Indian Revenue Service

Indian Revenue Service.
Bhāratīya Rājasva Sevā

IRS (Income Tax)


IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes)
Service overview
Founded1919; 105 years ago (1919)
(as Imperial Customs Service)
1944; 80 years ago (1944)
(as Income Tax Service)
1953; 71 years ago (1953)
(as Indian Revenue Service)
HeadquartersNorth Block, New Delhi
Country India
Staff colleges
  1. National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur, Maharashtra
  2. National Academy of Customs Indirect Taxes and Narcotics,NH-44, Palasamudram, Gorantla Mandal, Hindupur Taluk, Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh
Cadre controlling authorityDepartment of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
Minister responsibleNirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs
Legal personaliityGovernmental
Civil service
Cadre strength9,775 members (2018)
4,192 (Income Tax)[1] and 5,583 (Customs and Indirect Taxes)[2]
SelectionCivil Services Examination
Associations
  1. Indian Revenue Service Association
  2. IRS (Customs & Indirect Taxes) Association
Service chiefs
Chairperson, CBDTRavi Agarwal , IRS-IT:1988
Chairperson, CBICSanjay Agarwal, IRS–C&IT:1988[3]
Head of the civil services
Cabinet SecretaryT. V. Somanathan, IAS
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The Indian Revenue Service (IAST: Bhāratīya Rājasva Sevā), often abbreviated as IRS, is a civil service that is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes. As a central civil service under Group A[4] of the executive branch of the Government of India, it functions under the Department of Revenue[5] of the Ministry of Finance and is under the administrative direction of the Revenue Secretary and the ministerial command of the Minister of Finance.

The IRS comprises two branches, Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) and Indian Revenue Service (Custom & Indirect Taxes), controlled by two separate statutory bodies, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The duties of the IRS (IT) include among others, formulation of domestic direct tax policy (through the Tax Policy and Legislation Section[6]), formulation of international tax policy (through the Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division[6]), handling policy matters in respect of investigation of tax evasion (through the Investigation Section[6]), updating, resolving and maintaining the relevant laws (through the ITA Division), administering the direct tax policy (through its field offices across the country[7]), and administering all the associated administrative functions pertaining to direct taxes. The duties of the IRS (C&IT) include formulation and enforcement of policy concerning the Goods and Services Tax, prevention of smuggling, and administration of matters related to Customs and Narcotics.

In the 2017-2018 financial year (i.e. 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018), the IRS (IT) received 5,87,13,458 returns[8] and collected direct taxes amounting to ₹11.37 trillion,[9] spending ₹60,000 (equivalent to ₹91,000 or US$1,100 in 2023) for every ₹1,000 (equivalent to ₹1,500 or US$18 in 2023) it collected.[10] The relative contribution of direct tax to the overall tax collection of the Central Government has risen from about 36% to 56% over the period of 2000–01 to 2013–14. The contribution of direct tax-to-GDP has doubled (from about 3% to 6%) during the same period.[11]

  1. ^ "Information to be published under Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act, 2005., Central Board of Direct Taxes, 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Allocation of Revised Cadre Strength, Central Board of Direct Taxes, 2018" (PDF). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Pranab K Das is new CBIC chairman - Times of India". The Times of India. 19 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Income Tax Act : Income Tax Act 1961 : Definition, Slab, Sections - Legitquest".
  5. ^ "Home | Department of Revenue | Ministry of Finance | Government of India". dor.gov.in. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Central Board of Direct Taxation". www.incometaxindia.gov.in. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Organizations and Functions". www.incometaxindia.gov.in. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. ^ Income Tax Department, Central Board of Direct Taxes (October 2019). "Income Tax Return Statistics, Assessment Year 2018-19" (PDF). Income Tax India. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. ^ Income Tax Department, Central Board of Direct Taxes (2019). "Income Tax Department Time Series Data" (PDF). Income Tax India.
  10. ^ "Statistical Year Book India, 2017". Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Profile IRS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).