Rahul Navin replaces ‘the most celebrated’ ED director S K Mishra, made acting director

Rahul Navin, a 1993 batch IRS officer has been appointed as acting director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

He replaced Sanjay Kumar Mishra, an IRS officer of 1984 batch, who got record four time extension.

With his appointment, Navin becomes the most senior officer within the ED.

Sanjay Kumar Mishra, who hanged up boots, was first appointed interim director of ED for three months in October 2018 before he was made the full-time chief in November 2018 for a two-year fixed tenure.

Following procedure, Mishra's tenure was coming to an end in 2020, when Union government quietly extended it with retrospective effect, making it a three-year tenure against the initial two years.

Who is Rahul Navin

Rahul Navin is a 1993 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from Income Tax cadre. He has been serving as special director in Enforcement Directorate as well as chief vigilance officer in ED. He was best suited for the job.

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.

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