IRS Officer Vikas Jhajharia Promoted to Commissioner Grade with Notional Effect from 2025

Vikas Jhajharia, a 2007-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), has been promoted to the grade of Commissioner in the Senior Administrative Grade against panel year 2025. The promotion is on a notional basis with effect from January 30, 2025.

Commissioner is the Senior Administrative Grade rank in the customs and indirect taxes service and carries charge of a GST or customs commissionerate. A Commissioner heads a territorial jurisdiction covering assessment, audit and anti-evasion work under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, or a customs formation at a port, airport or inland container depot. The rank also exercises adjudication powers above the monetary limits set for lower ranks, which makes the Commissioner the deciding authority in a large share of tax disputes before they move to appellate tribunals. Commissioners also head appeals formations, audit commissionerates and the Directorate General of GST Intelligence zonal units, each of which carries a distinct function. The appellate Commissioner hears appeals against orders of lower authorities, and the audit commissionerate examines taxpayer records selected on risk criteria.

The Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) works under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Officers of the 2007 batch entered service before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in 2017 and have worked through central excise and service tax administration, the transition to GST, and the subsequent build-out of the return matching and input tax credit verification systems. Jhajharia's promotion places him among the officers of that batch reaching commissionerate charge. The service also staffs the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which handles customs offences including smuggling and commercial fraud, and the enforcement formations working on fake invoicing under GST. Officers of the service serve in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Delhi and on deputation to other departments and to the GST Council secretariat.

Promotions in the service are made on the recommendation of a Departmental Promotion Committee, which considers the annual appraisal record, vigilance clearance and the availability of vacancies in the grade. Each promotion is linked to a panel year corresponding to the year in which the vacancies arose.

Notional promotion with retrospective effect is used where the Departmental Promotion Committee meeting for a panel year is held after the date on which the vacancies became available. The officer's seniority and pay fixation are worked out from the notional date, while actual arrears are governed by the terms of the order. Delays in convening promotion committees have been a recurring subject in service matters before the Central Administrative Tribunal, and departments have been directed to hold the meetings in the year preceding the vacancy year. The Department of Personnel and Training has issued instructions requiring departments to hold promotion committee meetings before the vacancy year begins, using the model calendar prescribed for the purpose. Departments where the calendar has not been followed have faced litigation from officers seeking notional seniority and consequential benefits.

The CBIC has been filling Commissioner-level vacancies as the cadre restructuring approved for the service takes effect and as officers retire from the grade. Commissionerates under the board handle GST collections that now run above Rs 1.8 lakh crore in most months, along with customs revenue and the enforcement work against fraudulent input tax credit claims that the board has made a priority. Commissionerates also handle the refund claims of exporters under the zero-rating provisions of the GST law, where delays have drawn representations from industry, and the recovery of demands confirmed in adjudication. Disposal of pending adjudication cases is monitored by the board through its own review system.

The promotion is against panel year 2025, on notional basis with effect from January 30, 2025. Jhajharia belongs to the 2007 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes).