THE Government of India collects tax to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees every year, not to mention corporate tax and other direct and indirect taxes. Well, the backbone of this gigantic task is the officials, recruited through the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE). The recruitment of Tax Assistants, a Group 'C', non-gazzetted, ministerial post has an all-India service liability meaning the successful candidates are liable to serve anywhere in India.

Eligibility: Candidates in the age bracket of 20-27 with applicable relaxation clause need a graduation degree from a recognised university. They also require data entry speed of 8,000 key depressions per hour on the computer.

Fees: Rs. 100 payable through a single Central Recruitment Fee Stamp. Fee is exempted for all women candidates, SC & ST, Physically handicapped and Ex-Servicemen candidates.

Results: The SSC prepares a list of candidates who get the minimum qualifying marks in written exam as fixed by the Commission in their discretion as a whole or component wise in Paper I & II. Based on the exam outcome, candidates are called for Skill Test. Final selection list is prepared on all-India basis in order of merit-cum-preference as disclosed by the aggregate marks.

About the Exam (2009)
Candidates are tested in Paper I comprising General English (100 marks) & General Awareness (100 marks) and Paper II on Arithmetic (100 marks). Each paper is of 2 hours with only objective, multiple choice questions.

The General English paper assesses the candidates’ understanding and knowledge of English language based on error recognition; vocabulary, spellings, sentence structure, grammar and its usage, synonyms, antonyms, phrases and idiomatic use of words. In addition one needs to answer questions based on reading comprehension. General Awareness section has questions on the general level of awareness of the environment around him/her and its application to the society. The section also includes queries on current affairs, history, culture, economic scenario, general polity, geography, Indian Constitution, sports, literature, science, basics of computers etc. Paper on Arithmetic comprises questions on number system, basic arithmetical operations, percentages, ratios, interest, profit & loss, use of tables and graphs, mensuration, time and distance, time and  work etc.

Skill Test: A 15-minute test of entering data from a printed passage of running text matter in English that contains 2000-2200 strokes/key depresions is given to the candidate. This test is only of qualifying nature. Usually one has to hit 8000 key depressions.

The new pattern
The CGLE is being conducted by the SSC for recruitment to different posts for which the minimum educational requirement is Graduation from a recognised university. The exam, conducted at 100 centres across India, comprises written test with objective type questions held in two-tiers followed by interview/skill test, wherever applicable.

About the Exam
The exam schema is as follows: Tier-I and Tier-II are written exams with objective type questions and multiple choice answers. The third phase comprises personality test/interview or skill test as the case may be. For those opting for Central Police Organisations for the post of Sub-Inspectors need to take the Physical Endurance Test. Tier-I of CGLE is common for all categories of posts and is held in one session. This two-hour exam includes questions in four parts: General Intelligence & Reasoning; General Awareness; Numerical Aptitude and English Comprehension- all of 50 marks each.

Syllabus
Syllabus for General Intelligence & Reasoning includes both verbal & non-verbal questions on analogies, spatial visualization and orientation, problem solving, analysis and interpretation, arithmetical reasoning, visual memory, coding & decoding, syllogistic reasoning etc. General Awareness would entail questions from current events, those relating to India and neighboring countries  pertaining to Sports, History, Culture, Geography, Economics, Polity, Scientific Research and the Indian Constitution. Numerical Aptitude section assesses the candidate's ability to use numbers in different ways, The idea is to base judgement on arithmetical concepts and relationships between numbers, not on complicated computation. The standard will be that of 10+2. English Comprehension assesses candidate's ability to understand correct English and writing ability.

Tier-II exam is held on two days, divided into three papers. Candidates need to appear in one, two or all three papers depending on the nature and category of post opted. Three papers all of 2 hour duration each are as follows: Paper I on Arithmetical Ability (100 questions, 200 marks); Paper II on English Language & Comprehension (200 questions, 200 marks) and Paper III on Commerce/Mathematics/Statistics/Economics (200 questions, 200 marks). Paper I is compulsory for all the categories of posts except for Sub Inspectors in CPOs.

Paper III is only for those who wish to be considered for the post of Statistical Investigators and Compilers. Syllabus for Paper I covers areas of number systems, arithmetical operations, percentage, ratios, profit & loss, interest, discount, mensuration, use of tables & graphs etc. Paper II on English has syllabus akin to Tier I but also includes sentence structure, grammar usage, phrases, idioms and vocabulary etc. Paper III has a standard of graduation level understanding about the specific discipline be it Mathematics, Statistics, Commerce or Economics

The personality test carries a maximum marks of 100 for all categories of posts. There is no interview component for the posts of Divisional Accountants, Auditors, Accountants/Junior Accountants, UDCs and Tax Assistants.