Law Chambers of Arjun Raghavendra M (2025 onwards)

• Advisory, research and due diligence consultancy in areas of expertise including tax (GST, Customs, Excise & Service tax), Foreign Trade Policy, Trade subsidies under Foreign Trade Agreements.

Government of India (2010 – 2025)

Served in the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) in various capacities, including:

Additional /Joint Commissioner, CGST and Customs, Pune Zone (2020-2025)

• Coordination:
  • Handled work at the Chief Commissioner’s Office (CCO), Pune Zone, related to GST policy, Customs Policy, GST Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC), Regional Economic Intelligence Committee, Establishment, Administration, Budget, Vigilance
  • Imparted training on several topics for the NACIN and in-house training programmes in Pune Zone
  • Coordinated administrative and trade facilitation measures in the Zone in the wake of COVID-19
• GST:
  • Decentralization of the Centralised Processing Centre (GST) and other trade facilitation measures related to GST Registration, submitting inputs to CBIC on making GST Registration more taxpayer-friendly.
  • Conducted various outreach programmes on topics such as Amnesty Scheme, GST Compliance
  • Overseeing the transition to GSTN-BO and Implementation of Aadhaar based GST Suvidha Kendras in Pune Zone in 2024.
  • Handled work related to Anti-Evasion, Taxpayer facilitation, return scrutiny and assessment, adjudication of tax demands, Computerisation and deployment of IT resources
• Customs:
  • Handled work related to Trade facilitation including supervision of ICD’s, AEO, MOOWR, Customs
  • Preventive and Narcotics operations and investigation work in Pune Customs Commissionerate, Passenger facilitation and anti-smuggling operations at Pune International Airport, supervision of Customs ports in coastal Maharashtra including Jaigarh, Ranpar, Dabhol, etc.

Deputy Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai (2015-2019)

• Handled intelligence and investigations work for 4 years including Customs (both anti-smuggling and commercial fraud), NDPS, Foreign Trade Policy and Allied Acts including Environmental Protection laws
• Coordination with Law Enforcement Agencies in Tamil Nadu & other Zonal Units of DRI.
• Part of Indian delegation for India’s first meeting as a full member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, Vienna 2018.
• Part of Indian delegation in the 3rd Annual Conference of the South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), Dhaka 2016.

Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax  and Customs (2012 – 2015)

• Tax administration of Central Excise and Service Tax laws at Vellore Division, Tamil Nadu
• Handled work in various capacities including Passenger Facilitation (Chennai International Airport), Assessment (Chennai Air Cargo), EDI, Drawback, Coordination work at the Chief Commissioner’s Office, Chennai Customs Zone. Furnished inputs to the High Powered Committee for the DRISHTI Report on IT Initiatives (2014).