3 Members Inducted Into Cbdt

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has undergone a substantial overhaul with the induction of three new members belonging to the 1964 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). The new entrants replace three members who have attained superannuation.

The new members inducted on Wednesday are V M Muthuramalingam, Asha Mehra and A Balasubramanian who were formerly the Central Commissioners of Mumbai, Pune and Chennai, respectively. Going by seniority, one of the three is slated to take over as the new chairperson on July 1.

The CBDT has also made a plea to the government to revive the post of an additional member to look after judicial matters. The Board has argued that the additional member would be required to look into the large number of tax claims estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore stuck in the courts, officials said.

The outgoing members are K Subramanian (member, personnel & vigilance), A K Batabayal (investigation) and V Pasupaty (legislation). Batabayal, who retired on January 31, and Subramanian are joining the Settlement Commission. Subramanian, who was due to retire in April, has relinquished his charge in advance after being nominated to the settlement panel.

The composition of the CBDT is set to undergo further change when present chairman Ravi Kant takes his bow on June 30. I am happy that the government has acted promptly and filled up the vacancies. This is especially critical when the financial year is drawing to a close and would certainly strengthen our hands, said the chairman.

The outgoing members were part of the team that set a precedent of sorts by first slashing income and corporation tax rates to a record low, following it up with the most successful amnesty scheme till date the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS).

As a result of the change incorporated on Wednesday, the Board now has two lady members for the first time. The other lady representative is S K Nigam, who is member, Income Tax.