The Government appointed senior IAS officer B.N. Sharma, as the first Chairman of this apex Authority in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
B.N. Sharma, an IAS officer of 1985 batch belonging to Rajasthan cadre, is currently posted as Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. B.N. Sharma has been closely associated with the formulation of GST and its implementation.
B.N. Sharma would be assisted by four senior officials of the rank of Joint Secretary and above, who have been appointed as Technical Members in the Authority. These officials are Shri J.C. Chauhan, Chairman Tax Tribunal, Himachal Pradesh; Shri Bijay Kumar, Principal Commissioner GST, Kolkata; Shri C.L. Mahar, Principal Commissioner GST, Meerut; and Ms. R. Bhagyadevi, ADG, Systems, Chennai.
The Authority has been set up for a two-year period. The Authority is mandated to ensure that the benefits of input credit and the reduction in GST rates on specified goods or services are passed on to the consumers by way of a commensurate reduction in prices.
With the Chairman and Technical Members now having been appointed, the Authority becomes functional thereby reassuring consumers of Governments’ commitment that GST would result in lower prices of goods and services.