Govt's cost-cutting drive: Proposal to merge CBDT, CBIC back on the table

Freezing hiring, curtailing allowances, and merging of job categories also on the cards

As part of the government’s efforts to contain the costs of operations amid increasing revenue loss, the proposal to merge the direct and indirect tax boards is back on the table, with a massive downsizing of the cadre at all levels.

These could include a freeze on hiring for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), changes in retirement rules, merging job categories, shifting revenue officers to other departments, and curtailing allowances of employees, said official sources. The austerity drive has begun amid the global pandemic, which has derailed the economy and widened the fiscal deficit.

“Both the tax boards, in concurrence