CBDT Chairman Mody's tenure ends; Mohapatra given additional charge

J B Mohapatra, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, was on Monday given the additional charge as CBDT chairman after the extended tenure of incumbent P C Mody ended, a government order said.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) frames policy for the Income Tax Department.

The order issued by the department of revenue, which is under the Union finance ministry, said, "Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra, member CBDT, shall discharge the duties and responsibilities of the post of chairman, CBDT, in addition to his own duties for a period of three months or till appointment of a regular chairman, whichever is earlier."

It stated that the arrangement has been "decided with the approval of the competent authority".

Official sources said an order appointing Mohapatra as regular CBDT chairman could be issued in the coming days by the prime minister-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

Mohapatra, along with his two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) batchmates, was appointed to the CBDT only a few days back on May 27. His service ends in April next year.

Before this appointment, he was serving as the principal chief commissioner of Income Tax for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region.

Mody, whose tenure came to an end on Monday, is a 1982-batch IRS officer.

He had got three extensions after his scheduled retirement date in August 2019.

The CBDT is headed by a chairman and can have six members. All of these officers are in the rank of special secretary.

With the completion of Mody's tenure, the CBDT now has two posts of member vacant.