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How to be an Income Tax Officer

Written by  Piyush Bhartiya, MBA

Published on Wed, December 11, 2019 1:35 PM   Updated on Tue, July 28, 2020 12:56 PM   9 mins read

Income tax officer is the part of the income tax department which is a government agency that includes the work related to tax collection of the government of India. The main responsibility of the IT officer is to enforce various tax laws. Income tax department functions under the guidance of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance.

Who is an Income Tax Officer 

Income tax officer is the part of the income tax department which is a government agency that includes the work related to tax collection of the government of India. The main responsibility of the IT officer is to enforce various tax laws.

Functions of Income-tax officer:

  • The ITO assess the correct income who have already filed their returns.
  • The ITO’s are being called if any information is required related to the completion of income tax assessment. 
  • The ITO’s are being asked for an explanation related to any investments which are not mentioned in the ITR 
  • The ITO also looks that the pending due gets deposited in the government bank on time. 
  • ITO’s also make surveys on the basis of information received from annual information 
  • ITO’s also conduct a raid in case of non-filing of ITR or incorrect filing of ITR 

Duties of an income tax officer

The main responsibility of the office is to look after the day to day administration of the various taxes whereas officers are involved in determining tax liabilities, assisting members of the public etc.

  •  The income tax officer helps in assessing, collecting and managing taxes and duties that account for over 93 per cent of exchequer revenue 
  •  They also help in administering the customs regime for the control of imports and exports and collection of duties and levies on behalf of the EU 
  •  The ITO’s are being called if any information is required related to the completion of income tax assessment. 
  •  The ITO’s are being asked for an explanation related to any investments which are not mentioned in the ITR 
  •  The income tax officers also Carry out agency work for other departments 
  •  The ITO’s also help in the Collection of PRSI for the department of social, community and family affairs 
  •  The income tax officers also help in providing policy advice on taxation issues. 
  •  The ITO also looks that the pending due gets deposited in the government bank on time. 
  •  ITO’s also make surveys on the basis of information received from annual information 
  •  ITO’s also conduct a raid in case of non-filing of ITR or incorrect filing of ITR 

Why do we need income tax officer

The main reason why we need an income tax officer is: 

  • The income tax officer helps in assessing, collecting and managing taxes and duties that account for over 93 percent of exchequer revenue
  • They also help in administering the customs regime for the control of imports and exports and collection of duties and levies on behalf of the EU 
  • The ITO’s are being called if any information is required related to the completion of income tax assessment. 
  • The ITO’s are being asked for an explanation related to any investments which are not mentioned in the ITR 
  • The income tax officers also Carry out agency work for other departments 
  • The ITO’s also help in the Collection of PRSI for the department of social, community and family affairs 
  • The income tax officers also help in providing policy advice on taxation issues. 
  • The ITO also looks that the pending due gets deposited in the government bank on time. 
  • ITO’s also make surveys on the basis of information received from annual information 
  • ITO’s also conduct a raid in case of non-filing of ITR or incorrect filing of ITR 

Eligibility Requirements

Being an income tax officer is not an easy task, as many times ITO have to deal with high profile people like politicians, celebrities etc. Income tax officers are one of the most important sources of income that the government body spends on developmental works. 

Eligibility Criteria : 

  • A candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in any stream from any college or institution
  • The candidate must have attained the age of 18 on 1st July of the year of examination 
  • The candidate must not attain the age of 27th on the same date. 
  • The upper age will be relaxed by 3 years for OBC 
  • The upper age will be relaxed by 5 years for SC/ST

How to become Income-tax Officer after graduation

An individual first needs to enter the income tax department as an income tax inspector. Then, they will have to clear the departmental examination for promotion and for getting the designation of income tax officer.

To become an ITO, a candidate needs to follow the following steps: 

  • The first step includes the filling of applications form and all the personal information.
  • The second step includes the preliminary examination 
  • This examination includes two-tier, i.e. Tier I and Tier II. 
  • Tier I includes topics like general intelligence and general awareness. 
  • Tier II includes topics like arithmetical abilities. 
  • The third step includes the main examination 
  • It includes a written examination and a personality test. 
  • The final stage includes the interview and skills test. 

