New Delhi (28.11.2025): The NaMo administration has once again demonstrated its preference for merit and a clean slate over seniority by appointing Vivek Chaturvedi (IRS C&IT: 1990) as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). The announcement, made late on 28.11.2025, surprised many within the bureaucratic circles.
Chaturvedi, Member, CBIC, is widely regarded across the service as one of the most upright and honest officers in the current seniority matrix. His appointment to the top post ensured him a significant two-year tenure as Chairman.
He takes the reins from Sanjay Kumar Agarwal (IRS C&IT: 1988), who superannuated on the same day.
Power corridors were abuzz with talks that the successor to S.K. Agrawal would be one of the 1989 batch officers: Surjit Bhujbal, Yogendra Garg, or Mohan Kumar Singh.
While Chaturvedi was seen as a strong contender for the Member position in the CBIC and was often whispered about as a 'future' Chairman, however, there was almost a consensus opinion that he would not be the immediate successor of Agarwal. His elevation, bypassing officers senior to his 1990 batch, underscores the incumbent government’s trend of prioritizing the perceived integrity and competence of officers for key roles over hierarchy.
The move signals a clear message from the administration about its focus on transparency and ethical conduct in the tax administration apparatus. It is also understood that the government chooses a non-controversial image over seniority but with a twist to shift the control upwards.
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