Year 1997 brought to the fruition a concept to start a fully-owned consultancy firm dealing exclusively in Central Excise, after garnering a rich and extensive experience of working in one of the large manufacturing plants near Pune, for a year where every procedure starting from registration onwards was handled single-handedly by me.

The very thought of starting a new venture without any financial support was a quite a risk, is an understatement. However, a platform to get a foothold in this domain was introduced by my pathfinder Adv. Upendra Khare and suddenly my dream didn’t sound too distant anymore.

A stickler for every minute detail about procedures involved in the then Central Excise, the late D V Shidhaye taught me all these like a loving teacher holding the finger of the young pupil. A lifelong philosopher and father figure to me, I value him as an asset with which I felt confident to venture on my own in the field of consultancy, particularly in indirect taxes.

Basic infrastructure required for starting a consultancy firm like a separate office and a telephone connection was not immediately available. However the wholehearted support from my friend circle boosted my confidence for the journey ahead.

Initially, when I decided to start the consultancy from my home, one of my dearest friends Umesh Borate managed to secure the transfer of the telephone line of his father’s, Adv. Suresh Borate, a busy advocate himself. To collect data about prospective clientele from the office of the MCCI, I spent at least one month, digging out the information from their industrial directory, in which once again my friend Dinesh Kulkarni helped me out.

A capital investment in relevant books and stationery was made. In the meantime, a telephone connection was also installed with the help of monetary help from the savings made by my late mother, who never said NO to me for anything in her entire life.

At last the day of February 20, 1997 was decided to start the new venture from my home, and accordingly arrangement of table, chair, bookrack, etc. was made in one of the rooms of my house. Slightly apprehensive of the lukewarm response in the initial days to my venture, I had decided to not to invite anyone at the inauguration of my consultancy service. Still, my friends, relatives and well-wishers flocked in to wish me on that day, which made me more determined not only to run the show but make it a success as well.

Truly unforgettable for me is the period from February 21 to March 31, 1997, during which I personally visited 196 different industries in and around Pune, Bhosari, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Sinhgad Road and the then newly started Ranjangaon MIDC area to distribute pamphlets about my consultancy firm ‘Excise Consultancy Services’. As luck would have it, I didn’t get a single client which was enough for me to dissuade from continuing further.

I decided to pay a visit to a company located on Sinhgad Road, ‘Efficient Machinery Works’, later renamed as ‘Efficient Machine Accessories Pvt. Ltd.’, as taking the last chance on April 1. Mr. Revankar, the owner of the company, after listening to my presentation, appointed ‘ECS’ as its retainer consultant for their matters pertaining to Central Excise. This single incidence made me feel confident to continue with my practice and thereafter day by day new clients started coming in. Still it hardly kept me busy for over 10 days a month; the rest 20 days being spent searching for new clients, moving from one industry to another.

Fortunately, at that time, a giant group of companies was looking for someone who would handle their Pune office, work which would not only include looking after excise procedures but also purchasing of industrial material required for them from time to time. Despite my significant lack of the technical background, Mr. P. R. Bapat, a Corporate Advisor of that group advised me to take up this opportunity.

This appointment kept me engaged with them for 15 days of the month. A thorough technical knowledge gained through owning and accepting the responsibility for irreparable mistakes made on my part and helpful insights into the intricacies pertaining to them given by him thereof helped me understand the manufacturing process of any company thereafter, irrespective of type of industry. Vendor development, procurement, production maintenance (mechanical & electrical), once as a machine operator as well, liaising with government agencies (besides Excise, factory inspectors, pollution control authorities, sales tax officers, labor court, etc. as well) added to my understanding of my field of work, which has been proving helpful for me tremendously even to this day.

Till 2003, even after attaining considerable progress in procedural consultancy with a widened scope of work including DGFT and Service Tax procedures, and becoming big enough in terms of number of clients, my firm remained strictly a one-man show, sans any staff.

A sudden and unfortunate development in 2003 forced me to give up the procedural work entirely; although I could have continued doing it but only at the cost of losing an eye permanently. A big question mark stood before me as regards my professional survival, but true GURU may understand without your saying anything. A phone call by D. V. Shidhaye proved for me the savior and what a lifesaver did it prove! The proof is a fact that’s self-explanatory: even to this day I am before you, still, working in this field.

The journey from procedural practice on field as part of consultancy, to solely legal consultancy as a practising advocate, was also not easy, rather an impossible one. Therefore, I am forever indebted to the late Bhau as has developed me not only with the sound domain knowledge but also helped me create a niche for myself, by presenting me as his associate, co-author of books, co-speaker at open house seminars, in-house seminars and much more. He inspired me to write articles, which brought me into contact with Mr Dilipsinh Thakur, who has given me an opportunity to write for a column for the first time in a periodical he published. Thereafter I wrote regular columns on Service Tax for two years in Marathi dailies Loksatta, Samana, Gavkari (Nashik) and in reputed trade journals like Vyapari Mitra, Excise Law Times, Service Tax Review, etc. A first-ever book on Service Tax in Marathi by me was also published in 2006, which, for me, is a memory to cherish forever.

