CBIC: Senior IRS Officers Sanjay Mangal, Abhai Kumar Srivastav Appointed As Members

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) took the final decision following a rigorous selection process in which fifteen candidates were interviewed for three vacant positions in the apex body dealing with matters relating to indirect taxes.

Both Mangal and Srivastav belong to the 1992 batch of IRS (C&IT), as Mangal is currently serving as Chief Commissioner, Meerut GST & CX Zone and his tenure as CBIC Member is going to continue till January 2027 and Srivastav is currently holding the post of Director General of the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the premier anti-smuggling agency and his tenure in the apex body will be till February 2028.

According to officials, the appointments aim to strengthen CBIC’s leadership at a critical time, given the ongoing modernisation of indirect tax administration and focus on compliance and enforcement.

Even as the ACC has given it nod to fill two slots, curiously, the third position remains vacant, as sources in the corridors of power said that while a third name was almost about to be finalised, the decision has been “put on hold” for the time being hinting that any further move on third position could be taken after completion of an internal vetting process.

The selection process, which began in late December 2025 and concluded in mid-January 2026, was highly competitive. Fifteen candidates were shortlisted and interviewed to fill vacancies created following the retirements of Sanjay Kumar Agrawal (IRS: 1988), Shashank Priya (IRS: 1988) and Aruna Narayan Gupta (IRS: 1989).

The changes brought in the leadership position in the CBIC will infuse experience, as the officers have strong backgrounds in GST administration, anti-smuggling operations and policy implementation. With the growing emphasis on indirect tax compliance, trade facilitation and border security, the new members’ leadership will play a critical role in advancing the government’s economic and regulatory agenda.