Odisha born IRS officer Rasmi Ranjan Das among 25 global tax experts appointed to UN tax committee

New-Delhi: Rasmi Ranjan Das, an Odia Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and also a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, is among a distinguished group of 25 tax experts from around the world appointed as members of the UN tax committee for the 2021 to 2025 term.

Das is working as Joint Secretary (FT&TR-I), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Other members of the UN Tax Committee appointed by UN Secretary-General Ant nio Guterres hail from countries such as Nigeria, Chile, South Korea, Malawi, Mexico, Ireland, Indonesia, Myanmar, Angola, Russia, Canada, Norway, Germany, Italy, Sweden and China.

Das has around 28 years of experience as Member of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in policy making and implementing Direct Tax Laws in India. Since 2018, He is Indian Delegate to Inclusive Framework (IF)  a group of more than 135 countries monitoring BEPS- and Member of its Steering Group which is involved in building a consensus-based solution to address direct tax challenges posed by digitalization of the economy. Also he is Indian delegate since 2016 to OECD’s Task Force on Digital Economy (TFDE) and member of TFDE bureau.

Mr. Das holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (2010) and a Post Graduate Degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1990). He  has written and published articles on value creation and its relevance for the Allocation of Taxing Rights and on whether Arm’s-Length-Principle is losing its authority.

The new Committee membership brings together tax practitioners with expertise in a wide range of areas, such as double tax treaties, transfer pricing, avoiding and resolving tax disputes, taxation of the extractive industries, taxation of the digital economy, environmental taxation, and value-added taxes. While nominated by their governments, committee members serve in their personal capacity, a statement issued by the UN said.

The Committee gives special focus to developing countries and their policy environment and majority of the newly appointed members come from developing countries. For the first time since its inception, the Committee has a majority of women experts.

The first meeting of the new membership of the Committee will take place in October 2021, during which the experts will determine the work plan for their term, the statement added.