Parliament Question: Vacancies in CBDT

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 86 TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 20 JULY, 2026/ASHADHA 29, 1948 (SAKA) VACANCIES IN CBDT 86. SHRI RAO RAJENDRA SINGH: Will the Minister of Finance be pleased to state: (a) the number of vacancies in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as of January 2026; (b) the steps being taken by the Government to fill these posts and strengthen direct tax administration capacity; and (c) whether such large-scale vacancies have affected the efficiency of tax collection and enforcement, especially in view of the increasing share of cesses and surcharges in total direct tax revenue, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a) to (b): The vacancies in Group A, B & C in the Income Tax Department as on 1st January, 2026 are 26,997. Occurrence and filling up of vacancies is a continuous process. As and when vacancies arise, such vacancies are filled regularly in the terms of mode of recruitment prescribed in the relevant recruitment rules, namely direct recruitment through UPSC/SSC or through promotion as applicable. Further, introduction of New Income Tax Act, 2025 has resulted into a landmark development to simplify language, remove obsolete provisions and consolidate & restructure provisions. Measures have been taken to strengthen and modernise the tax administration by leveraging information and digital technology for ease of filing, faster processing of returns and data analytics and faceless assessments. (c) As a result of the aforesaid measures taken by the Income Tax Department, the net Direct taxes collection along with total amount of cess and surcharge collected by the Income Tax Department during last five financial years is as below: - (Amount in Rs. Crores) Financial Year Net Direct tax cess surcharge collection 2021-22 14,12,422 51,840.19 23,808.14 2022-23 16,83,686 60,616.26 1,09,009.00 2023-24 19,60,166 69,890.52 1,15,157.00 2024-25 22,26,375 83,071.01 1,38,859.02 2025-26 23,40,373 87,854.31 1,66,514.00 Source: Pr. CCA, CBDT, Time series data. ***