I-T Dept. Running Short of 27K Officers, Support Staff
“The vacancies in Group A, B & C in the I-T department as on January 1, 2026, are 26,997. Occurrence and filling up of vacancies is a continuous process,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written response to the Lok Sabha
New Delhi: Despite several measures taken to strengthen and modernise the tax administration, the government on Monday said that the income tax (I-T) department is running short of nearly 27,000 officers and support staff as of January 1, 2026. As and when vacancies arise, such vacancies are filled regularly in accordance with the terms of the mode of recruitment prescribed in the relevant recruitment rules, namely direct recruitment through UPSC/SSC or through promotion as applicable, the government said.
“The vacancies in Group A, B & C in the I-T department as on January 1, 2026, are 26,997. Occurrence and filling up of vacancies is a continuous process,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written response to the Lok Sabha. “Further, the introduction of the New Income Tax Act, 2025, has resulted in a landmark development to simplify language, remove obsolete provisions and consolidate & restructure provisions,” the government said in a statement.
The minister also said that the Centre has taken several measures to strengthen and modernise the tax administration by leveraging information and digital technology for ease of filing, faster processing of returns, data analytics and faceless assessments. “Eleven individuals have been declared as fugitive economic offenders under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) since 2024,” he said.
“Properties worth Rs 1,303.16 crore have been confiscated under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, pertaining to such offenders since 2024. Out of the above-mentioned fugitives, Red Notice has been published against 8 individuals, and extradition requests have been sent in respect of 4 individuals who were located,” he said, adding that 12 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLAR) have also been sent.
The minister further said that the necessary steps have been taken by the government to restitute the confiscated property to the legitimate victims of such economic offences. “So far, the directorate has successfully restored properties valued at approximately Rs 73,015.03 crore to victims or legitimate claimants, resulting in restitution of Rs 15,262.30 crore and Rs 32,677.97 crore during FY 2024-25 and 2025-26, respectively,” he said.
