Tribunal Directs CBDT To Overhaul Transfer Policy Within 6 Months

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has called out the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on its transfer policy that grants preferential treatment to elite Group A officers while denying lower-ranked employees the right to live with their spouses.

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI:

In an order passed on March 4, the country's apex administrative tribunal has directed the CBDT chairman to overhaul this arbitrary and unjust system within six months and formulate a "prudent, humane, and compassionate" transfer policy that applies equally to all employees—whether gazetted or non-gazetted.

The battle against this open discrimination was taken up by a group of Group C and D employees -- inspectors, stenographers, and tax assistants -- who found themselves shackled by an unfair rule.