Vivek Chaturvedi IRS takes charge as CBIC Chairman
Indian Bureaucracy News, New Delhi, December 01, 2025| Senior IRS officer Shri Vivek Chaturvedi, a 1990-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (C&IT), was appointed Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 28 November 2025 and assumed office on 1 December 2025. He succeeds Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, who retired on 28 November 2025.
The CBIC, formerly the Central Board of Excise & Customs, operates under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for formulating policies and overseeing the levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST), and IGST, as well as preventing smuggling and administering related matters. The Board supervises subordinate bodies, including Customs Houses, Central Excise and CGST Commissionerates, and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.
Before joining the CBIC as a Member, Shri Chaturvedi served as the Principal Director General of Vigilance and Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)—roles that placed him at the core of the government’s push for transparency, internal oversight and stronger integrity mechanisms within the revenue system. His tenure in vigilance and his experience with administrative functions across customs and GST formations are expected to support the government amid its expanding tax, compliance and digital reform agenda.
Shri Chaturvedi’s elevation to CBIC Chairman signals the government’s continued emphasis on clean tax administration, enforcement reform and digital governance. The transition also ensures leadership continuity at a time when the GST regime is moving into a consolidation and refinement phase after eight years of implementation since its launched at midnight on 1 July 2017 by the Modi Government.
With GST collections remaining steady, policy attention is expected to shift toward the next phase of reforms, including rationalising tax slabs, reducing litigation, simplifying compliance requirements and improving tools to address fraud and anti-evasion practices. In this context, Shri Chaturvedi’s experience in vigilance is seen as relevant to the government’s efforts to strengthen oversight and enforcement within the indirect tax system. The Ministry of Finance is expecting to further reinforce the administration’s drive against fraudulent networks engaged in fake invoicing, circular trading, and input tax credit (ITC) manipulation—areas where data analytics have already shown considerable success.
The scale of the challenge remains substantial, Fraud detection continues to be a major area of focus. By July 2023, the CBIC had reported detection of 24,000 instances of fake GST invoices, involving ₹63,000 crore in wrongful input tax credit claims and leading to about 8,000 cases being booked. Enforcement activity remains active; as recently as November 25, 2025, the CGST Chennai North Commissionerate uncovered a fake invoice network that had allegedly generated ₹50.85 crore in fraudulent input tax credit on invoices valued at around ₹300 crore. These developments highlight the scale of compliance challenges and the continuing need for systematic enforcement and need for persistent technological and administrative vigilance to protect the fiscal base of the country.
On the customs side, India’s rapid digital modernisation has increased the need for stable and experienced leadership. Automated risk management systems, AI-supported cargo profiling, paperless documentation and global data integration are central to New Delhi’s efforts to improve logistics efficiency and reduce clearance times. As Chairman, Shri Chaturvedi will be responsible for steering these initiatives while maintaining policy coordination with international bodies such as the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
His role also extends to supporting deliberations at the GST Council, where CBIC serves as the technical backbone for policy decisions involving both the Union and state governments. The Council is expected to take up major agenda items in the coming months, including rate rationalisation and changes to dispute-resolution structures.
Shri Chaturvedi succeeds Shri Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, an IRS officer of the 1988 batch, who completed his tenure on 28 November, 2025. With over three decades of experience, Chaturvedi is widely seen as a steady hand who understands both the operational and policy challenges of India’s indirect tax administration. His appointment underscores the Centre’s focus on continuity, oversight, and strengthening the digital and enforcement architecture of the indirect tax ecosystem.
As he takes charge, expectations are high – to consolidate GST reforms, deepen digital transformation, enhance compliance culture, and position India’s indirect tax administration for a period of sustained economic expansion.
Indian Bureaucracy Dot Com wishes Shri Vivek Chaturvedi the very best.