NEW DELHI: There is disquiet in the Income Tax department over the slow progress in filling up more than 190 vacancies for Principal Commissioners, a rank above Commissioners, and around 50 at the level of Chief Commissioners and Principal Chief Commissioners, a secretary level post. Many of these vacancies are pending since 2019.
Officers at the level of Principal Commissioners are administrative heads of the I-T department in zones with 3 to 5 lakh taxpayers under their assessment. These officers are crucial for tax administration across the country, facilitating collection as well as search and survey operations to curb evasions, said an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.