The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is weighing a revamp of official designations within the Income Tax Department to make the roles clearer to people and foster a more transparent image of the department.

The proposed restructuring focuses on updating the nomenclature of positions like the commissioner of income tax (CIT) and principal commissioner of income tax. The goal is to align the titles more accurately with the responsibilities of the officials, enhancing both internal clarity and relatability with external stakeholders.

According to a senior government official, a committee was set up to review CBDT’s organisational structure, especially the allocation of roles across divisions. The committee recently submitted its report, suggesting several modifications to how the designations are structured to better reflect actual responsibilities of the officials concerned.

Changes in CIT Titles

Officials holding titles such as commissioner of income tax (CIT) are involved in more specialised tasks under the CBDT’s oversight. Since many of these officials handle policy and technical aspects, rather than direct tax-related work, the committee proposed that they be titled simply as commissioners. For instance, a CIT involved in technical and policy work may be renamed commissioner (tech and policy).