About the service
•The Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) is the revenue service to administer Direct Taxes of the Government of India.
•It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance and is under the administrative direction of the Revenue Secretary and the ministerial command of the Minister of Finance.
•The IRS is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct taxes accruing to the Government of India.
History
•Administration of Income Tax in India had begun as early as 1860. In the initial years, provincial governments administered this tax.
•Income Tax Act, 1922, gave specific nomenclature to various Income Tax authorities for the first time.
•In 1924, the Central Board of Revenue Act constituted a Central Board of Revenue -- the statutory body with functional responsibilities for the administration of the Income-Tax Act.
•Commissioners of Income Tax were appointed for each province and Assistant Commissioners and Income Tax Officers were placed under their control. Officers from the ICS manned top posts.
•The Income Tax Service was established in 1944.
•The recruitment of Income Tax Officers (Class-I) started in 1945.
•In 1953, the Service was recognized as an independent Central Service and was named Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax).
Training
•The IRS(IT) officers are trained at National Academy of Direct Taxes(NADT) Nagpur after they complete their Foundation Course.
•During their training, they are provided necessary knowledge of Direct Tax laws, accountancy and other subjects.
•They are also attached to various field formations for their on the job (OTJ) training.
•They have to pass their departmental examination before they are confirmed in the service
Responsibilities of an IRS (IT) Officer
•Policy formulation: Appropriate policy interventions in the direct tax are formulated by the IRS officers based upon the experience in the field formation
•Tax administrator, investigator, quasi-judicial authority and prosecutor: Selective scrutiny (examination) of returns/statements, surveys, search and seizure and criminal prosecutions done to ensure compliance of tax laws.
•Curbing black money: The officers are also responsible to negotiate International Agreements with other tax jurisdictions, to plug misuse of international financial processes for tax evasion and avoidance.
•International bilateral and multilateral negotiations: IRS Officers participate and negotiate treaties on behalf of the Government of India in the fiscal matters in both bilateral or multilateral forums such as OECD, WTO and the United Nations.
•Criminal Investigations: Directorate of Criminal Investigation under CBDT collects and coordinates the intelligence gathering actions of the department and prosecutes tax offenders.
Ranks of IRS (IT) Officers
•Assistant Commissioner / Entry-level (Probationer)
•Deputy Commissioner
•Joint Commissioner
•Additional Commissioner
•Commissioner /Additional Director General
•Principal Commissioner /Principal Additional Director General
•Chief Commissioner. Director General
•Principal Chief Commissioner,
•Member CBDT
•Chairman CBDT
Important Points
•IRS (IT) officers have the greatest interface with commom people and they have over 5 crore taxpayers
•Introduction of E-filing of Taxes and effective implementation of Permanent Account Number (PAN), Centralised Processing at Bangalore, are some revolutionary steps taken by the department.
•IRS officers are eligible to be selected as a member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Authority for Advance Ruling, Income Tax Settlement Commission and Income Tax Ombudsman.
•Income Tax Overseas Units have been set up designating IRS officers as diplomats in the rank of First Secretary in various missions and consulates of India abroad to look into tax evasion and compliance matters.
•IRS officers have ample opportunities of deputation in India and abroad.