Career as Income Tax Officer

A career as an income tax officer comes up with abundant responsibilities. An income tax officer contributes to gathering the revenue for public welfare and running government institutions maintaining accounts of tax from different departments. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the government receives tax from businesses and citizens. A career as an income tax officer requires sending notices and conducting periodic checks for frauds and other illegal activities. An income tax officer provides assistance to people in tax related queries and problems. A career as an income tax officer requires investigating into claims of inability to pay taxes. He or she stays involved in researching court information for the status of liens, mortgages, financial statements or locating assets through third parties of people who do not pay taxes. An income tax officer is responsible for examining and analysing tax assets and liabilities to determine the resolution of delinquent tax problems. A career as an income tax officer requires communicating with companies, lawyers, colleagues and accountants.

Investigation

An Income Tax Officer is responsible for conducting a raid to those individuals, businesses, organisations who have filed an incorrect ITR or did not file an ITR. He or she is responsible for issuing notices for completion of assessment u/s 144

Assessment

A career as an Income Tax Officer requires assessing the correct income of those who have filed their income tax returns. He or she may call for information required for completion of an income tax assessment to determine filed ITR is same in the light.

There are various other civil services offered through UPSC. Candidates can also mark them in the priority next to Indian Revenue Services in the UPSC examination. 

Indian Police Service Officer: An Indian Police Service Officer is considered as a leadership role in Central Government organisations such as Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Research and Analysing Wing, and Intelligence Bureau. 

Indian Administrative Services Officer: An Indian Administrative Service officer is responsible for framing policies, advising ministers on various issues, maintaining of law and order, supervising the implementation of policies of State Government and Central Government. He or she is responsible for supervising the collection of revenues, functions of courts in revenue matters and expenditure of public funds. 

Indian Foreign Services Officer: An Indian Foreign Services Officer represents India in its embassies, high commissions, consulates in foreign countries. He or she is also responsible for representing India in permanent missions to multilateral organisations such as the United Nations. 

A career as an income tax officer provides both desk work as well as exciting fieldwork. An income tax officer job role is considered as a reputable and most demanding role. It provides a proper work-life balance. There is only little provision for overtime. Impeding raids involves longer working hours. The career is defined by the department and going home at the right time.  

Does Income Tax Officer require travelling?

Likely

A career as an income tax officer may often require travel to attend meetings and conduct a raid on the fraud of taxes by the assesses.

Employment Shifts

Full Time

Yes, a career as an income tax officer falls into certain shifts. It is a 9:00 am to 5:00 pm job role. It may often be required to work extended hours while working on field and conduct raids. Assessment month of financial transactions of individuals who file ITR also requires working extended hours. A career as an income tax officer provides full-time employment. Part-time, hourly basis, on-call employment and work from home employment does not exist in this career. 

Employment Nature

Permanent

A career as an income tax officer is a permanent job role. An income tax officer is considered as a reputed and most competitive job role. Individuals are selected for this role on a permanent basis. The career may involve several transfers from one city to another city or state. 

Work Place

Office Setting, On Field

A career as an income tax officer requires individuals to function in an office environment and on-field. An income tax department has several wings and duties may vary for each wing.

Presence in Geographical Area

Semi-urban, Urban

A career as an income tax officer job is supported by information technology for efficient functioning. Rural areas are less developed as compared to urban location and do have an infrastructure based on information technology. income tax offices are located in each part of the country in urban areas and semi-urban areas. 

Time Pressure

Likely

Yes, being an income tax officer requires working under frequent time pressure. 

Overtime Details

An income tax officer in the investigation wing may often be required to constantly work three to four days without a break.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 45 Hours

A career as an income tax officer requires functioning a minimum of 45 hours per week. A career as an income tax officer requires working standard hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Several income tax officers may be required to work longer hours being involved in non-assessment duties such as raids, searches, arrests and other duties. A career as an income tax officer in investigation wing requires working on weekends too. He or she may often be required working constantly for three to four days without taking a break in between.

