How to Become an IRS (Indian Revenue Services) Officer?

Indian Revenue Services officer is one of the most respected officers of Civil Services. It is the fourth most aspired service after IAS, IPS, IFS. Indian Revenue services are of 2 types IRS (Customs &Central Excise) and IRS (Income Tax). 

In this article, you will know more information about the IRS officer and how to become an IRS Officer and also the selection process, eligibility criteria, qualification and roles, and responsibilities. So by the end of the article, you will be having a clear idea about this Job role.

IRS (Indian Revenue Services ) Officer is selected by qualifying in Civil Services Examination which is the most grueling exam conducted in India. The other way you can enter this post is by Central services Group B, IRS officers are promoted to the above rank with years of experience in the field.

Also Read: How to Become Income Tax Officer After 12th?

Indian Revenue Services:

Indian Revenue Services which handles Customs & Indirect Taxes and it administers under the Government of India, IRS officers work under the ministry of finance and indirectly work under the revenue secretary and Finance Minister. They are headquartered in North block, New Delhi.

Their main role is the collection of taxes to the Government of India, as the development of India depends upon the revenue collected by this department.   

The IRS officers are taken care by a body called the Central Board of indirect taxes and customs, these officers also take care of other sensitive activities like smuggling, corruption and, many more.

The IRS Officer should qualify a Civil Services Examination and this exam is divided into 3 different rounds.

1. Prelims Exam
2. Main Examination
3. Personal Interview

Let’s see the selection process to be a qualified IRS officer through the Civil services exam.

Eligibility Criteria:

Nationality: The candidate should be a citizen of India and he can also be a person who has travelled other country but his intention is to settle in India is also eligible.

A Resident of Nepal and Bhutan is also eligible.

A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1962 is also eligible.

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Educational Qualifications:

• The aspiring candidate of this examination has to attain a degree from a central or state recognized university.
• They can also have a degree that is completed in correspondence or a candidate with the open degree will also be eligible.
• The candidates who are pursuing the final year of their respective degrees can also attain this exam.

Age Limit:

Minimum age limit to attend this exam is 21 years and the Maximum age limit is 32 years. And the age limit in this examination depends on the caste. OBC aspirants can attend this exam till 35 years

For SC/ST the age to attend the exam is 37 years.

Civil Services Examination:

As mentioned above the Civil service examination first step is to clear the prelims exam of 400 marks and this exam is subdivided into.

General Studies and Mental Ability and both carry 200 marks each.

• General Studies comprises the topics like International Events and National events, Indian History, Economy, Polity, governance and policies, sciences, culture, and art. These are the few topics that have to be covered under General studies.
• Mental ability comprises reasoning and analytical skills.

After qualifying for this examination the aspirants have to attend the Mains Examination which has 6 different papers.

The Main Examination is of 2025 Marks and divided into 6 papers as mentioned below,

1. General Essay
2. Constitution and Governance
3. General English
4. History Geography
5. Constitution and Governance of India
6. Economy
7. Science and Technology

The Person who qualifies in the Mains examination will qualify for the next round which is a Personal Interview.

A personal interview is a round which tries to understand whether the candidate is a right fit for the government service, and whether he has qualities to serve the people with relevant knowledge and passion.

Qualified candidates will be selected to any of the services based on his/her rank. The candidates with the top rank will be given an option in IAS or IPS to choose from and then on the candidates with a bit more rank and fewer marks will be allotted the cadres based on their prior specialization/core knowledge and their ranks.

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Training:

Candidates qualified are allotted with cadres are initially sent to LBSNAA and will undergo Formal training in LBSNAA Mussorie for the next 3 months, before starting their Core training in the National Academy of Direct Taxes which is situated in Nagpur and these are the officers who work under IRS (IT).

The IRS (C&CE) take training at the National academy of customs Indirect taxes and Narcotics for one and a half years, which is situated in Haryana.

National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes, and Narcotics:

This is the institution which offers all the courses to the IRS Officers and also does other activities like,

• Introduction Training to recruited officers
• Customized training to already serviced officers
• Introduction training also to the other central service officers
• Communication and Soft skills to the Officers
• International training in Narcotics and Customs.

Trained officers also get complete training even in the National Law School and later are awarded Postgraduate certificate. The Indian Government offers an exchange programs with other countries to explore new ideas and thought process.

The IRS Officers are sent to those countries where they work with the new recruiters and learn a lot more things which eventually help them progress in their career.

Also Read: How to Become an Indian Forest Service Officer After 12th?

Roles and Responsibilities of IRS Officers;

The IRS Officers working under the Government of India handles a lot of roles and ensures to administer a lot of responsibilities;

Policy Formulation:

The Indian Government and Ministry of Finance have to re-frame the policies that are already in effect in the Indian Economy, The tax policy is framed in such a way that they help in development. The IRS Officers work in the real-time situation and then adjust the policies.

• IRS Officers are Corruption fighters and keep a hawk-eye on the black money that circulates in the Indian economy.
• Take care of the Money that is transferred to the Tax Heaven Islands to evade the Taxes.
• They also take care of the compliance issues like whether the Taxpayers are paying the right amount of taxes at the right time and also take care of the Income Tax returns that are filed by the company if they are appropriate or not. 
• They also attend major meetings on the international level on behalf of the Indian Government on various platforms like OECD( Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Trade Organization (WTO), World Customs Organization, United Nations.
• Plays a key role in taxation, transfers, transactions, negotiations, and also free trade agreements.
• Responsibility to take care of the illegal money, narcotics, and smuggling.
• IRS officer also checks E-way bills which are used to check invoice bills of the consignment that is filed during the Interstate and Intrastate movement of goods.

IRS officers have all the power to seize any property that’s illegal that had led to tax evasions.

Designations and Salaries of the IRS officers;

• Assistant Commissioner of Central GST/Customs  – Rs 25/000/-
• Deputy Commissioner of Central GST/Customs    – Rs 30,000/-
• Joint Commissioner of Central GST/ Customs      – Rs 35,000/-
• Additional Commissioner                          –  Rs 45,000/-
• Principal Chief commissioner                      –  Rs 80,000/-

Above mentioned salaries are the approximate salaries and can be changed based on their grade pay and years of experience.

Conclusion:

This is the selection process and criteria to attend the examination, above mentioned are all the designations, salaries, roles and responsibilities of IRS Officers.

The Officers who are tough and strict are attacked and harmed by the people who involve in bad practices. So the people who want to get into this field have to be braver and should abide by the rules and regulations of the government. Many officers try to do corruption and they end up behind the bars.