Income Tax Department Faces Shortage of Nearly 27,000 Officers and Staff

The Income Tax Department is running short of 26,997 officers and support staff as of January 1, 2026, Parliament was informed on Monday.

"The vacancies in Group A, B & C in the Income Tax 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.

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, it added.

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, it said.

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, data analytics and faceless assessments, he said.

Replying to another question, Chaudhary said 11 individuals have been declared as Fugitive Economic Offenders under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) since 2024.

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, he added. CA Sansaar