01 March 2012

OECD: New head of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is appointed

Ms. Monica Bhatia has been appointed Head of the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, within the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA). She will take up her duties on 1 April 2012.

The Global Forum is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of transparency and exchange of information has been carried out by both OECD and non-OECD economies since 2000.

Ms Bhatia will lead this major OECD programme put in place in 2009 to advance the transparency agenda. She will have to ensure the quick and effective implementation of the peer review schedule, which will soon start focusing on practical aspects of information exchange. She will also manage the fast extension of the Global Forum which now includes 108 members on an equal footing.

Ms Bhatia has over 20 years of experience in the Indian Ministry of Finance and is currently Director in the Department of Personnel and Training of the Government of India. Until 2011, she was in charge of the international tax unit at the income tax department where she was tasked with conducting audits of nonresident companies. She has held different positions in the Ministry of Finance and its Revenue Department related to international tax policy, including treaty negotiations and drafting of tax legislation.. Finally, she has served as an assessor to the Global Forum’s peer reviews. Ms. Bhatia’s extensive experience will enable her to provide both strategic leadership and technical expertise and will bring to CTPA and the SG’s office her long experience in a key emerging economy.

Ms. Bhatia, an Indian national, holds an MBA from Zicklin School of Business (CUNY), New York and an LLM from the Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, besides holding a Certified Public Accountant certification from the US.

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