S Ramesh appointed chairman of CBIC

Senior bureaucrat S Ramesh has been appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes, according to an official order.

He will succeed Vanaja N Sarna, who superannuates on June 30.

Ramesh, a 1981 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), is at present the member in the board, mandated with the responsibility of implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He has been appointed as chairman of the CBIC with the status of special secretary to the central government, the order said.

Sarna was appointed as chief of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which has now been rechristened as the CBIC, in March last year. She was instrumental in the implementation of the GST from July 1 last year.

Official sources said Sarna may be appointed as chairperson of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the IT backbone of the GST, after her retirement.

Senior IRS (Customs and Central Excise) officer Raj Kumar Barthwal has been named as new member in the CBIC in place of Ramesh, the order said.

The CBIC, which works under the Finance Ministry, is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of six members.