GST Body To Check Tax Evasion Gets New Chief

NEW DELHI: Indian Revenue Service officer John Joseph has been appointed Director General of the GST Intelligence or DG GSTI, a body tasked with checking evasion of Goods and Services Tax or GST. He is currently posted in Mumbai and is likely to take charge soon.

Mr Joseph, a 1983-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), has worked in the Finance Ministry’s important departments, including the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

The DG GSTI is the new name given to the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence or DGCEI, mandated to check service tax and central excise duty evasion. The DG GSTI’s post had been vacant for over a month after RK Mahajan took charge as Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs or CBEC.

Mr Mahajan has been given additional charge of DG GSTI till Mr Joseph joins.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which checks smuggling and black money, has also got a new head. Debi Prasad Dash, a 1985-batch IRS (Customs and Central Excise) officer, has taken over as Director General of the DRI.

Mr Dash has been the acting head of the DRI for the past five months. He has earlier worked in the UN Security Council, New York; Commonwealth Secretariat, London, and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

He received the President’s Award for specially distinguished record of service and a merit award from the World Customs Organisation.

The UN Secretary General appointed Mr Dash head of the international panel of experts of the UN Security Council, monitoring arms embargo, travel ban and financial sanctions in Africa.

He was a member of the Interpol working group on money laundering and financing of terrorism.

PTI