra and Dr. Debi Prasad Pal were elected as Members of Parliament also.

Today, the Income Tax Bar Association, Calcutta, can claim to be the oldest Income Tax Bar in the country, with legal luminaries such as Dr. Debi Prasad Pal, Shri R. N. Bajoria, Shri Nirmal Kumar Poddar, Shri Kalyan Roy, Late Anil Kanti Roychowdhury, Shri Nirmal Mookherjee adorning the Bar.

Apart from the above, the Bar Association today has amongst its members legal stalwarts in the field of taxation, such as Shri Girish Narayan Singh, Shri Mahabir Prasad Thard, Shri M. L. Saraf, Shri Sumermal Surana, Shri K. V. Singh, Shri S. L. Kochar, Shri Meghnath Banerjee, Shri Sukhendu Prasad Chowdhury, Shri Sunil Majumdar, Shri J.P Khaitan, who always acts as a guiding force to the other members of the Bar. The Income Tax Bar Association Calcutta has already celebrated its Platinum jubilee in the year 1999 and is looking forward to its centenary in the year 2024.