SRINAGAR: Monika Dhami, a 2001-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, assumed charge as Principal Commissioner of Income Tax at Srinagar on Monday, becoming the highest-ranked Income Tax Department officer in the region covering the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Dhami has served in important and diverse positions, including a policy-making role at the Department of Economic Affairs, corporate and salary assessment charges within the Income Tax department, and a distinguished tenure as lead trainer of newly inducted civil servants at LBSNAA, the apex training academy for civil services.
She has been posted at Srinagar by the Government of India to work closely with all stakeholders, including taxpayers, tax professionals, and trade and industry bodies, to further strengthen a fair, transparent, and taxpayer-friendly tax administration in the region.
Dhami was formally welcomed by officers and officials of the department at Srinagar. In her first interaction, she underscored the importance of significant and latest transformations in the department, including the use of technology in enforcement of law, faceless processes, and ease of compliance.
She reiterated the department’s focus on voluntary compliance, which remains the cornerstone of the tax system, and encouraged officers to work towards strengthening a culture of trust and cooperation between taxpayers and the department.
Dhami emphasized that special attention will be given to grievance redressals, taxpayer outreach programmes, awareness initiatives, and stakeholder consultations so that concerns and problems faced by the public are adequately and expeditiously addressed.
An alumna of the London School of Economics, Dhami holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy. Across her bureaucratic career, she has been a strong votary for the preservation of local cultural spaces. Having held the important position of Additional Director General Training at the Directorate of Training, New Delhi, she has also promised to focus on the skill development of staff to enable their professional and personal growth in the dynamic atmosphere of public services.