Rahul Navin, a 1993 batch Indian Revenue Service Officer (Income Tax), has been appointed as the regular director of Enforcement Directorate (ED). This assignment is for a period of two years.
He has been officiating as Director since 15 September, 2023 following the end of the tenure of the most ‘celebrated' ED director S K Mishra, who remained on the post for almost five years.
The government has signalled regularisation of Rahul Navin as ED director in December last year after it empanelled Navin for holding additional secretary post.
The post of ED director is equivalent of additional secretary post, which may be upgraded to secretary level post as in the case of S K Mishra – the longest standing ED director.
Navin holds expertise in international taxation laws and treaties and has been serving as the Special Director (vigilance) in the ED since his appointment at the agency from the Income Tax department in 2020.
As the ED head, Navin saw the high-profile arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in separate money laundering cases.
Who is Rahul Navin?
Hailing from Bihar, Navin is considered as a smart and intelligent officer. He is a silent worker and considered to be among top investigators in ED. He gets into the detail of matter and does thorough enquiry reaching to the root. He is quite practical in his approach and proactively deals with issues.
Being an Income Tax officer, Rahul Navin understands taxation quite well. He has authored a book – Information Exchange and Tax Transparency – explains the role of tax havens and off shore financial centres in global tax evasion and avoidance.
This book provides guidance to tax authorities, taxpayers, tax professionals and public at large in understanding how global transparency and the commitment of jurisdictions to exchange information would facilitate investigation of cross-border transactions for effective protection of domestic tax revenue.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
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