SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant | Eligibility, Vacancy, Salary, Powers, Responsibilities

Every year the staff selection Commission conducts the Combined Graduate Level Examination for Group “B” and Group “C” posts existing in different Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations of Government of India and other Constitutional Bodies/ Statutory Bodies/ Tribunals. Income Tax Inspector and Income Tax Assistant are the Group “C” posts. The recruitment is provided by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which is an authorized board for the collection of direct taxes throughout the nation. 

Direct taxes are levied on the direct personal income of the assessee and also includes wealth tax, corporate tax and various other taxes. An Income Tax Inspector is expected to get the posting in either the Assessment or Non-Assessment segment of the Income Tax Department. Tax Assistant will provide their assistance in Raids to their Senior Officers. 

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Overview

Name of the Posts	Income Tax InspectorIncome Tax Assistant
Name of Exam Conducting Body	Staff Selection Commission
Classification of the Post	Group “C”
Name of the Department	Central Board Of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
Date of application for the exam	23-12-2021 to 23-01-2021
Schedule of the examination	April 2022
Age limit	ITI- 18-30 yearsITA- 18-27 years
Educational Qualification	Bachelor’s Degree from Recognised University.

Let us understand the various aspects of these posts such as Eligibility, Vacancy, Salary, and others in detail in this article enabling you to get an overview of these posts. 

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Eligibility

Nationality:

The candidate should be a citizen of India or 

• the subject of Nepal or Bhutan or a Tibetan refugee who had come to India before the 1st January 1962 for permanently settling in India or
• a person of Indian Origin who had migrated from Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, East African COuntries of Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly known as Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Ethiopia and Vietnam for permanently settling in India. 

However, candidates other than citizens of India will be required to possess a certificate of Eligibility issued by the Government Of India. 

The Nationality eligibility criteria are the same for both the Income Tax Inspector and Tax Assistant post. 

Now, let’s understand the other eligibility criteria such as age limit, educational qualification: 

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Age Limit

The Income Tax Inspector is Group “C” posts. Therefore, the age limit prescribed for the post lies in the range of 18-30 years. The candidates should not have been born earlier than 02-01-1992 and not later than 01-01-2004. 

The age limit condition prescribed for the Income Tax Assistant post lies between 18-27 years which is also Group “C” Category post existing in the CBDT. 

The SSC has relaxed the age limit criteria for certain categories of class for a certain number of years: 

Code No.	Category	Age-Relaxation permitted beyond the defined upper limit.
01	SC/ST	5 years
02	OBC	3 years
03	PwD (Unreserved)	10 years
04	PwD (OBC)	13 years
05	PwD (SC/ST)	15 years
06	Ex-Serviceman (ESM)	3 years are allowed after deducting the period of military service provided from the actual age as on the closing date of form submission
08	Defense Personnel disabled in operation in a disturbed area during hostilities with any foreign country and released due to this reason	3 years
09	Same as above (SC/ST)	8 years

Additional relaxation is permitted in the upper age limit for both of these posts since they are Group “C” posts: 

Code No.	Particulars	Upper Age limit for prescribed category age relaxation
10	Central Government Civilian Employees who have rendered 3 years or more regular and continuous service on the last date of the application submission	Age to less than or equal to 40 years
11	Same as above (SC/ST)	Age to be equal to or less than 45 years
12	Widows /Divorced Women or Judicially separated Women and who didn’t remarried	Age to be less than or equal to 35 years
13	Same as Above (SC/ST)	Age to be less than or equal to 40 years

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Educational Qualification

The candidates for Income Tax Inspector and Income Tax Assistant should possess the Bachelor’s Degree procured from a Recognised University or an equivalent qualification to appear for the examination. 

The Examination for these posts will be conducted in four stages, i.e., Tiers:

• Tier I: It is a Computer Based Examination that is objective-based Multiple choice questions consisting of four subjects. 
• Tier II: It is also a Computer Based Examination which is an objective-based MCQs paper. 
• Tier III: It is a Descriptive exam 
• Tier IV It is a Skill test where the candidates are tested for Data Entry Speed where the Tax Assistant in CBDT will be required to type at a speed of 8000 Key Depressions per hour on the Computer. This exam is only for Tax Assistants and not for Income tax Inspectors. 

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Vacancy

The vacancy for Income Tax Inspector and Income Tax Assistant has been issued by the Commission for the year 2021 in its notification dated 08.02.2021: 

Post Code	Name of the Department	Name of the Post	UR	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	Total	ESM	OH	HH	VH	Others PWD
B22	CBDT	Inspector of Income Tax	66	21	15	76	24	202	16	3	3	0	1
D51	CBDT	Tax Assistant	498	168	64	259	96	1085	104	10	11	8	10

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Salary

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector: Salary and Promotions

Particulars	Amount in Rs
Basic Salary	44900
House Rent Allowance ( X Cities- 27%Y- Cities- 18% and Z-Cities- 9%)	City X- 12123 City Y- 8082 City Z- 4041
Dearness Allowance (31%)	13,919
Travel Allowance	City X-3600 For City Y and Z: 1800
DA on TA	City X- 1116 City Y – 558 City Z- 558
Gross Earnings	City X- 75, 658 City y- 69,259 City Z- 65,218
NPS Deduction 10% ( Basic DA)	5882
CGHS	350
CGEGIS	60 per month (2880)
Total Deductions	9112
Net Earnings	City X- 66,546 City Y- 60,147 City Z- 56,106
Govt Contribution	5882

City X is denoted for 8 urban Cities, City Y stands for a population over 5 lakhs, and city Z stands for rural areas. 