Qualification for income tax Officer

We can recognize by the name itself that Income tax officer is the individual that deals with income tax-related matters. ITO is one of the most feared government bodies because there are many defaulters of income tax in our country. There is only one educational qualification for becoming the income tax officer and that is an individual need to have a bachelor’s degree in any stream from any college or institution.

Income tax officer exam

An individual needs to clear the civil services examination. They can also opt for Indian revenue service (IRS). The eligibility for becoming or writing a civil services exam is any degree. For the recruitment of ITO, the staff commission conducts an exam every year that is an SSC Combined graduate exam. UPSC is another exam through which one can become ITO.

Features of exam:

There are mainly two types of examinations that are the preliminary examination and main examination.

  • This examination includes two-tier, i.e. Tier I and Tier II.
  • Tier I includes topics like general intelligence and general awareness. 
  • Tier II includes topics like arithmetical abilities. 
  • The main examination includes a written examination and a personality test. 
  • The main examination includes general studies, English, arithmetic, language etc. 
  • The main examination is of 200 marks each with 3 to 4 hrs of duration. 
  • The preliminary examination is of 100 marks each with 2 hrs of duration. 

How to become an income tax officer after 12th

No one can become an Income-tax Officer after 12th. To become an Income-tax Officer, one needs to hold a bachelor’s degree in any stream from any college or institution.

How to become income tax commissioner

Income tax commissioner is the senior rank holder in the income tax department in India. They are basically chosen from the Indian revenue service. They serve the Indian government for almost 30 years of duration. 

  • A candidate first needs to start studying for the UPSC Civil Services exam.
  • The next step is clearing the Civil Services exam with fairly good ranking. 
  • The third step is opting for Indian Revenue Services (Income Tax) under CBDT. 
  • The fourth step is joining CBDT as Assistant Commissioner (Income Tax) 
  • At last, get promotion and become Income Tax Commissioner. 

How to become an income tax inspector

Income Tax Inspectors are the people who are part of the Department of Income Tax, which functions under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which is a statutory authority that deals with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes.

Perks of being an income tax officer

The perks of being an income tax officer are as follows : 

  •  He/she gets 30 ltr of petrol 
  • He/she gets a free BSNL 3G sim with 1 GB monthly data.
  • They participate in search and survey where they learn how people stash unaccounted, black money in their houses, etc.
  •  Their residential colony always lies in the heart of the city and they get a luxurious life. 
  • He/she gets to work in a cash surveillance team that is formed during elections to curb on the use of the back money in elections.
  • Last but not least, he/she gets to learn the various ways by which economic offenses are done.

FAQs

✅ What is the administrative framework of Income-tax?

Ans. The administrative framework of Income-tax provides essential inputs for policy framing and planning of direct taxes and also administers the direct tax laws through the Income-tax Department.

✅ What is the period for which a person’s income is taken into account for the purpose of Income-tax?

Ans. Income tax is basically depended on the annual income of the person.

✅ Who is supposed to pay Income-tax?

Ans. Income tax is supposed to be paid by each and every citizen of the country.

✅ How does the Government collect Income-tax?

Ans. Tax is collected by the government by three means that is
1. Voluntary payment
2. Taxes deducted at source [TDS]
3. Taxes collected at source [TCS]

✅ From where can I take the help of an expert on Income-tax related matters?

Ans. One can take the help of tax professionals or the help of a public relations officer in the local office of the Income-tax Department.

✅ Do I need to maintain any records or proof of earnings?

Ans. Yes, for every source of income you have to maintain proof of earning and the records specified under the Income-tax Act.

✅ Under how many heads the income of a taxpayer is classified?

Ans. Under 5 heads the income of a taxpayer is classified, that is :
1.Salaries
2.Income from house property
3.Profits and gains of business or profession
4. Capital gains
5. Income from other sources

Tags :
income tax
tax

About the Author & Expert

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Piyush Bhartiya

Author • MBA • 20 Years

Piyush values education and has studied from the top institutes of IIT Roorkee, IIM Bangalore, KTH Sweden and Tsinghua University in China. Post completing his MBA, he has worked with the world's # 1 consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group and focused on building sales and marketing verticals for top MNCs and Indian business houses.

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