Government job is still one of the most preferred career options for the majority of Indian youths even after rapid growth of IT and business sector. Most government jobs require 10+2 with any graduation, which is what many Indian aspirants holds, despite being from any state or town of the country. One such prestigious government job is of the “Income Tax Officer.”
An Income Tax Officer (ITO) is one of the prime officials in the Income Tax Department of the Government of India. IT department works under the Department of Revenue which belongs to the Ministry of Finance and is headed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
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Income tax is a compulsory contribution for every Indian aged below 60 years and has more than 2.5 lakhs of income/year. Though IT officers are commonly known for conducting Income tax raid, their work and responsibility are much more to this.
A career as in Income Tax Officer is highly influential and prestigious; and what it takes is; a lot of hard work and a strong personality behind it. If you are curious about the question, how to become income tax officer after 12th commerce, science or arts, then the discussion below will answer you all.
Who Is An Income Tax Officer, and Why Do We Need Them?
An Income Tax Officer is one of the authorities’ officers dealing with direct taxes and income (personal and business both) concerning with Central Board of Direct Taxes (SCDT) and all India’s citizens.
IT officers are those specialists who analyze and examine the income of any individual, business, or organization. They ensure that individuals or businesses disclose all their income transparently In front of the IT department and are paying a fair amount of tax during every financial year.
Income Tax Officers are highly valuable in Indian governance, as all the lawful taxes they collect directly go to the Government’s fund. This tax is later used for the social and infrastructural development of the country and its citizens.
Even the IT department is the Indian Government’s one of the largest revenue generator with a reported collection of ₹1233 trillion in the financial year 2019-2020. Income tax is one of the Government’s most prominent economic sources and is a basic of most developments.
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How to Become an Income Tax Officer After 12th Commerce?
Becoming an Income Tax Officer under the Indian Government does not require any professional degree but a range of other Eligibilities. Aspirants must undergo a set selection procedure and only the best amongst many are selected for this job.
Income Tax Officer after 12th Commerce| Eligibility
Aspirants who are looking forward to becoming an Income Tax Officer in India after 12thCommerce must fulfill the eligibility criteria mentioned below:
Educational Qualification:
- 10 + 2 from any recognized Indian board.
- Bachelor’s degree (minimum) from any recognized university in any discipline.
Age Limit:
- Minimum 18 years and maximum 27 years.
- Relaxation for OBC-3 years
- Relaxation for SC/ST- 5 years
- Physically Handicap + General- 10 years
- Physically Handicap + OBC– 13 years
- Physically Handicap + SC/ST– 15 years
Relaxation on the upper age limit is also provided to certain employees working under the Défense Services Personnel and India’s Government.
Citizenship: Indian
Physical Eligibility:
Male Candidates-
- Height – 157.5 cm.
- Chest – 81 cm. fully expanded. Minimum expansion: 5 cm.
Female Candidates-
- Height – 152 cm.
- Weight – 48 Kgs (minimum)
Physical test (For males)
- Walking– 1600 meters in 15 minutes.
- Cycling– 8 Kms in 30 minutes
Physical test (For females)
- Walking– 1 km in 20 minutes.
- Cycling– 3 km in 25 minutes
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Examination and selection procedure for becoming income tax officer after 12th commerce
Candidates who fulfill the eligibility criteria and are willing to pursue further for becoming an Income Tax Officer after 12thCommerce have to undergo the National-level Examination and further selection procedure.
SSC CGL Exam is the National-level entrance test conducted for the recruitment in various posts for departments, ministries, and organizations within the Indian Government.
- For beginning with, candidates have to download the application form for the SSC Combined Graduate Level Exam from the official website:
- The application form has to be filled and sent to the regional/ state offices, as mentioned on the website. The requirement details/ vacancies are made public from February to April in leading Indian Newspapers, Social Media handles, and another Social platform by the Government of India.
The SSC CGL examination is conducted within 3 phases, divided as:
Phase 1: General Intelligence and General Awareness (Part A) and Arithmetic (Part B).
Part A includes General Intelligence + Reasoning, General Awareness, Numerical Aptitude, English Comprehension.
Part B includes Arithmetical Abilities, English Language and Comprehension.
Duration- 2 hours for Part A and Part B, respectively.
Marks– 100 marks for Part A and Part B, respectively.
Questions– 100 each for Part A and Part B.
Phase 1 is the Preliminary Examination, which is just a medium of qualification for the Main Examination, and its marks are not added to the final result.
Phase 2: Candidates who have passed Phase 1 (Preliminary Examination) are eligible for Phase 2 (Main Examination).
In Phase 2, 5 different papers are conducted, where Paper 1 and Paper 2 are held on the same day.
General Studies
Duration- 3 Hours
Total Marks– 200
English
Duration– 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Total Marks– 100
Arithmetic
Duration– 4 Hours
Total Marks– 200
Language
Duration– 2 Hours 40 Minutes
Total Marks-100
Communication and written skills
Duration- 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Total Marks– 200
Apart from this, candidates also have to undergo other ability checks:
DEST exam: DEST is Data Entry Skill Test (English typing exam), where candidates have to type 2000 words in 15 minutes.
