Elitecon International appoints former IRS veteran Susanta Kumar Panda as independent director

NEW DELHI: Elitecon International is tightening its governance screws. The BSE-listed FMCG group has appointed Susanta Kumar Panda, a retired Indian Revenue Service officer, as an independent director on its board, signalling a sharper focus on compliance, oversight and boardroom rigour as the company expands at home and abroad.

The move brings nearly four decades of tax and regulatory firepower into the boardroom. Panda previously served as a member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and as special secretary to the Government of India. His career spans senior roles across the Enforcement Directorate and the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, giving him deep grounding in indirect taxation, enforcement and compliance frameworks.

Elitecon is betting that such experience will bolster board processes, audit oversight and regulatory compliance — areas under growing investor scrutiny for listed consumer companies with cross-border ambitions.

Vipin Sharma, managing director of Elitecon International, said, “We are pleased to welcome Susanta Kumar Panda to our board as an independent director. His deep understanding of fiscal governance, regulatory compliance and public administration will add significant value to Elitecon’s governance framework and support our long-term growth objectives.”

The appointment adds heft to the company’s push for stronger board independence and governance depth. For a firm operating in a tightly regulated FMCG and tobacco landscape, regulatory literacy is not a luxury but a shield.

Founded in 1987 as Kashiram Jain & Company, Elitecon International is listed on the BSE and runs a diversified FMCG and tobacco portfolio. With more than three decades in manufacturing and trading, it operates across domestic and international markets, backed by scalable production.

As Indian consumer companies grow bigger and more global, the boardroom is becoming as strategic as the marketplace. Elitecon’s latest hire suggests it wants fewer surprises, tighter controls and a steadier hand on the regulatory tiller — because in today’s markets, governance can be as valuable as growth.