Indian Revenue Service

The Indian Revenue Service (भारतीय राजस्व सेवा), abbreviated as IRS, is the revenue service of the Government of India. It is one of the Central Civil Services (Group A). The Service functions under the Department of Revenue in the Union Ministry of Finance and is concerned with the collection and administration of the various direct and indirect taxes accruing to the Union Government.

IRS comprises two branches - IRS (Income Tax) and IRS (Customs and Central Excise), which are controlled by two separate statutory bodies, viz., Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) respectively.

History:-

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).

Source:-

1. http://www.irsofficersonline.gov.in/HistoryOfIrs.aspx

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Revenue_Service