Course alters for IRS probationers

Income tax probationers will have to put in some extra hours as they undergo training at the prestigious National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) for their course is about to be changed.

The extra hours will, however, be interesting as the course content is being made more relevant with focus on practicals.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has agreed to the proposed changes in the IRS officers' training course and the new schedule is expected to be implemented for the next batch.

"The changes aim at providing more focus on practical aspects of the job. The number of examinations during training are being increased," said CBDT chairperson, Shobha Majumdar.

She was speaking to newsmen after inaugurating the training course for the 58th batch of Income Tax probationers at the NADT.

She said that the new module proposed to increase the on-the-job training period from the present duration of five weeks to ten. The NADT officials had made a presentation before the board in December during which the academy had made several suggestions for making the course more contemporaneous. Most of the suggestion have been found suitable, Majumdar said.

The new course module will also have a major component of international taxation laws.

"India has tax treaties with around 65 countries. Our officers also go for foreign training and deal with cases involving foreign income, as a result it is necessary to include the subject in more detail in the new course module," Majumdar observed.

She said, it was prudent to be more aware of international tax laws so that they could be properly interpreted in a liberalised economy.

Earlier, while addressing trainee officers she advised young officers to be perfect taxmen who would not only extract dues but also ensure that the process does not become too taxing for assessees.

The 58th batch has 117 officers of which 22 are women and 95 men. A total of 42 trainees are from the rural areas while 75 are from urban areas.

There are 19 trainees from Uttar Pradesh which is highest, followed by Bihar and Maharashtra with 12 each. The batch has 35 engineers, 19 doctors and three law graduates.