CPT exam– CPT is a Computer proficiency test where candidates have to create slides and spreadsheets using Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel, respectively.
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Phase 3: Candidates who quality Phase 2 (Main Examination) are then further called up for Phase 3 (Personality test).
The 3rd phase consists of:
- Physical test.
- Medical test.
- Interview and Mental ability test.
After the evaluation of the aspirant’s performance in Phase 3 (Interview), only the best ones are selected for the income-tax inspector’s post. Further, in the job, when IT inspector’s keep passing the on-job Examination, they are then promoted to the post of Income-tax officer.
The selected candidates have to go through a 12 weeks Direct Taxes Regional Training Institute (DTRTI) within the region they have been allotted for.
How to Become Income Tax Officer after 12th Commerce thorough Civil Service Exam?
Apart from the National-level SSC CGL examination, UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) also conducts the Civil Service Examination (National-level) for selection in 24 different departments (government), including the post of Income Tax Officer.
The eligibilities for appearing in the Civil Service Examination are as follows:
- Educational criteria- 10 + 2 with Graduation from any subject.
- Age- Minimum 21 years and Maximum 32 years. (3 years of relaxation for OBC & 5 years for SC/ST candidates).
UPSC CSE consists of 2 Phases (A and B). Aspirants for the post of Income-tax officer have to appear for Phase A examinations.
For UPSC Civil Services Prelims, candidates have to qualify two papers:
- General Studies Paper (including History, Polity, and Economics)
- Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT)
Objective type papers with 200 marks are conducted for both the papers, respectively. Candidates who manage to score above the cut-off only are qualified for the Main Examination.
The UPSC Civil Services Mains comprises of 9 different papers, including:
Paper 1:One of the Indian languages (listed in the Eighth Schedule of India’s Constitution) (Qualifying).
Total Marks: 300
Paper 2: English (Qualifying)
Total Marks: 300
Paper 3: Essay
Total Marks: 250
Paper 4: General Studies I (Indian heritage & culture, history and geography of the world & society)
Total Marks: 250
Paper 5: General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social justice, and international relations)
Total Marks: 250
Paper 6: General Studies III (Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security, and disaster management)
Total Marks: 250
Paper 7: General Studies IV (ethics, integrity, and aptitude)
Total Marks: 250
Paper 8& 9: Two papers on subjects to be selected by the candidate from the list of optional subjects below
Total Marks: Paper each
The candidates clearing the Mains are eligible for the personality test (Interview), which stands for 275 marks. The Eligibility for the interview is also based upon the cut off markings.
Candidates who successfully clear all the UPSC Civil Services examination stages are recruited for the post of Income-tax officer directly.
*Cut-off marks are decided and declared only once the entrance test/examination is conducted.
How to Become an Income Tax Officer after 12th Science?
After 12th science, candidates have to first appear for their Graduation course for becoming an Income Tax Officer. Once they have the Graduation/Bachelor’s degree in-hand, the further selection procedure is the same for all despite their education field.
However, the subjects one must have studied in the science stream are not the ones they would appear for in the SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination or the UPSC Civil Services examination.
How to Become an Income Tax Officer after 12th Arts?
After 12th arts, the procedure remains the same as for 12thCommerce and 12thScience students for becoming an Income Tax Officer. The 12thArts passed students must first appear for their Graduation course, and after successfully getting their Bachelor’s degree, they can appear for any of the said entrance examinations. SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination or the UPSC Civil Services examination.
Though, keeping up the Papers (subjects like history, economic development, disaster management, etc.) in mind, the Art’s students get some additional advantage. Art’s stream students have studied the maximum of such subjects in their senior secondary and Graduation levels.
Job profile and Salary of Income Tax Officer and Income Tax Inspector in India
The job role and profile of both Income Tax Officer and Inspector includes either of the departments:
Assessment Department- A desk job.
Non-Assessment Department- Filed work (raiding team).
The desk job has smooth and fixed working hours like any other government employee, i.e., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, the Non-Assessment Department employees serve for longer duration and odd hours for tax raid, reporting, etc.
Income Tax Inspector- Salary
While joining their jobs, Income Tax inspectors earn about INR 13900 + Transport Allowance (TA), DA (Dearness Allowance) on Total Pay (approx. 107%), House Rent Allowance, 30 liters Petrol, and limited mobile bills. It increases the total salary to approx. INR 40,000/- per month (may vary upon the location as well)
Income Tax Officer- Salary
While joining their jobs, Income Tax Officers earn about INR 61,888 (including all the allowances + Government’s contribution minus NPS, CGHS, CGEIS deductions).
SUMMARY
Working as an Income Tax Officer requires a strong, fearless, and authoritarian personality. Even though the Eligibility seems quite basic for the post of an ITO, the entrance examinations SSC CGL and UPSC CSE are extremely tough and require a lot of hard work.
For appearing in any of these examinations, make sure you practice hard, dedicatedly, and develop a confident personality keeping the future view of the job in mind.
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