Search for New ED begins
Nitin Gupta front runner, four others in Race
With the Supreme Court curtailing the tenure of Enforcement Director S K Mishra to July 31, 2023, the search for his successor has begun right earnest. Topping the list of probables is Nitin Gupta, chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) who is a favourite of the current dispensation. He has been at the helm of affairs in the Income-Tax department; first as Member (Investigation) and later became Chairman CBDT by superseding a couple of board members. His tenure is coming to an end in September 2023. After the ED, its Income-Tax department which has conducted a record number of surveys, searches and raids. The latest IT raid which shot into prominence was on BBC which conceded months later that it underpaid Income Tax.
The others in the fray are Pravin Kumar (IRS IT: 1987) who is also a Member, CBDT. He is one batch junior to Nitin Gupta. But nothing stalls his chances as seniority alone cannot be the criteria in such a sensitive position. Former Director of Financial Intelligence Unit Pankaj Kumar Mishra and Simanchala Dash, a former Principal Special Director in the ED are also being mentioned for the key post.
The ED director is selected as per provisions of the CVC Act 2003. A committee of three members with the Chief Central Vigilance Commissioner VC P K Srivastava as chairman, Revenue Secretary in the Finance Ministry Sanjay Malhotra and S Radha Chauhan, Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training will select the new ED. Nitin Gupta's tenure as CBDT chairman is coming to an end in September. The tenure of the ED Director will not be less than two years and any transfer has to be with the recommendation of the appointing authority. The current ED, Sanjay Mishra created a history by remaining in the post for almost five years.