Sudden demise of Bhau in the year 2011 left me again alone, out in the cold, but because of the constant support, firm backing and faith in my practice shown by you, I never did feel alone. An attempt to commemorate his memory through establishing a forum dedicated to social cause was made but somehow it failed to materialize. However this very gathering for the budget seminar after announcement of every Union Budget is one such attempt, for us, devoid of any consideration for profit.

Therefore, I am proud to help realize his one dream while he was still there, is that of organizing a budget seminar every year. And it has become a tradition through an uninterrupted run since last 22 years, of which since 2009 the same is organized by me on my own.

Dada, Dr Yashwant Raravikar, a renowned economist that he is but for me he is more than that, a father figure who has always inspired me not only with his kind words but through his act and commitment exhibited despite his advancing years. I still remember the day I met him for the first time; meeting him, I regard as a boon for my professional career and for future too. He kindles the fire in me to excel in my career by insisting me to write and express my views on the issues pertaining to my field of practice.

Online presence of ‘vidyadhar apte and associates’ aka va3, came into being on January 26, 2014 through its website www.vidyadharapte.com, which, for me, is a career milestone. True team spirit is developed when working with many hands from the beginning and that is how ‘va3’ has become a unique name in the consultancy pertaining to Indirect Taxes, particularly Central Excise and Service Tax.

Of course, there will be many more years to come to celebrate, but Central Excise & Service Tax shall be subsumed in upcoming Goods & Services Tax in 2017 and then the words ‘Central Excise’ and ‘Service Tax’ shall remain only in the then existing or upcoming sub-judice matters for next five to seven years. And as such, you and I shall never meet on this platform with under the words ‘Central Excise & Service Tax’. Therefore, for me, this 20-year celebration is a kind of farewell party for C.E. & S.T. and certainly a foundation stone for the words ‘Goods & Services Tax’. Therefore this celebration is a dual celebration—of farewell as well as welcome.

Last but not the least; true association is always more than
completing a certain number of years. It is, working with many a good
and dependable hand. In this journey of 20 years, a great many people were part of this association, either as consultants, professionals, as members of the staff or as students and their contribution is priceless.

Staff

Hema Hatkamkar
Dhanashree Kondhalkar
Nishigandha Phatak
Mayur Marne
Vishal Shah
Adv. Supriya Tadalage
At present Gauri Sonawane, Pendke Kaka

Students

Somnath Waghole
Prashant Deshmukh
Dhiraj Bhoite
Adv. Sachin Gaikwad
Adv. Vrunda Joshi-Dongre
Adv. Sarang Joshi
Adv. Rajashree Shingare
CS Mohsin Shaikh
Presently Adv. Devendra Athawale

Consultants, Professionals

The late CA Milind Sangoram
The late S. V. Joshi
The late Ravindra Desai
The late Tatya Sardeshmukh
The late V. S. Khadilkar
The late Ajit Ghaisas
H. B. Palkar
Rajesh Arwandekar
CA Milind Joshi
Prasad Tendulkar
Jayawant Bhosale
Rajendra Medhekar
CA Shailesh Khare
Vinayak Gokhale
Adv. Milind Bhonde
Adv. Deepak Godse
Gajendra Choudhary
CA Archana Shah
CA Arpita Kulkarni
Jayantilal Veera (MAMA)
V. S. Khanvilkar
Prakash Chaudhary
Arvind Navadikar
Suresh Sathe
Laxman Rahalkar
Adv. Suresh Borate
Adv. Prasad Phadke
Adv. Vinay Navare
Adv. Ajay Joshi and
Adv. Gauri Natu

Associations

Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA)
Western Maharashtra Tax Practitioners Association (WMTPA)
Excellence Learning Center (ELC)
Clothing manufacturers Association of India – Pune Center
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Dilipraj Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
Janata Sahakari Bank Limited

Newspapers/Periodicals

Weekly Nyaydan
Vyapari Mitra
Business Express
Excise Law Times
Service Tax Reviews
Chamber Patrika
Daily Loksatta
Daily Gavkari
Daily Samana
Daily Lokmat

Supportive Agencies

Comp-Act Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.
Ajit Law Book Depot
Hemant Marathe
SNDA & Co. (Chartered Accountant)
Macro World Computer Services
Print-O-Serve
Screen All

Lastly

And of course there is my better half, Mrs Manasi Apte. Without her unfailing support, patience and fortitude, it was not possible to complete 18 out of 20 years and to dream beyond that.

I am once again thankful to all those who had contributed and are contributing their immense support to me and my association directly or indirectly. Your best wishes for my endeavor shall always keep me going on my further goal-seeking journey.

With warm regards,

Vidyadhar S. Apte
Advocate