The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has appointed Smt. Sungita Sharma, IRS (C&IT: 1986, Retd.) as its Technical Member.
A seasoned officer of the Indian Revenue Service, Sharma brings with her over three decades of experience in tax administration, policy implementation, and systemic reforms.
Sharma last served as Special Secretary and Member (Administration), CBIC from August 2020 until her retirement in January 2023. During this tenure, she is credited with introducing greater accountability, transparency, and efficiency in cadre management, infrastructure and budget utilization, training, performance evaluation, and vigilance of CBIC’s 55,000-plus workforce across the country.
She was closely associated with the roll-out of GST, co-chairing the Sectoral Working Group on GST for Travel & Tourism in 2017. She also headed two major Central GST Zones—Mumbai (April 2018–February 2020) and Delhi (March 2020–November 2020, concurrently from August 2020 on promotion to Apex Scale)—as Chief Commissioner and Principal Chief Commissioner, respectively. Earlier, she served as Director General (West), DGGIfrom January to December 2019, overseeing anti-evasion enforcement across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa.
In the pre-GST era, Sharma held significant assignments that shaped compliance and litigation management. As Director (Judicial), CBEC (2002–2006), she contributed to systemic reforms aimed at reducing frivolous litigation. Later, as Commissioner of Service Tax, Pune (2015), she chaired the CBEC Committee that developed risk parameters for Service Tax return assessments, promoting technology-driven compliance frameworks.
Recognizing her distinguished service, she was awarded the Presidential Award on Republic Day 2006. Academically, Sharma holds a post-graduate degree in English Literature from Jammu University and an M.Phil in Strategic Studies from Annamalai University, Chennai & National Defence College.
Her appointment is expected to further strengthen GSTAT’s institutional capacity, given her rich experience in both policy formulation and field implementation.
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