Ravi Agrawal, 1988-Batch IRS Officer, Appointed Chairman Of CBDT

1988-batch IRS officer, Ravi Agrawal has been appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the administrative wing of the Income Tax Department.

He will take the handover from Nitin Gupta who is a 1986-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Services, whose extended tenure as the chairman will culminate on June 30. The new CBDT chief is currently serving as a Member (Administration) of the Board.

An official order revealed that Mr Agrawal will now lead the CBDT till June 2025. His scheduled retirement is in September this year, but his appointment order specifies that he will be reappointed on a contract basis until June 30 next year.

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CBDT is the decision-making authority vested with the responsibility of the administration and laws that come under the purview of direct taxes through the Department of Income Tax. It is also a statutory body, which means it was established by an Act, and in this case, it is the Central Board of Revenue Act 1963. The body falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.

The body plays an important role in providing inputs for policy implementation and revenue allocation. The body is also engaged in the collection and allocation of direct taxes and also suggests legislative changes in Direct Tax Enactments.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) comprises a Chairman and six members, each overseeing specific areas:

• Income Tax and Revenue
• Administration
• Legislation
  
• Audit and Judicial Matters
  
• Investigation
  
• Transfer Pricing and Systems

Members of the CBDT are appointed from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and form the senior leadership of the Income Tax Department.

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