TAXATION

Taxation is mainly the process of imposing financial charge (tax) on the citizens who earn 'taxable' income. State Government, Central Government, or any authority of a state, such as the Municipality or the Local Council levies the tax on the tax payers. Tax collection serves as an important role of the government, as intern tax paid by the citizens forms the government's integral source of income. Commerce graduates and post graduates are generally hired for jobs in the field of taxation. Many institutes in India are conducting courses in the field, to produce competent professionals who can work in the field of taxation.

Tax is a sum of money which is mandatory for every individual to pay to a state or any body having an equivalency to a state. The individual / entity that pay the tax to the government are termed as Taxpayer and the entire process is called Taxation. Taxation is a process of imposing financial charge (tax) on the citizens who earns the so called 'taxable' income. Taxable income is the one which the government decides as a limit for the individuals who earn a certain amount of income for which they are required to pay tax accordingly with percentages. A career in taxation challenges the commerce students to stay on the leading edge of tax issues. Taxation study involves dealing with mostly direct taxes, assessment of taxes, filing returns and providing advice on indirect taxes. Direct tax is one which is collected directly from the people in the way of income tax, property tax, wealth tax, etc., and the indirect tax is one which is collected from the customers on the goods purchased or for the service provided. For eg: VAT, sales tax, excise duty, customs duty, etc.

India has today the most developed taxation structure. The tax system in India is mainly divided into the three tier system which is based between the Central, State Governments and an authority of a state, such as the Municipality, Corporation or the Local Council. The main taxes/duties of the Central Government is empowered to levy are: Income Tax (except tax on agricultural income, which the State Governments can levy), Customs duties, Central Excise and Sales Tax and Service Tax. The principal taxes levied by the State Governments are usually the Value Added Tax (VAT or Sales tax in States where VAT is not yet in force), Sales Tax (tax on intra-State sale of goods), Stamp Duty (duty on transfer of property), State Excise (duty on manufacture of certain goods), Land Revenue (levy on land used for agricultural/non-agricultural purposes), Duty on Entertainment and Tax on Professions & Callings. The Local Bodies are been empowered to levy tax on properties (buildings, houses), Octopi (tax on entry of goods for use/consumption within areas of the Local Bodies), Tax on Markets and Tax/User Charges for utilities like water supply, drainage, etc.




Many colleges and universities in India today are conducting courses in the field of taxation, at diploma and certificate levels. To pursue the undergraduate level courses, the aspiring students must have passed Higher Secondary Certificate Examination or 10+2 from any recognized state/national Board. To be eligible for the PG courses, one has to complete graduation in the relevant stream.



Public sector undertakings are always in demand of efficient professionals who can deliver good performance in the field of taxation. The aspirants have the opportunity to join any related organization as Tax Accountant, Employment Tax Specialists, State Local Tax Attorney specialists, Tax Policy Analyst, Tax Recruiter, tax advisor, Tax Manager, Tax Examiners, Collectors, Revenue Agents, etc.



Many educational institutes in India are offering education in the field of taxation. Some of the prominent institutions are the Annamalai University, Nagpur College of Taxation, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Indian Institute of Taxation. Apart from this, commerce colleges have included taxation as an important part of their curriculum.



IRS officers are the ones who are concerned with the collection, administration and policy formation of direct (income, corporate, wealth, etc) and indirect taxes(central excise, service tax and customs duty). These officers are mainly the tax administrators of India. They work under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Posts usually starts with Assistant Commissioner, IRS officers rise up to the level of Chief Commissioner, with the senior-most ones reaching the post of member/ chairperson of CBDT and equivalent institutions. They are also being usually deputed to the Vigilance Department, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Narcotics Control Bureau, hence apart from heading various cells in the Ministry of Finance and other ministries in the Indian Government.

Working for the Income Tax Department implies that one is working with tax-collection process that funds the country’s most vital programmes, which forms its security, social services, to maintaining its forests, the environment, public facilities/ infrastructure, education and so much more. The Income Tax Department administers various taxes namely the Direct Tax Acts, namely, the Wealth Tax Act 1957, Income Tax Act 1961, Interest Tax Act 1974, the Gift Tax Act 1958, Securities Transaction Tax Act 2004, Banking Cash Transaction Tax Act 2005 and Fringe Benefit Tax Act 2004, etc. There is a tremendous amount of responsibility on this kind of profile and an IT officer deals with all kinds of individuals and businesses.

Taxation Students who have interest to join the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group ‘A’ should be applying for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the UPSC every year. The minimum qualification required for applying to this CSE would be graduation from a recognised university. Every candidate who is appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be allowed four attempts (no restriction on the number of attempts for SC/ ST candidates, seven attempts for OBC candidates). The preliminary examination (prelims) is the process through which the candidates are shortlisted for the main (written examination). Candidates qualifying the main (written) exam are called for the personal interview. Based on the marks secured in the main (written) and interview, a merit list is drawn up, which determines the choice of service (keeping in mind the options exercised by the candidate in the application) The combined graduate level examination by the staff selection commission would lead to recruitment as inspector of income tax. Graduates of any discipline between 18 and 27 years are eligible to apply for this entry. This is a junior level entry into the department through a less rigorous selection procedure as compared to the civil services examination

Remuneration in the field of taxation usually varies from one organization to the other. However, beginners can earn a salary of Rs 200000-Rs500000 per annum.