Tax Law

Tax laws are defined as the legal rules and procedures governing the tax owed by the citizens to its government. Taxes in India are levied by the State Governments and the Central Government. While tax law might sound to be something very generic, it is indeed one of those aspects of the Indian legal structure that tend to affect every Indian citizen on a daily basis. 

India has seen a rapid increase in the number of tax law aspirants because of the growing importance of the topic. Tax Law can be pursued not just at the postgraduate level but also at the undergraduate level. While many would say that Tax Law is a dying subject, a career in Tax Law thrives like no other profession in India. It is, in fact, one of the most rewarding career options in India, enabling graduates to find the ideal career path and to join the biggest law firms.

Although many believe that Tax Law demands great quantitative skills, it rather wants the candidate’s focus on ethics, passion for the subject and an incomparable intellectual capacity to keep up with the tax reforms. On this page, you shall find everything about Tax Law, the eligibility norms to pursue it, admission process, syllabus or course curriculum along with the job scope and career prospects in the field.

Aspirants are required to meet the minimum eligibility criteria of the selected college in order to take admission in tax law. If the student fails in meeting the eligibility criteria of the college, his/her application would be rejected. Provided below are the eligibility criteria of Tax Law that candidates need to meet in order to be held eligible for the same:

• To be eligible for a diploma programme in Tax Law, candidates must have passed 10+2 or equivalent with not less than 50%-60% marks in aggregate. 
• To be eligible for an undergraduate programme in Tax Law, the candidate must have passed or qualified the 10+2 examination or an equivalent examination from a recognised board or university. In addition, the candidate is required to score at least 50%-60% aggregate marks in the qualifying exam.
• To be eligible for a postgraduate programme in Tax Law, an aspirant is required to have completed an LLB or its equivalent degree. Candidates who have completed a 5-year long integrated law course shall also be considered eligible for admission to the PG Diploma or LL.M course in Tax Law. The candidate is required to score a minimum of 50% to 60% marks in the qualifying examination.

Note: Colleges have their own set of eligibility criteria that need to be satisfied before taking admission in the particular college. Candidates are, therefore, requested to go through the concerned college's eligible criteria prescribed for the course.

Tax Law Admission Process

Admission for every college offering a course in Tax Law shall differ from each other. Candidates are usually shortlisted on the basis of the score they obtain in an entrance exam Listed below are the pointers that institutes generally consider before enrolling students for the law programmes.

• Selection of candidates is done on the basis of the marks scored in the entrance exam conducted at the national or state level.
• There are few universities/institutes that conduct their own entrance examination to carry out their selection process. Few universities also accept the score obtained by the candidate in common entrance tests like CLAT.
• Few universities/institutes look at the merit of the candidate in the qualifying exam. This may be followed by a personal interview conducted by the institute. 

Top Tax Law Entrance Exams

Given below is the list of the top entrance exams that a Tax Law aspirant might have to appear for:

• CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)
• AIBE (All India Bar Exam)
• AILET (All India Law Entrance Test)
• LSAT (Law School Admission Test) India
• TS LAWCET (Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test)
• AP LAWCET (Andhra Pradesh Law Common Entrance Test)

Top Tax Law Colleges in India

CollegeDekho has collated the top universities/colleges/institutions in India that offer courses in Tax Law. Find the same below:

• NLU Hyderabad - Nalsar University of Law
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune
• ILS Law College
• University College of Law, Osmania University
• Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai
• New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University
• Dr. Ambedkar College of Law, People’s Education Society

Candidates may have a look at the syllabi or course curricula for Tax Law at Diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels to have an idea of the topics that they might come across. 

For Diploma Courses in Tax Law

Syllabus for Diploma Courses in Tax Law is as follows:

Tax law Syllabus for Undergraduate Courses

Syllabus for Undergraduate Courses in Tax Law has been mentioned below:

First Year:

Second Year:

Third Year:

Tax Syllabus for Postgraduate Courses

Syllabus for Postgraduate (LL.M) Courses in Tax Law is as follows:

Tax Law might seem like a very narrow subject but it certainly offers the widest range of opportunities in the field of law. However, it works best for candidates with prior demonstrable experience or skills and tremendous potential in the field. Law students can undergo multiple internships and industry-oriented courses and fresh law graduates can easily target mid-size law firms to learn the basics of Tax Law and move up the ladder in the subsequent years after getting familiar with the industry.
Tax Law grads must also note that employers often prefer experienced lawyers to novices. In terms of salary that a taxation lawyer can expect, tier 1 law firms usually offer an average salary of Rs 10-12 lakh to freshers and the starting salary in a tier 2 firm is around 6 lakh. The range, however, depends on factors such as job profile, company, academic background, location of the job and henceforth.

Few of the job positions that a Tax Law graduate may choose from are as follows:

• Tax Examiners
• Tax Analysts
• Tax Advisors
• Tax Accountants
• Tax Recruiters
• Revenue Managers
• Tax Managers
• Tax Collectors
• Income Tax Consultants
• Business Tax Consultants
• Property Tax Consultants