WEST BENGAL COMMERCIAL TAX SERVICE is one of the premier and coveted State Services. One has to clear the West Bengal Civil Services Group A Examination to directly enter the service. In fact examination performance trends and merit list rankings show that in order to make it to the WBCTS, one has to secure top ranks in the WBCS Examination as most of the toppers have revealed their preference for WBCTS over other comparable State Services.

WBCTS offers a work area where new entrants can combine their administrative acumen and skill with their specialized knowledge to deliver quantifiable results and concrete achievements in a free, fair and open environment.

As a vibrant revenue service, WBCTS offers its cadre officers an opportunity to generate and mobilize resources to propel the State Economy to new heights of growth & prosperity..

Entry Level

• Designation: Commercial Tax Officer/ Sales Tax Officer/ Profession Tax Officer (CTO/STO/PTO)
  Pay Scale: Rs.8000-275-13500 (Scale No.16)
  This post is equivalent in rank to the post of Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector in the WBCT (Executive) Service.
  Total number of CTO posts at present is 655.

Subsequent prospects under the Career Advancement Scheme after eight years of satisfactory service subject to passing of Departmental Examination

• Designation: Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Tax/ Sales Tax/ Profession Tax (ACCT/ ACST/ ACPT)
  Pay Scale: Rs.10000-325-15525 (Scale No. 17)
  The designation of ACCT/ ACST/ ACPT given as and when vacancy arises and as per functional work areas in the place of posting.
  Total number of ACCT’s post at present is 325
  
• Designation: Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Tax/ Sales Tax/ Profession Tax (DCCT/ DCST/ DCPT)
  Pay Scale: Rs.12000-325-18000 (Scale No.18)
  After another eight years of satisfactory service, this scale is awarded under the Career Advancement Scheme and the designation is given as and when vacancy arises.
  Total number of DCCTs post at present is 89

The following scales and posts do not come under the Career Advancement Scheme. Award of these pay scales and elevation to these posts depends on available vacancies, satisfactory service records and eligibility conditions as laid down in the W. B. Government rules.

• Designation: Additional Commissioner, Commercial Tax/Sales Tax/Profession Tax
  Pay Scale: Rs.14300-400-18300 (Scale No.19)
  Additional Commissioners are equivalent to the rank of Joint Secretary to the Govt. of West Bengal.
  Total number of Addln. CCT posts at present is 36.
  
• Designation: Special Commissioner
  Pay Scale: Rs.18400-500-22400 (Scale No.21)
  Total number of Spl. CCT’s posts at present is 2.

WBCTS is an integrated cadre service comprising of the posts of CTO, ACCT, & Addln.CCT.
Spl. CCT posts are borne in the West Bengal General Service.

All officers of the WBCTS cadre on completion of 8 years of service attain eligibility for being nominated in the IAS cadre.

There also exists, openings for deputation postings. Presently some of our officers are on deputation at the Policy Planning Unit, Dept. of Finance(Revenue), Govt. of WB, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy and the Empowered Committee on VAT( New Delhi).

The General Body is supreme in deliberating and deciding on the policy matters. The nature and form of programs and actions are also decided by the General Body in consultation with the members. Each & every member irrespective of his or her seniority, enjoys equal say in the General Body.

However to run the day to day affairs of the Association and implement decisions taken by the General Body, an Executive Committee is formed every year through elections conducted by an autonomous Election Conduct Committee headed by a Returning Officer. Members across the State participate in the election either by casting their votes in person at the polling booths set-up at the Head Office or through postal-ballots.

The Executive Committee consists of the following office bearers:

President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer, Joint Treasurer and the Executive Committee members.

The Executive Committee works round the year in keeping with the objectives and purpose of the Association.
The EC members keep in regular touch with the general members and all efforts are made to promote the cause and aspirations of the Officers.
The Association has various spheres of activity. Some of these are indicated below:

• Place the demands as per Resolutions adopted and approved at the General Body Meeting (AGM) and negotiate with the authorities for their realization.
  
• Draw attention of the authorities towards legitimate grievances of individual members or group of members and try to redress them.
  
• Voice the aspirations, interests and cause of the Service in proper forums.
  
• Examine policy decisions and actions of the authorities from time to time and react according to the merit and efficacy of such administrative decisions.
  
• To bring out organization mouthpiece "CANVAS" that not only propagates the Association viewpoint but also provides a medium for creative expressions of the thoughts and beliefs of our general members.
  
• Give constructive suggestions to the government for revenue mobilization and augmentation.
  
• Initiate pro-active measures in resolving service matter disputes by exploring all democratic options.
  
• Organize Annual Cultural Programs under the aegis of the Cultural Wing ( Anandan ) and also organize family get-togethers in association with our brother organization.
  
• Manage a Welfare Fund to help members in times of distress. A Group Mediclaim Policy is also administered for ensuring financial aid to members in medical emergencies. Various social initiatives and philanthropic activities are occasionally conducted like organizing blood donation camps, donating funds for  natural calamity relief, preparation of educational aids (audio cassettes) for visually handicapped students etc.
  
• Organize Workshops, Debates, Seminars, Panel Discussions to create awareness of  recent trends in the socio-economic arena.
  
• Interact with other Service Associations to pursue common goals and objectives.

