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IRS full Form

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What is IRS?

The IRS Full form is the Indian Revenue Service (आईआरएस का फुल फॉर्म भारतीय राजस्व सेवा है) also known as the administrative revenue service of the Government of India(GOI). IRS service is also related to Group A services of central civil services. IRS cadre controlling authority is the Department of Revenue in the Union Ministry of Finance. Duty of IRS officers vary from implementing policies to dealing with the finance of the country. IRS officers control the Direct Taxes laws through the Income Tax Department(ITD) whose logo is “Kosha Moolo Dandah” (“Treasury is the root of administration”) coined by Kautilya. IRS officers discharge one of the most important sovereign functions of the nation i.e., collection of revenue for development, security, and governance. Indian revenue service (IRS) service has 2 branches:-

  • IRS (Income Tax).
  • IRS (Customs and Central Excise).

In this article, we will be discussing duties to Salary to Perks and many more related to IRS officers.

Table of Contents:-

  1. The Recruitment Process of IRS
  2. Duties of an IRS officer
  3. Required Skills
  4. Advantages of Becoming an IRS
  5. Reasons to opt for the IRS
  6. IRS Salary Structure
  7. Perks of IRS Officer
  8. Eligibility Criteria for IRS (Nationality, educational, age, attempts)
  9. IRS Exam Pattern
  10. Conclusion
  11. FAQs on IRS

The Recruitment Process of IRS

IRS officers are recruited through the UPSC CSE exam which is conducted every year by UPSC. This exam contains 3 stages i.e. prelims, mains and interview. IRS Officers enter the service, they are mainly trained at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) at Nagpur.There is a Foundation Course for IRS officers trainees that lasts for 4 months. After completion of the foundation course, IRS officers receive extensive training for 16 months in specially designed modules on taxation and allied accounting, laws, fiscal policy, public finances, office procedures and so on. During the training time, they are also sent to various field offices & organisations across India. They are also sent out of India to give global exposure to the best taxation practices worldwide.

Duties of an IRS officer

IRS officers are primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes accruing to the government of India. The duties of an IRS officer include formulation of taxation policies, handling policy matters in respect of investigation of tax evasion, resolving, updating and maintaining the relevant laws, administering the direct tax policy with the help of its field offices across the country, and administering all the associated administrative functions relating to indirect & direct taxes.
IRS officers also participate in negotiations of treaties on behalf of the Indian Government in fiscal matters in both bilateral/multilateral forums like OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency in Tax Matters.
IRS officers are appointed to intelligence and law enforcement organisations like the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), Research and Analysis Wing(RAW), Intelligence Bureau(IB) etc.
Responsibilities in the Customs Departments and Income Tax - IRS officers are charged with profound responsibilities of identifying the tax evasions. IRS officers hold statutory powers to search and seize illegally accumulated wealth and arrest the culprits.
IRS officers play a significant role in probing and exposing scams in the country.
IRS officers perform all-important border postings and protect the country from smuggling and safeguard its economic borders. They tackle patrolling missions on high seas & preventive operations against piracy & smuggling.

Required Skills:

  • Communication Skills
  • Analytical Skills
  • Leadership and Decision making skills
  • Research Skills
  • Perseverance
  • Quality of Patience.

Advantages of Becoming an IRS:

  • Healthy work-life balance because their work is generally limited to regular office hours.
  • IRS officers get the luxury of posting in big/metropolitan cities.
  • IRS officers hold more stability of tenure; they can stay in a posted station for approximately eight years.
  • Also, there's less pressure and almost zero political interference compared to other civil services like IAS & IPS.

Reasons to opt for the IRS:

  • Candidates who are interested in taxation should opt for IRS.
  • If candidates are confident about their choice of interest & have the guts to go against popular opinion, they should join the IRS.
  • In the comparison of IAS & IPS there is more work-life balance in life.
  • Political interference is almost zero in the case of IRS service.
  • If candidates prefer residing in the metro cities, they may prefer the IRS because 80-90% of the postings are in metro/big cities.
  • If the spouse is also in the IRS, you can be posted together most of the time, unlike the IAS/IPS.
  • In the case of IRS there is more stability of tenure than IAS/IPS.
  • Most of the work of IRS officers is confined to normal office hours whereas in the case of IAS/IPS, this is a rarely found luxury.
  • There is generally less pressure in IRS service as compared to the IAS/IPS.

IRS Salary Structure :-

Indian revenue service(IRS) is one of the most desired jobs in India. In addition to good monetary compensation, IRS officers are also eligible for various perks like accommodation, medical expenses, transportation etc. The salary of an IRS officer is determined on the basis of the rank they hold in the government department. The below table provides information on the Designations & Pay scales related to the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

S.No Rank Department of Posting Pay Band Grade Pay
1 Assistant Commissioner Income Tax ₹15,600 - ₹39,100 ₹1,400
2 Deputy Commissioner Income Tax ₹15,600 - ₹39,100 ₹6,600
3 Joint Commissioner Income Tax ₹15,600 - ₹39,100 ₹7,600
4 Additional Commissioner Income Tax ₹37,400 - ₹67,000 ₹8,700
5 Commissioner Income Tax ₹37,400 - ₹67,000 ₹10,000
6 Principal Commissioner Income Tax ₹75,500 - ₹80,000 NA
7 Chief Commissioner Income Income Tax ₹75,500 - ₹80,000 NA
8 Principal Chief Commissioner Income Tax A fixed salary of 80,000 NA

Perks of IRS Officer:

IRS officers get a number of perks & allowances. Apart from salary, the government offers IRS officers much more than the private sector. Here are some of the benefits given that are different from IRS salary:

  • House Rent Allowances
  • Health/Medical Treatment
  • Retirement Benefits
  • Lifetime Pension
  • Water and Electricity bill is almost free
  • IRS officer also has an option to go out of India for study purpose, the expenses will be borne by the Government

Eligibility Criteria for IRS Nationality:

The candidate who is willing to be an IRS officer should be either of the following:

  • A citizen of India
  • A citizen of Nepal
  • A citizen of Bhutan
  • Secondly, the candidate can be related to a Tibetan refugee who came to India but before 1 January 1962 for permanent settlement; or
  • Migrants from any of the countries mentioned below for permanent settlement in India - Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Burma, East African countries of Kenya, The United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia & Vietnam.

