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With the July 31 deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the assessment year 2024-25 fast approaching, many people are reaching out to their accountant friends for assistance. Recently, a Chartered Accountancy (CA) aspirant, Manthan Raichura, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration with acquaintances who only contact him when they need help.
Raichura shared a screenshot of a conversation between himself and an old acquaintance who had not been in touch for a significant period. The conversation began with a simple "Hello" before revealing the acquaintance's request for help with filing his ITR.
"I take no shame in asking for ITR filing fees. It is that time of the year when some unrelated relatives and old disconnected 'friends' will call/text for their selfish reason. Why should I feed my time to keep an inexistent relation?" Raichura wrote while sharing the screenshot of the WhatsApp chat.
The conversation began with the acquaintance sending a message, prompting Raichura to respond, curious about the sudden contact. The acquaintance then replied in Hindi, "Yes, I wanted to file the ITR." Raichura immediately cut to the chase, asking for details and fees. The acquaintance responded, "Achaa...fees dena hoga. Kitna? (Oh, I have to pay a fee? How much?)"
Raichura then quoted the fee, to which the acquaintance, hoping to get the service for free, backed out, saying "Rehn de (leave it)," ending the conversation.
This exchange led Raichura to share the interaction on social media, where his post quickly gained traction and sparked various reactions. One user commented, "Bhai, I asked my CA friend to file only after you take money. It is his source of earning; I can't expect him to do it for free." Another user added, "Same for doctors, bro! Why should such people be given free treatment after spending so many years in medical training? Good one. Keep it up."
One user stated, "Even my best friend charges me for filing my ITR, and I pay him happily."
"Bohut hi direct hai dost tumhara. Bro didn't get the sarcasm of 'bohut dino baad yaad aayi'," a user remarked.
I have stopped filing for them rather than doing for free. No means no.
However, not all reactions were supportive. One user wrote, "Thank God I don't have a CA friend like you. He's a friend of 24 years, and we've met only thrice in the last 18 years, yet he just asks for my Form 16 and does the honour. I'm blessed I have friends like him."
Another user offered a different perspective: "My take on this. Obviously, you are entitled to charge for your work and time. But with that, we have to take care of our relationships too. Agree the friend was not in contact much, but you may not know his struggles. So even the decline should be proper and respectful."