TDOA stands up to the service interest of its members and is committed to their cause.

Our Motto.. Rights, Responsibilities and Revenue.

The principal work of our officers is the administration, mobilization and collection of State Revenue. Our officers are engaged in the administration and enforcement of the following Acts

1. The West Bengal Sales Tax Act 1994
   
2. The West Bengal Value Added Tax Act 2003
   
3. The Central Sales Tax Act 1956
   
4. The West Bengal State Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employment Act 1979
   
5. The West Bengal Primary Education Act 1973 ( for the limited purpose of Education Cess)
   
6. The West Bengal Employment and Production Act 1976 ( for the limited purpose of Rural Employment Cess)
   
7. The West Bengal State Tax on Consumption or Use of Goods Act 2001
   
8. The West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Fund Act 2002

Besides collection and mobilization of revenue, our officers are engaged in various multifarious activities and provide the intelligence and data backup for policy planning and strategy formulation.

The key areas where our officers are engaged are:

• Registration of dealers (Business Units), Assessment of dealers and Monitoring of the dealer’s business activity
• Economic Analysis and Policy Planning
• Investigations, Preventive Operations and Enforcement drives
• Human Resource Development
• Public Relations and Tax Information & Awareness Campaigns
• VAT Audit & Internal Audit
• Liaison with other Govt. Departments (State & Central) within & outside the State as also interacting with various Trade Bodies & Chambers of Commerce
• Information Technology Applications
• E-governance & G2C interface facilitation
• Tax Recovery & Certificate Demand perusals
• Implementing Industrial Promotion & Assistance Schemes
• State Representatives in the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal & the WB Appellate & Revisional Board.

Apart from our Head Office at Beliaghata ( Kolkata ), our officers serve in all the District Hqrs. and even in outlying remote State border locations.

For administering Sales Tax/Value Added Tax we have 67 Charge Offices (jurisdiction units), 16 Circle offices in & around the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, Howrah, suburbs and the Districts.

The Charge Offices are headed by Assistant Commissioners(Charge Officers) and the assessment units with definite & distinct jurisdictions are headed by Commercial Tax Officers.

A number of Charge offices make up a Circle with a Deputy Commissioner as its administrative head. ACCT’s & DCCT’s are also posted at the Circle offices for discharging Appellate functions.

A number of Circle Offices are administered by Addln. CCT. Addln. CCT’s have jurisdiction all over WB and head various wings of the Directorate. Spl. CCT looks over the key areas in the Directorate and assists the CCT in day to day administration & operations.

Additionally we have a Corporate Division to monitor big Tax payers.
Our Preventive & Investigation Wings operates out of Central Section( jurisdiction all over WB), 37 Check-posts at State Borders, Airports, Seaports, Terminal Railway Stations, 9 Ranges at strategic locations all over the State. Central Section & the Bureau of Investigation under the Commercial Taxes Directorate co-ordinates & complements search, seizure & investigation operations.

For administering Profession Tax, our officers are posted in Ranges & Unit offices located all over West Bengal. Presently the Profession Tax Directorate has 9 Range offices and 23 Unit Offices for profession tax mobilization & collection. Our officers monitor nearly 1.60 lakhs registered dealers under the VAT Act, Central Sales Tax Acts and nearly 13.75 lakhs Enrolled persons, 74 thousand Registered Employers under the Profession Act.

Be it the hazardous environment of the outlying Check-posts, or the modern business & industrial hubs of Durgapur, Haldia, Siliguri, Asansol & Kharagpur our officers have a strong presence and are adept to the needs of the situation.
Our officers work round the clock in the Check-posts & on mobile patrol on the highways in extremely tough & challenging environment. Search & Seizure operations & follow up investigations have time and again unearthed huge sales tax evasion rackets.

WBCTS officers are posted in the various wings of the Directorate, where they not only get an opportunity to get firsthand experience in diverse jobs but also are able to translate their ideas & concepts into workable solutions.

A few of the Specialized Work Areas are as follows:

• Inter-State Verification Cell
• Special Cell (to monitor Industrial Incentive Schemes)
• Sales Tax Deduction at source (STDS) cell
• Certificate Organization
• Human Resource Development Cell (for knowledge dissemination & skill upgrading)
• Internal Audit Wing
• Collection cell
• Law Section
• Information Systems Division

WBCTS Officers have been in the forefront in the introduction & implementation of the Value Added Tax regime in West Bengal. Our legislation & administration of VAT has been a benchmark model for many states.

Right from the conceptualization stage, our officers have been associated with every aspect of VAT-Act formulation, Rules framing, I.T. support, MIS setup & implementation, Feedback Analysis, Resource Planning and Amendments.

In fact the work of our officers in the management of change to the VAT systems & practices have been highly commended by the Empowered Committee on VAT ( Govt. of India), NIPF&P(New Delhi) and various other State Governments.

Our officers are now actively working on the Tax Information Exchange Project and the Regional Economic Intelligence Committee. Over the last few years, there has been a distinct buoyancy in the State Sales Tax collection due to the intense efforts and initiatives of our officers.

Presently our Officers at the Information Systems Division are working in close cooperation with their colleagues in assessment, appellate and preventive units to usher in an E-Environment for VAT implementation.

We look forward to the day when our Officers would help the State to reach the heights of economic prosperity and development.