The Income Tax (I-T) department will temporarily hire 50 young law and chartered accountancy graduates to aid the departmental officers in preparing legal cases being contested before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), stated PTI.

The candidates will be hired at a monthly remuneration of Rs 40,000 at various field offices of the department as part of a recently notified Young Professional Scheme 2023. In order to be eligible, the candidate should not be exceeding 35 years of age.

According to a policy paper issued by the I-T department, the scheme is being brought to "augment departmental representation in the ITAT and it envisions engagement of young graduates in law and accountancy who are rich in domain knowledge"

The young professionals, according to the proposal, will study the paper books of listed cases of the tax department, find judgements in favour of the department and identify and distinguish facts, where applicable, and prepare briefing notes for the tax officers who are posted at various ITAT benches in the country as Commissioner (departmental representative), PTI added.

"Such resources would aid the departmental officers in preparation of the cases admitted for hearing in Tribunals (ITAT). In addition, they will also take up research/study work encompassing critical areas of tax litigation for effective litigation management," the policy paper said.

The initial period of engagement for such professionals will be for a year and this period can be extended for another year subject to a satisfactory performance appraisal. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that frames policy for the tax department will "evaluate" the scheme at the end of these two years for possible extension.

The scheme, notified on August 2, aims to finish the hiring work and publishing of the merit list of the 50 chosen professionals by this month's end.