How to become an Income Tax Officer? What does an Income Tax Officer do? Who is an Income Tax Officer? Such questions emerge in mind of every UPSC aspirant who prepares and appears in the examinations for Indian Revenue Services. We have mentioned below Income Tax Officer requirements of skills. 

Communication Skills: A career as an Income Tax Officer requires to communicate with accountants, companies, lawyers and colleagues. Effective communication is an essential aspect of this career. 

Numerical Ability: A career as an Income Tax Officer requires good numerical skills. An Income Tax Officer requires to assess the financial information of individuals, businesses, government and public professionals.

Time Management: A career as an Income Tax Officer often requires to work extended hours in the completion of the financial year. He or she is responsible for ensuring the ITR filed by assesses is accurate and there is any fraud of hiding assets involved. 

Attention To Detail: A career as an Income Tax Officer requires you to pay attention to detail in order to investigate, survey, rectify and assess Income Tax.

Also read - Skills required to become an Indian Foreign Service Officer

We have mentioned below the hierarchy of a career as an Income Tax Officer.

Income Tax Officer-Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax-Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax- Joint Commissioner of Income Tax-Additional Commissioner of Income Tax-Commissioner of Income Tax- Chief Commissioner of Income Tax

Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax: An assistant commissioner of Income Tax Officer is responsible for interfering in the judicial matters under Chapter XX and section 288 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961. He or she is responsible for supervising matters related to the audit and public accounts committee.  An Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax stays concerned all matters related to wealth-tax act, expenditure-tax act, estate-duty act and Benami transaction act. 

Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax: The work responsibilities of Deputy Commissioner requires to check maintained registers in Income Tax Offices for recording audit objections and their disposals. He or she is responsible for pre-search enquiries and reconnaissance work. A Deputy Commissioner of Income-Tax prepares appraisal reports, keeps liaison with departments such as customs, central excise enforcement directorate, revenue intelligence and other related departments. 

Joint Commissioner of Income Tax: The work responsibilities of the joint commissioner is similar to the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax. He or she is required to check maintained registers in Income Tax Offices for recording audit objections and their disposals. A Joint Commissioner of Income Tax is responsible for pre-search enquiries and reconnaissance work. He or she prepares appraisal reports, keeps liaison with departments such as customs, central excise enforcement directorate, revenue intelligence and other related departments. 

Additional Commissioner of Income Tax: The work responsibilities of the Deputy, Joint and Additional Commissioner of Income Tax is the same. He or she is required to check maintained registers in Income Tax Offices for recording audit objections and their disposals. An Additional Commissioner of Income Tax is responsible for pre-search enquiries and reconnaissance work. He or she prepares appraisal reports, keeps liaison with departments such as customs, central excise enforcement directorate, revenue intelligence and other related departments. 

Commissioner of Income Tax: A commissioner of Income Tax is involved in internal audits for the second check to arithmetic accuracy in the assessment of income and levy of tax. He or she is responsible for safeguarding the interest of both the revenue and assesses. 

Chief Commissioner of Income Tax: A chief commissioner of Income Tax is responsible for fixation of the sanctioned strength of various cadres that comes in charge of each CIT and allocation of officers and staff to each CIT or CIT (A). He or she is responsible for vigilance and disciplinary matters. A Chief Commissioner of Income Tax is responsible for overseeing confidential reports of officials working in the region including those who work directly under him. He or she assesses immovable property returns. A Chief Commissioner of Income Tax controls budget and expenditure. 

A career as an income tax officer is considered one of the most competitive job roles. Lakhs of candidates try their luck in UPSC and SSC examination to acquire the job role of Income Tax Officer. The number of assesses filing Income Tax Returns also increases every year. Therefore, it is expected to have an increase in the number of vacancies for income tax officer in upcoming years. 

Every year the number of applicants appearing in the examination for a career as an income tax officer increases.  Therefore, it becomes one of the competent job roles in the government sector.  It is considered as a reputable post in the Indian society that is worth spending as many years as possible to attempt examinations in order to qualify it and acquire the job role as an income tax officer.