Educational Qualification:

Following academic qualifications are required for UPSC CSE exam eligibility:

  • Candidate must hold a degree from Government recognised University or hold equivalent qualification
  • There are no minimum qualifying marks required in graduation to appear in the UPSC CSE(Civil Services Exam) exam. Candidates just need to pass graduation.
  • Candidates who are in their final year of graduation are also eligible to write the UPSC Preliminary exam. All such candidates must produce their final year graduation pass certificate during application for the Mains examination.
  • Candidates who have professional & technical qualifications must have a government-recognised degree as equivalent to a professional.
  • Medical students who have not completed their internship but passed the final year of MBBS are also eligible to appear in the Preliminary exam. However, during the Mains exam application, those candidates have to submit a certificate of course completion(including internship).

Age Limit:

The minimum age is 21 years & maximum age is 32 years for general/EWS category candidates. For SC/ST candidates, the age relaxation is up to 37 years of age with unlimited attempts. candidates are eligible to write the UPSC CSE exam up to 35 years of age. Likewise, the age limit is different for residents from J&K, physically handicapped candidates and Defence candidates.

Relaxation:

  • It is 5 years for SC/ST
  • 3 years for OBC
  • 5 years for the candidate of J&K.
  • 10 years for with people disabilities..

Number of Attempts:

  • The general category has 6 attempts.
  • However, there is no limit for SC/ST
  • But, for other backward classes, there are 9 attempts.

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Examination Pattern:-

The IRS exam contains 3 parts - Prelims, Mains and Interview which is conducted by UPSC CSE annually.

Prelims:

The prelims exam contains 2 papers General Studies & CSAT. Each paper carries 200 marks & is of 2 hours each. However, candidates who are blind get an extra 20 minutes for each paper in the prelims exam. Both the papers contain objective types with multiple-choice questions. Also, Both papers are printed in both Hindi & English language.

Mains:

The candidates who crack Prelims sit for the Mains examination which consists of a total of 1750 marks. On the basis of mains & interview marks, the list of final candidates is selected. There is a total of 9 papers in the mains exam. Out of those 9 papers, 2 papers related to compulsory English & compulsory Indian language contain 300 marks each and qualifying(minimum 25% marks require) in nature while the rest of the papers carry 250 marks. Below mentioned are the papers in the mains -

  • Paper 1( language is chosen by the candidate which is mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Indian constitution)
  • Paper 2( Compulsory English)
  • Paper 3( Essay)
  • Paper 4 - General studies I
  • Paper 5 - General studies II
  • Paper 6 - General studies III
  • Paper 7 - General studies IV
  • Paper 8 - Optional paper 1
  • Paper 9 - Optional paper 2
  • (MARKS OBTAINED IN PAPERS 3-9 ARE CONSIDERED FOR FINAL MERIT LIST AND EACH PAPER CONTAIN 250 MARKS, SO GRAND TOTAL IN MAINS EXAM BECOMES 1750 MARKS.)

Notes related to Language Paper

  • Students belonging to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Sikkim do not have to appear compulsorily in Paper A.
  • The Compulsory Language paper broadly contains Reading Comprehension, Usage and Vocabulary, Precis Writing and Translation.
  • For the Santhali language, Question paper is printed in Devanagari script; but there is the liberty for candidates to write paper either in Devanagari script/in Olchiki.

Interview:

The last stage is the Interview and it contains 275 marks Candidates who clear the Mains examination become eligible for the interview stage & are called for the interview stage by UPSC. The final Interview stage is much more than testing the bookish knowledge of the candidates it tests the overall personality of the candidate. Candidates should work on their personality, awareness of current events, questions related to their hobbies/interests, work experience & educational background. Board members can ask questions related to the optional subject hence it should be prepared thoroughly. Group Discussion is also advised for Personality Test preparation. Candidates are advised to sit for several mock interviews to get enough practice and know their weak areas and work upon them. Candidates selected for the Interview are twice compared to the total number of vacancies. Hence, the presence of mind and smart answers of candidates play role in the selection in the interview stage. The other factors that affect the selection are patience, awareness, judgement capability, morals & much more. The Interview panel tests the personality of the candidate and not merely knowledge because the knowledge base of the candidates has been already tested in the Prelims & Mains exam.

Conclusion

IRS is a prestigious job in which they get a chance to serve the country in different roles and capacities. It needs determination and a lot of hard work to become a civil servant. One should always stay focused & work hard because it is not easy to crack the civil services examination. But with a well-planned strategy & right guidance, you can easily clear this exam & achieve your dream of becoming an IRS officer.

FAQs on IRS full form

1. What is the full form of IRS?
Indian Revenue Service is the full form of the abbreviation of IRS. Further, it is GROUP 'A' Service like IAS & IPS and recruited by the UPSC through the Civil services examination every year.
2. Where does the IRS Training takes place?
The IRS training also starts at LBSNAA, Mussoorie along with IAS & IPS. After LBSNAA training , the IRS officers are mainly trained at in the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) which is located in Nagpur.