IAS officer B.N. Sharma appointed Chairman, National Anti-profiteering Authority

Following the Union Cabinet's approval for the creation of the National Anti-profiteering Authority under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, the Centre on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer B.N. Sharma as the first chairman of the apex body.

Sharma, in his new role, is expected to give a direction to the authority in boosting the confidence of consumers that GST is a ''Good and Simple Tax'' in the overall national interest, according to a statement of the Ministry of Finance.

Sharma will be assisted by four senior officials of the rank of Joint Secretary and above, namely J.C. Chauhan, Chairman Tax Tribunal, Himachal Pradesh; Bijay Kumar, Principal Commissioner GST, Kolkata; C.L. Mahar, Principal Commissioner GST, Meerut; and R. Bhagyadevi, ADG, Systems, Chennai.

An IAS officer of 1985 batch belonging to Rajasthan cadre, Sharma is currently posted as Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. He has been closely associated with the formulation of GST and its implementation. He has also worked as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power and prior to that, in the Commercial Taxes Department in the State of Rajasthan.

As its first Chairman, Sharma is expected to give a direction to the Authority in boosting the confidence of consumers that GST is a ''Good and Simple Tax'' in the overall national interest.

Earlier in the month, the Union Cabinet approved the creation of posts of chairman and technical members of the NAA under the GST.

The Authority has been set up for a two-year period, which would begin from the date Sharma assumes charge as Chairman.

The Authority is mandated to ensure that the benefits of input credit and the reduction in GST rates on specified goods or services are passed on to the consumers by way of a commensurate reduction in prices.

With the Chairman and Technical Members now having been appointed, the Authority becomes functional thereby reassuring consumers of Governments' commitment that GST would result in lower prices of goods and services.