Even as the government pushes ahead with sweeping reforms in income tax legislation and indirect tax administration, the country’s two apex tax bodies — the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) — are grappling with severe staff shortages.
Official data tabled in Parliament by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary reveals that the CBDT is functioning with nearly 34% of its sanctioned posts vacant, while the CBIC faces an even sharper shortfall of about 39%.
Deep Gaps in Workforce
The CBDT, which oversees Corporate Tax, Non-Corporate Tax, and Securities Transaction Tax, has a sanctioned strength of more than 77,700 personnel. However, over 26,000 posts remain unfilled. The CBIC — responsible for administering Central GST, Integrated GST, Central Excise, and Customs — has a sanctioned strength of 84,400, with nearly 33,000 vacancies.
Chaudhary explained that these vacancies include positions left unfilled due to the non-availability of eligible candidates for promotions, as well as posts reserved under the Compassionate and Sports Quota schemes. In some cases, delays in Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) caused by litigation or court stays have also held up appointments.
Recruitment Efforts Underway
According to the minister, the government regularly initiates recruitment drives, with vacancies for Group ‘A’ posts reported to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and those for Groups ‘B’ and ‘C’ reported to the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).
For the 2025 recruitment cycle, the CBDT and CBIC have already reported 11,809 vacancies for Group B and C poststo the SSC. Specifically for CBIC, this includes 1,796 Inspector posts, 183 Executive Assistant posts, 771 Tax Assistant posts, and 141 Stenographer Grade I/II posts.
Chaudhary noted that under the Mission Mode Recruitment Plan, the CBIC has made substantial hires since 2022 — bringing in 16,320 officers in Group B and 14,346 in Group C through direct recruitment, alongside 9,125 Group B and 1,378 Group C promotions.
A Systemic Challenge
A finance ministry official told a parliamentary panel last year that the high vacancy rate is a persistent issue across multiple government departments. Many successful candidates often continue to sit for competitive examinations and, upon securing a preferred posting elsewhere, leave their current roles — creating fresh vacancies.
While acknowledging these challenges, the official maintained that recruitment responsibility lies with UPSC and SSC, and not directly with the departments. “Our aim is to ensure that the maximum possible number of candidates are recruited to address these shortfalls,” the official said, adding that recent measures have already started producing positive results.
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Mariya is the Senior Editor at Juris Hour. She has 5+ years of experience on covering tax litigation stories from the Supreme Court, High Courts and various tribunals including CESTAT, ITAT, NCLAT, NCLT, etc. Mariya graduated from MLSU Law College, Udaipur (Raj.) with B.A.LL.B. and also holds an LL.M. She started as a freelance tax reporter in the leading online legal news companies like LiveLaw & Taxscan.
