Tax or Revenue Officer

Overview

Who is Tax or Revenue Officer?

In India, Revenue Officer is also known as Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Officer or casually known as, Collector, is the one of the most respected officer of Civil Services, is the tax administrator of India, especially dealing with overdue accounts. They work in the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance either under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) or the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Revenue officers are involved with the collection, administration, and policy formation of direct and indirect taxes.

Typical day at work

What does Tax or Revenue Officer do?

A Revenue Officer is a member of India's Civil Services department. You will be in charge of collecting taxes and duties (revenue) on behalf of the government in this position. They investigate and collect dues from failing taxpayer accounts. Several people and businesses fail to pay their taxes on time or have questionable financial records. You must conduct an investigation on behalf of the government, identifying any anomalies and ensuring that defaulters are prosecuted.

Defaulters are sent notices. If you discover an error in a taxpayer's Income Tax (IT) records, you must tell both the taxpayer and the government. They decide what kind of audits (inspections) will be carried out. Tax returns may or may not have been defaulted on by the taxpayer. Unknown sources of income, declaring less income, property surpassing the amount claimed by the taxpayer, and more are examples of defaults. You'll decide the scope and nature of audits based on your initial findings (inspection).

The process of collecting an overdue payment usually begins with the revenue agent or tax examiner who sends a report to the taxpayer. If the taxpayer makes no effort to pay, the case is assigned to a collector, who sends another notice to the taxpayer. When delinquent taxpayers claim that they cannot pay their taxes, collectors investigate and verify these claims by researching information on taxpayers mortgages or financial statements and locate taxpayer-owned items of value through third parties, such as neighbours or local departments of motor vehicles. Ultimately, collectors must decide whether to seize on taxpayers funds and assets such as a bank account, real estate, or an automobile to settle a debt or to garnish taxpayer’s wages that is, take a portion of earned wages to collect taxes owed.

Review filed tax returns to determine if the claimed credits and deductions are legally allowed.

• Contact taxpayers to address issues and request supporting documentation
• Conduct field audits and income tax returns investigations to authenticate information or to update liabilities on tax
• Evaluate financial information, using accounting procedures and tax laws and regulations
• Keep records of each dealt case, including addresses, phone numbers, and actions taken
• Notify taxpayers of any overpaid or underpaid transactions
• Inspect and collect delinquent taxpayer accounts
• Send notices to taxpayers regarding collection of delinquent funds
• Work with taxpayers to develop a payment plan
• Inspect particular tax returns to determine the nature and extent of audits to be performed
• Can serve as member of regional appeals board to re-examine unresolved issues relating to relevant laws and regulations
• Examine companies' accounting processes, and internal controls
• Provide guidance on reporting and assessment methods for taxable products
• Prepare briefs and assist in searching and seizing records, and in preparing charges for court cases.

Abilities & aptitude needed

What are the skills, abilities & aptitude needed to become Tax or Revenue Officer?

A career in taxation demands an individual to be comfortable with numbers and is out-of-the-box thinkers. One could take up this job if they have commercial awareness, willingness to learn about taxation sector, tax law, and current market scenario. Revenue officers must be comfortable using a variety of computer programs.

Besides accountancy skills, other skills required are problem solving, negotiation, decision-making, commercial, organizational, and analytical. They also need to be efficient in time management such as meeting deadlines, prioritize tasks, and take personal responsibility for a professional workload.

Collectors must be comfortable, firm and composed, while dealing with individuals, including talking to them during confrontational situations. They must also be skilled at interviewing people to get to the bottom of a taxpayers issues, maintain diplomacy and assertiveness in case of aggression and hostility.

The field also demands self-discipline, patience, punctuality, commitment, self-confidence and a desire to climb up the ladder. They must accept the responsibility attached to the limitless power. To handle things effectively a lot of hard work, stamina, alertness of mind, adaptability, and good team spirit is required. A proactive approach in planning and management is also expected.

One needs to pay great attention to details, as well as the ability to understand and explain complex regulations in a way non-specialist can understand. If you think you will enjoy going in and out of courts, handling complex tax issues, or preparing innovative tax structures, this is a career for you.

Courses

Which course I can pursue?