The income tax Inspector post provides numerous opportunities for promotions and raising of grade pay. The chronology for promotion in this post is provided below: 

• Income Tax Officer (ITO)
• Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT)
• Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT)
• Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (JCIT)
• Additional Commissioner of Income Tax (ADCIT)
• Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT)

Let’s look at the increment of salary of these posts: 

Rank	Salary
Principal Chief Commissioner of IT	Rs. 80000
Chief Commissioner	lies in the range of Rs 75550- 80000
Principal Commissioner	lies in the range of Rs 67000-79000
Commissioner	Rs 37400-67000 ( Additional grade pay of Rs 10000)
Additional / Joint Commissioner	Rs 37400-67000 (Grade pay of 8700/Rs 15600-39100 Grade Pay of 7600
Deputy Commissioner	Rs. 15600-39100 Grade Pay of Rs. 6600
Assistant Commissioner	Rs. 15600-39100 Grade Pay of 5400
Income Tax Officer	Rs. 9300-34800 Grade Pay of Rs 4800/ Rs 5400
Income Tax Inspector	Rs 9300-34800 Grade Pay of 4600

SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: 

Name of the Post	Department	Classification of the posts	Grade Pay	Pay Level
Tax Assistant	CBDT	Group “C”	2400	Level 4- (25500-81100)

Salary Structure: 

Pay Scale	Rs 25500
Dearness Allowances (31%)	Rs.7905
House Rent Allowance	Rs. 6885
Traveling Allowance	Rs. 1769 (1350+ 1350*31%)
Total Salary	Rs. 42059

After the application of the 7th pay Commission, the in-hand salary of the Tax Assistant will be around Rs. 36000, which appears under that pay band of Rs. 5200-20200. The salary of the Tax Assistant will vary city-wise: 

Category of Cities	HRA After 7th Pay Commission
X	27%
Y	18%
Z	9%

SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant: Powers and Responsibilities 

Powers and Responsibilities of Income Tax Inspector: 

• If you are posted in the Assessment Section: 

1. You will be required to handle the desk jobs that are included in the duties of the Income Tax Inspector
2. You will also be required to handle refund claims and TDS

• If you are posted in the Non- Assessment Section:

1. It must be noted that the selected candidates posted in this section can be part of instant response teams that undertake the raids at various places falling in their jurisdiction. 
2. The ITIs with non-assessment duties have to perform the official or clerical duties concerning the assessment undertaken by the assessment department.
3. They are only required to complete the official task of the department, which makes them presentable in front of the Government, Court, and Tribunal.

Income Tax Inspector: Work Hours 

The working hours of an Income Tax Inspector are similar to those prescribed by the Indian government, which is from 9 AM to 6 PM. However, in the Non-Assessment Unit, the inspectors will be required to operate for a longer duration during demanding times such as raids, searches, arrests, and many other events. 

Income Tax Inspector: Transfers 

There are two options are available for transfers in the Income Tax Department: 

1. Annual General transfer

2. Interchange Transfer

Powers and Responsibilities of the Income Tax Assistant

• The selected candidates will be required to scrutinize several income tax returns that are received by the Income-tax department. They need to carry out the initial calculations of the tax liability of the various assesses such as Companies, Individuals, HUFS, and many other Bodies.
• It is the responsibility of the Tax Assistant to analyze the returns and locate if the assesses have defaulted or skimmed from payment of taxes by misinterpreting the law. Therefore, the tax assistant has to identify the tax evaders and non-taxpayers. 
• Timely identification and imposition of penalties as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• You will be expected to perform various official activities such as preparation of weekly and monthly reports, monitor correspondences, monitoring to dispatching of the notices, their services, and many others. 
• You will have to address the public grievances, their dissatisfaction and undertake the dispatching of the diary. 
• Maintenance of official files of defaulted assesses, reports of various officers and committees such as valuation officers, etc., documents to make them easily accessible while they are needed in presenting the department in Tribunals and Courts. 
• It is also expected from the Tax assistant to actively participate in Critical Investigations and Criminal Investigations. They are also required to assist their Senior Officials in the investigations and raids. 
• Evaluation of Income-tax Returns can be done only if it is assigned by their Senior officials. 

Promotions of Tax Assistant in CBDT

The Tax Assistants are provided various promotions that are mentioned below:

• Assistant Commissioner
• ITO (Group-B Gazette)
• Income Tax Inspector (ITI)
• Senior Tax Assistant
• Tax Assistant

The Tax Assistants are provided with their transfers in the metro cities or state capitals. The transfer policy is the same as that of the Income Tax Inspector. Transfers in these posts are possible after the completion of the probation period. 

Conclusion

After comparing between SSC CGL Income Tax Inspector vs SSC CGL Income Tax Assistant posts, it is clear that both the posts are reputed and Central Government posts which demand a lot of dedication and knowledge. The candidates fulfilling the above criteria should apply for these posts as these posts provide: 

• Job Security
• Regular pay
• Reputation in the Society
• Exposure in the Income Tax WOrld
• Experience of working in government Agencies. 

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