In a top-level reshuffle in the Ministry of Finance days ahead of the budget, the government late last night appointed Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the secretary in the Department of Revenue. Pandey replaces Arunish Chawla, who had been appointed as the revenue secretary only twelve days back on December 26. Chawla, meanwhile, will take over as DIPAM secretary in the ministry of finance – the post vacated by Pandey.   

“The appointments committee of cabinet has approved the following appointments. Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, department of investment and public asset management, ministry of finance as secretary, department of Revenue, ministry of finance vice Shri Arunish Chawla, upon his appointment as secretary, department of investment and public asset management, ministry of Finance. Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey will continue to be designated as finance secretary,” said the official order from the Ministry of Personnel.

It may be noted that Chawla had taken over as the revenue secretary on December 26 upon his appointment as his predecessor Sanjay Malhotra was appointed as the RBI governor. In effect, Chawla served only for eleven days as the revenue secretary. Chawla, a 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Bihar cadre, has a Master’s and Doctorate in Economics from the London School of Economics. Before taking charge as the revenue secretary, Chawla served as the secretary in the department of pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers since November 1, 2023.

Pandey, a 1987 cadre IAS officer, meanwhile, has been in the ministry of finance since a long time and overseen the department of disinvestment, which got rechristened as DIPAM. The immediate issues at hand for Pandey as the revenue secretary will be budget deliberations including the proposed overhaul of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the direct tax simplification that the upcoming budget may announce.

It is believed that the upcoming budget may see a slew of tax-related announcements, including the Direct Tax Code, which would simplify the tax laws.

Yet another immediate task at the hands for Pandey as the revenue secretary will be the GST rate and slab rationalistion. The council meeting held on December 21 has deferred the decision pertaining to GST rate and slab rationalization as the group of ministers under the GST Council needed more time to submit its recommendations. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already mentioned that the rate rationalisation is a holistic exercise.