INDIAN REVENUE SERVICE

Indian Revenue Service (IRS) is the service under Grade A of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. This service functions under the Department of Revenue in the Union Ministry of Finance. IRS comprises two branches - IRS (Customs and Central Excise) and IRS (Income Tax), which are controlled by two separate statutory bodies, viz., Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) respectively. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is the national agency responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax in India.

Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) administers a number of Direct Tax Acts, namely, the Income Tax Act 1961, the Wealth Tax Act 1957, the Gift Tax Act 1958, Interest Tax Act 1974, Securities Transaction Tax Act 2004, Banking Cash Transaction Tax Act 2005 and Fringe Benefit Tax Act 2004, etc.IRS department is India's premier financial agency, responsible for a wide variety of financial and fiscal matters. It is concerned with the collection and administration of the various direct and indirect taxes accruing to the Union Government such as Central sales tax, stamp duties, gold control and foreign exchange. The main work of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)is assessment and recovery of direct taxes. Besides Income Tax, the board also has specialised branches such as Revenue, Legislation and computerisation, Personnel and Vigilance, Investigation, Audit and Judicial dealing with investigation of tax evasion, recovery, statistics, and so on.Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) deals with the collection of customs and central Excise duties, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to central Excise and Narcotics.

The board has subordinate organisations, including Custom Houses, Central Excise Commissionerates and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory. An IRS officer is the fourth most respected officer of Civil Services after the IAS, IPS and IFS officers. IRS officers are the tax administrators of India. They are concerned with the collection, administration and policy formation of direct (Income, Corporate, Wealth, FBT, etc.) and indirect (Central Excise, Service Tax and even Customs Duty) taxes. These officers hold the responsibility of having a check on the proper collection of revenue through taxes which is a big source of income of the Government both State and Central.

The two sources of entry to Indian Revenue Service are the officers directly recruited through Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC and officers promoted from Income Tax Officers (Class-II) grade. To enter into a career as IRS officer / officer grade directly one has to pass the Civil Service Examination conducted by UPSC. The minimum qualification required for applying for CSE is graduation from a recognised university. Candidates, who have attained 21 years of age but not attained 30 years of age on August 1st of the year of examination are eligible to apply. Civil Service Examination is in two stages- preliminary and main. The preliminary examination (prelims) is the process through which candidates are short listed for the main written examination. Candidates qualifying the main (written) exam are called for personal interview. Based on the marks secured in the main (written) and interview, a merit list is drawn up, which determines the choice of service.

The exam is usually held in the month of April. Junior Grade - For junior level entry into the revenue service, one has to pass the Combined Graduate level Examination by the Staff Selection Commission. This is a less rigorous selection procedure as compared to the Civil Services Examination. Graduates of any discipline between 18 and 27 years are eligible to apply for this exam. Eligibility for different job positions vary. In Customs and Central Excise and Income tax, eligibility for the posts of Customs officer / Income Tax Officer, Superintendent, Preventive officers/ Inspectors, Tax assistants, upper division Clerks, etc is graduation in any discipline, and clearing UPSC and SSC Exams respectively. Plus two candidates can apply for the post of lower division clerks, and 7th class candidates with minimum 175.5 cm height and chest 80 cm can apply for the post of constables. Steno, typists, etc need 10th pass. For some posts the board themselves conduct examinations for direct recruitment. The vacancies from time to time will be published in The Employment News and leading newspapers.




Main attribute required for IRS aspirants is organizing ability. They must be honest, extrovert, dynamic and dedicated people with a high sense of morality, integrity and love for the country. Leadership qualities and communication skills are also essential, to be in this field. One must also be aware of national and international affairs. Selected candidates in the officer cadre begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax. The higher grade designations and time-scales within the Indian Revenue Service are as follows: Besides the above higher grade designations there are several positions in the junior cadre which include Customs / Income Tax Officer, Superintendent, Preventive officers/ Inspectors, Tax assistants, upper division Clerks, Lower division clerks, steno, typists, constables, etc. Compared to private sector jobs this profession has job security. The salary, allowances and facilities like healthcare, housing, conveyance, etc. also make it a lucrative profession. The prestige and power attached to this top-notch job is really great than the salary one earns in this field. IRS candidates can be posted anywhere in the country.



After being finally selected for the IRS, the new officer recruits undergo a 3 month foundational training at Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie (Uttarakhand). After this, the Customs and Excise officers undergo 15 month rigorous training at National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics, Faridabad, while income tax officers are trained at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur headed by the Director General of Income Tax (Training). After completion of training, the officers are designated as Assistant Commissioner (Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) / Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), and may rise up to the level of Chief Commissioner with a few fortunate ones reaching the top post of Member/Chairperson (CBDT/CBEC).

Intelligence services Director General of Income Tax (Training) also supervises the functioning of seven Regional Training Institutes at : Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh Ahmedabad

The starting salary of a higher grade officer is in the range of Rs 12,000-15,000 a month at the junior most level. The remuneration increases with promotion to higher scales and can be Rs 30,000 per month or even more. In addition to salary they can enjoy the benefit of other allowances like healthcare, housing, dearness allowance, LTA, retirement benefits etc. For Junior cadres the pay scale may range from 3000-10,000 approximately.