NEW DELHI (17.05.2026): The race for the lone vacant Board-level position at the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has narrowed down, with applications officially closing on May 13. Out of the ten senior IRS (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officers invited by the Department of Revenue, only eight have submitted their candidatures. The nine contenders vying for the post include: the senior-most Raj Kumar (1990), V. Valte (1990) and Prachi Saroop (1991), Rimjhim Prasad (1991), Rajesh Jindal (1991), Mayank Kumar (1991), Arti A. Sriniwas (1991), and Shailendra Kumar Sinha (1991) and Diptasri Barma Arora (1991), who recently gained eligibility. Of ten officers only five would be shortlisted and invited for the interaction.
According to insiders, Madan Mohan Singh (1991), who had opted out in the previous selection round, is said to have not filed applications till May 13th.
Between late December 2025 and January 2026, a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) had shortlisted and interviewed 15 officers to fill three vacancies on the superannuation of former Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agrawal (1988) and Board Members Shashank Priya (1988) and Aruna Narayan Gupta (1989).
On February 13, 2026, the government filled two of those positions by appointing Sanjay Mangal (1992) and Abhai Kumar Srivastav (1992) to the Board. However, the third vacancy—which technically opened on December 1, 2025—was left unfilled.
With only nine officers throwing their hats into the ring for this carry-forward slot and bring the Board back to its full sanctioned strength.
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