History of Indian Revenu Service

Administration of income tax in India had begun as early as 1860. In the initial years, provincial governments administered this tax. The organizational history of the Income Tax Department starts from the year 1922, when the IncomeTax 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 and the lower echelons were filled through promotions from the ranks. The Income Tax Service was established in 1944, which subsequently came to be known as Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax).


 The first batch of Income Tax Officers (Class-II) was directly recruited in the year 1944 through the 1943 examination conducted by the Federal Service Commission for IA&AS and Allied Services.

The recruitment of Income Tax Officers (Class-I) started in 1945 with the recruitment of 18 officers through the IA&AS and Allied Services Examination of 1944. The service was then known as Income Tax Officers (Class-I) Service.

After the Union Public Service Commission was constituted, the recruitment was done through the combined Civil Services Examination. In 1953, the Service was recognized as an independent Central Service and was named Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax).

In the initial years, the officers were recruited in four different ways: -

Officers directly recruited as I.T.O.Class-II) through the 1943 examination who got promoted to Class-I and were given weightage depending upon the evaluation by their Commissioners
Officers directly recruited to Class-I through the 1944 examination
Officers directly recruited as I.T.O.Class-II) through the 1943 examination and later selected to Class-I. Weightage was given to them also and their seniority vis-a-vis direct recruits was adjusted
Officers promoted to Class-I grade from the lower ranks

In 1957, some Income Tax Officers (Class-I) were also recruited on an ad-hoc basis by a competitive examination from amongst officers of armed forces and the Income Tax Officers, (Class-II).

With the passage of time, only two sources of entry to Indian Revenue Service remained- officers directly recruited through Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC and officers promoted from Income Tax Officers (Class-II) grade.









Induction training at the Academy is now imparted only to the directly recruited IRS officers. Other officers, including the ITOs, attend in-service courses at the Regional Training Institutes.

I.R.S Training

After being finally selected for the IRS, the new officer recruits undergo a 3 month foundational training at Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie (Uttarakhand). After this, the Customs and Excise officers undergo 15 month rigorous training at National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics, Faridabad, while income tax officers are trained at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur headed by the Director General of Income Tax (Training). After completion of training, the officers are designated 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 Ahmeabad and 26 Ministerial Staff Training Units spread over the country.

Personal attributes

Main attribute required for IRS aspirants is organising ability. They must be honest, extrovert, dynamic and dedicated people with a high sense of morality, integrity and love for the country. Leadership qualities and communication skills are also essential, to be in this field. One must also be aware of national and international affairs.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS): Job Prospects

Selected candidates in the officer cadre begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.

Besides the higher grade designations there are several positions in the junior cadre which include Customs / Income Tax Officer, Superintendent, Preventive officers/ Inspectors, Tax assistants, upper division Clerks, Lower division clerks, steno, typists, Constables etc.

Compared to private sector jobs this profession has job security. The salary, allowances and facilities like healthcare, housing, conveyance etc. also make it a lucrative profession. The prestige and power attached to this top-notch job is really great than the salary one earns in this field. IRS candidates can be posted anywhere in the country.

I.R.S Indian Revenue Service

This service deals with the matters concerning Income Tax. The members of this service, begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.

With changing times however, more and more IRS officers are serving in departments and areas that used to exclusively be the forte of IAS officers. This widening of opportunities and exposure has made the IRS more attractive.

Since there is no cadre system in this service you can expect to be posted anywhere in India nad even your home state, which becomes a problem for many in the IAS or IPS. The tenures are also more stable with an average of 3 years unlike the other two services where one may not even complete a month and the average tenure is around a year or so.

Officers of Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax) enter training at their academy at Nagpur. After training, they are posted as Assistant Commissioners either on assessment or other work.

While the main work of the department is assessment and recovery of direct taxes, the department has specialised branches dealing with investigation of tax evasion, statistics, and so on with the help of Assistant Directors (of the same rank as Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax). The Assistant Commissioners/ Deputy Directors, Communication Chief Commissioners become members of Central Board of Direct Taxes. The head of the department is the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, who is invariably a member of the Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax).

