When it started in the mid-nineties, it was a pioneer as the only conference on international taxation issues in India. There was a need for training professionals on the subject. As a result, the conference was conceptualized to educate them on international tax principles and practices in various countries. The emphasis was on international tax planning since professional advisors needed to understand tax treaties and tax planning techniques in a global business world. As from 2001, its emphasis has gradually changed from tax planning and it has become a truly technical conference on the subject. Its objective is to disseminate knowledge and provide a better understanding of global international tax practices, developments and trends. This neutral approach as an international (not domestic) conference also differentiates it from other conferences held in the region. The name of the conference was changed to "International Taxation Conference" to reflect this change.

This change in emphasis was dictated by the needs of both taxpayers and tax officials. With increasing globalization, the subject of international taxation is of as much importance to the tax collectors as it is to taxpayers. International tax involves more than one country and any unilateral action by tax authorities of a country can lead to double taxation for the taxpayer. Both taxpayers and officials need to improve their knowledge and understanding to avoid conflicts on international tax issues. As a technical conference, it now welcomes each year a large number of officials from the Indian and foreign tax administrations, both as delegates and speakers. During the conference tax officials interact informally with delegates from the profession and industry in India and abroad, and share their views with other experts on the subject.

The conference is a truly global (not just Indian) event of world class standard. There are speakers from round the world as well as delegates from all over the world. Both the speakers and the delegates come to this conference because they love the subject. Over the years, it has also become a leading regional conference with large number of delegates from India, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Gulf countries, Europe, North America and Singapore.

The conference is held annually in co-operation with the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation and Asia-Pacific Tax Bulletin in the Netherlands and the International Fiscal Association - India Branch. Other organizations which have contributed to our past success include the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society and the Bombay Management Association. We also receive regular support with speakers from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris (France). For several years, R&PM:Edelman has helped us with conference promotion and the ITC Maratha hotel has provided us a high-class conference venue. In addition, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce provides us with organizational support for our annual conference.

Our speakers
The conference attracts both outstanding speakers and high quality delegates. It invites speakers, who are renowned international experts, from the profession, academia and governmental bodies to make presentations at this conference. They are carefully selected to blend in with the conference objectives and the needs of our delegates each year. International taxation is a complex subject. Not only do these speakers share their own knowledge and experience, but they also communicate their ideas and expertise to the delegates in a professional environment.

The conference follows the same format each year. There are around fifteen speakers, of which at least two-thirds are from abroad. The conference also adopts a theme based on an international tax topic of current relevance and a recognized world-renowned authority on the topic is invited as a special speaker. For the past seven years our conference theme and special speakers have been as follows:

In 2001, 2003 and 2005, we welcomed Professor Klaus Vogel from Germany as our speaker and conference chairman. Professor Vogel does not need an introduction to any professional, who is interested in international taxation. His lifetime contribution to this subject has been enormous. For all of us who know his writings well he was a world authority on the interpretation of double tax treaties. His classic book (last published in 1997) is widely quoted by judicial bodies globally, including the Indian Supreme Court and the Authority for Advance Rulings in India. Professor Vogel passed away in December 2007. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the Foundation.

Some of the other eminent speakers who have spoken at our past conferences include Jacques Sasseville from the OECD in Paris. It was a great tribute to the quality of this conference to have him speak to us for two years' running in 2003 and 2004. Mary Bennett from the OECD in Paris was our special speaker in 2006. Other international speakers include Professor Richard Vann from Australia, Professor Daniel Sandler from Canada, Professor David Rosenbloom from the United States, Professor Jean Pierre Legall from France, Professor Arvid Skaar from Norway and Professor Michael Lang from Austria to name a few. Last year, Mr. B M Singh (past Chairman - CBDT in India) was one of our speakers in 2006 and a discussion panel member in 2007. The conference also attracts a wide range of specialist speakers in our several panel discussions. Over the years, the conference has hosted nearly 300 speakers from more than 25 countries.

During 2004-2006, we were honoured by the presence of Honourable Justice Quadri, Chairman of the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) in India. On each occasion, he had presided and spoken at the special session during the conference to discuss some of his rulings. Last year, Justice P V Reddi, the current Chairman of AAR, presided over our panel discussion on “Do Taxpayers have any Rights under International Taxation”. We have also invited Mr Vimal Gandhi, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, India to our conference this year. We trust they will continue to attend our conference in future and give us their active support. This year we have again International speakers with worldwide reputation in International Taxation.

Besides this conference, the Foundation has plans for other activities to promote the knowledge and practice of international taxation. They include research, educational activities and publications on international taxation. Last year, Taxmann Publications published my book on Basic International Taxation (Second Edition) jointly under our FIT logo. The prime objective of the Foundation remains to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas among business and professional people, academics and government officials on tax issues from an international (not domestic) perspective.

Our Sponsors
One of the conference objectives is to provide an international conference experience to our delegates in India at Indian cost. So far, the delegate fee has been kept relatively low through sponsorship funds raised by the organizers. It is a low-cost conference with probably one of the lowest delegate fees in the world for a conference of this stature. Despite our best efforts, the costs of organizing the conference keep increasing. We need more sponsorships to meet these expenses.

We wish to thank our sponsors for their generosity and request them to continue their support. The conference offers them an excellent opportunity for both networking and marketing among the leading professionals in the field of international taxation in this region. We also provide some of our foreign speakers prior to the conference for in-house training sessions for professional firms in Mumbai to our major sponsors. If you or your organization would like to be a sponsor, please have a look at the “Sponsorship Form” webpage and download the attached form.

Our Welcome
We request you review the other pages on this website for further details of the Foundation and its present and proposed activities. If you have any suggestions or wish to participate in the activities of the Foundation, please contact us.

We look forward to your support for the Foundation and its activities and to seeing you at our annual conference every December.