Indian Revenue Service

Indian Revenue Service (IRS) is a civil services exam conducted by UPSC for recruitment officers to the Revenue Department. The Indian Revenue Service (IRS), a Group A service is the administrative revenue service of the Government of India. The Department is concerned with the collection and management of the various direct and indirect taxes through two branches: IRS (Income Tax) IRS (Customs and Central Excise).

Role of IRS Officers

Attached to the Income Tax and Customs Departments and also deputed to many other agencies and departments
Advising on tax policy matters by playing a significant role in framing or amending of statutes and frames regulations in relation to taxes.
IRS officers are charged with profound responsibilities of identifying the tax evasions. They hold statutory powers to search for and seize illegally accumulated wealth and arrest the culprits to prevent further evasions.

Eligibility Criteria

Nationality: For the Indian Revenue Service, a candidate must be a citizen of one of the following: A citizen of India

A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

Educational Qualification:A degree from a Central, State or Deemed University is essential to appear for the exam.

Age Limit : Age limits vary according to the caste reservations. The minimum age limit for a candidate is 21 years. The upper age limit for General category is 32 years.

Postings offered for IRS officials

After completion of training, the officers are appointed 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).

Director General of Income Tax (Training) also supervises the functioning of seven Regional Training Institutes at Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad and 26 Ministerial Staff Training Units spread over the country.

A newly recruited IRS officer could rise up-to the post of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. Besides, at the apex level, he can also get selected as a Member or Chairperson of the CBDT. The intermediate grades in this career progression are Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Commissioner, Principal Commissioner and Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.

There are many scopes for worldwide cooperation in the work areas of exchange of information, transfer pricing, and taxation of cross-border transactions, the Government of India decided to create a network of Income Tax Overseas Units (ITOUs). Not just in the country, IRS officers also serve in such ITOUs which are part of the Indian Missions at select places abroad.