How to become an IRS Officer

IRS officer is the fourth most respected officer of Civil Services after the IAS’s, IPS’s and IFS’s. They are comprises of IRS (C&CE) and IRS (IT). IRS officers are concerned with the collection, administration and policy formation of direct (Income, Corporate, Wealth, FBT etc.) and indirect (Central Excise, Service Tax and even Customs Duty) taxes. These officers are the tax administrators of India. They are either under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) or the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. These are the officers who hold the responsibility of having a check on the proper collection of the revenue through taxes of the Governments whether Central or State which is a big source of income of the Governments concerned. It is the income which is used by the respective Governments for the welfare programmes to be implemented for the common people of the state. Thus one can say these officers are indirectly responsible for the proper functioning of the welfare schemes by generating requisite funds for them by way of collecting the revenue of the governments in effective manner thus making this profession a highly important one. This profession not only provides self satisfaction to be at the very best, highly respected post in the Indian administrative system but also give you a chance to serve the society by taking head on some antisocial elements of the country. But to reach at this coveted position one has to be really diligent and hardworking. To reach to that level one has to really toil hard for nearly 2 years and pass through a rigorous test involving written tests and interview spreading through out a year almost which requires self-discipline, patience, punctuality, commitment self-confidence and a burning desire to be at the top ladder of an important organization of the country. The is a kind of carrier which is ever demanding you can not get relaxed after getting the post infect you have to work harder after getting the job then before getting it. To be an (IRS) officer is not a mean thing. If you enjoy power then you have also to accept the responsibility attached with the bound less power. To handle things effectively a lot of hard work, stamina, alertness of mind, adaptability to follow difficult time schedules, good team spirit is required as this is not a time bound job. This is a carrier in which you are not only supposed to work yourself only but you have to make your team to work hard for the society you have vowed to serve while joining this career.

3 Month Foundational Training

After being finally selected for the IRS, the new officer recruits undergo a 3 month foundational training at Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie (Uttarakhand). After this, the Customs and Excise officers undergo 15 month rigorous training at National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics, Faridabad, while income tax officers are trained at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur headed by the Director General of Income Tax (Training). After completion of training, the officers are designated 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 Ahmeabad and 26 Ministerial Staff Training Units spread over the country.

Personal attributes

Main attribute required for IRS aspirants is organising ability. They must be honest, extrovert, dynamic and dedicated people with a high sense of morality, integrity and love for the country. Leadership qualities and communication skills are also essential, to be in this field. One must also be aware of national and international affairs.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS): Job Prospects

Selected candidates in the officer cadre begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.

Besides the higher grade designations there are several positions in the junior cadre which include Customs / Income Tax Officer, Superintendent, Preventive officers/ Inspectors, Tax assistants, upper division Clerks, Lower division clerks, steno, typists, Constables etc.

Compared to private sector jobs this profession has job security. The salary, allowances and facilities like healthcare, housing, conveyance etc. also make it a lucrative profession. The prestige and power attached to this top-notch job is really great than the salary one earns in this field. IRS candidates can be posted anywhere in the country.

I.R.S Hierarchy

This service deals with the matters concerning Income Tax. The members of this service, begin their career as Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax and may rise to the level of Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.

With changing times however, more and more IRS officers are serving in departments and areas that used to exclusively be the forte of IAS officers. This widening of opportunities and exposure has made the IRS more attractive.

Since there is no cadre system in this service you can expect to be posted anywhere in India nad even your home state, which becomes a problem for many in the IAS or IPS. The tenures are also more stable with an average of 3 years unlike the other two services where one may not even complete a month and the average tenure is around a year or so.

Officers of Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax) enter training at their academy at Nagpur. After training, they are posted as Assistant Commissioners either on assessment or other work.

While the main work of the department is assessment and recovery of direct taxes, the department has specialised branches dealing with investigation of tax evasion, statistics, and so on with the help of Assistant Directors (of the same rank as Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax). The Assistant Commissioners/ Deputy Directors, Communication Chief Commissioners become members of Central Board of Direct Taxes. The head of the department is the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, who is invariably a member of the Indian Revenue Services (Income-tax).