Demand For Tax Professionals Saw Robust 47% Growth: Justdial

-          Non-metro cities drive growth for Chartered Accountants and Income Tax consultants

-          COVID-19 pandemic spurs freelance work, fuels the need for financial experts

-          Chennai witnessed a 12% growth, while Ahmedabad saw a spike of 10%

India’s No.1 hyperlocal search engine, has reported a significant surge in demand for chartered accountants and income tax consultants in FY-2023. The report highlights that the first quarter of FY 2023 saw a 47% growth in demand, as compared to the same quarter of FY 2022. The non-metros like Indore (72%), Chandigarh (71%) and Lucknow (59%) witnessed the highest ever growth in the same period.

According to the report, the demand for finance professionals is driven by the resumption of economic activities post-COVID, and the critical time for tax returns is from January to June. While the government is simplifying the taxation regime, the option of two tax regimes and intricate details of the taxation laws, necessitates expert guidance while tax filing.

As expected, the report observed growth in searches from Q3-FY 2023 to Q4-FY 2023, especially in non-metro cities like Karnal (36%), Mangalore (22%) and Surat (15%). Among Tier-I cities, Chennai witnessed a 12% growth, while Ahmedabad saw a spike of 10%. This growth in demand is expected to continue until June - July.

“Based on our experience, the demand for finance professionals peaks in mid-April as people rush to file their tax returns before the deadline. Our firm primarily caters to retail customers, freelancers, and smaller firms, with a turnover of 10 to 30 crore revenue,” said Mr. Santhaseelan, the proprietor of V.S. Santhaseelan & Associates, Chennai.

He further added, “With the startup ecosystem booming, we have seen a significant spike in demand for CA/IT consultants from new businesses seeking guidance on tax compliance and other financial matters. The demand for finance professionals is expected to grow in the coming years as the Indian economy recovers and more businesses enter the market.”

Commenting on the search insights, Mr. Shwetank Dixit, Vice President, Justdial, said, “The increased demand for Chartered Accountants and Income Tax Consultants reflects the resurgence in economic activity as well as need for expert guidance to navigate the constantly evolving financial system. We expect the demand to grow in the upcoming year as well.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many professionals switching to freelance work or starting their businesses, which has further increased the demand. The government's focus on digitization and preventing tax evasion has made it essential for businesses and individuals to seek expert guidance to avoid penalties. With the Indian economy growing, the demand for chartered accountants and income tax consultants will continue in the coming years.

About Just Dial Limited

Just Dial Limited provides local search related services to users in India through multiple platforms such as Desktop/PC website (https://www.justdial.com), mobile site (https://t.justdial.com), mobile apps (Android & iOS), over the telephone (Voice, pan India number 88888-88888) and text (SMS). Justdial’s latest version of JD App, is an All-in-One App, replete with features like Map-aided Search, Live TV, Videos, Stock quotes, etc. to make the life of the consumer infinitely smoother & more engaging.

The Company has recently launched its B2B marketplace platform, JD Mart. JD Mart platform, available at https://www.jdmart.com and via apps on Play Store and App Store, is aimed at enabling millions of India’s manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers to become internet-ready in post-COVID era, get new customers and sell their products online. The platform offers digital product catalogues to businesses and aims at digitalising India’s businesses, especially MSMEs, across categories. Buyers can discover quality vendors offering a wide selection of products to choose from, spread across millions of categories to suit all B2B needs.

Justdial has also initiated transaction-oriented services for its users. These services aim at making several day-to-day tasks conveniently actionable and accessible to users from one App. With this step, Justdial is transitioning from being purely a provider of local search and related information to being a direct/ indirect enabler of such transactions. Justdial has also recently launched an end-to-end business management solution for SMEs, through which it intends to transition thousands of SMEs to efficiently run business online and have their adequate online presence via their own website, mobile site. Apart from this, Justdial has also launched JD Pay, a unique solution for quick digital payments for its users and vendors.