The Easiest Way to Become a Customs Officer in India

India is a booming nation where billions of goods are imported and exported annually. But it’s not as easy as it sounds; different countries have different currencies, laws and regulations, customs, and, of course, taxes. This makes it a massive headache for those who want to safely deport their goods to another nation. So, to fight against that, a dedicated role was assigned to a set of people who had the responsibility of making sure that the goods getting exported or being imported, aligns with those same rules of the foreign nations. These heroes in disguises have a name, and they are called Customs Officer.

Each nation has its own set of customs officers. Some have more than others, and as for a nation like India, which is currently exploding in economy, it becomes crucial that those roles are filled as soon as possible. So, without any further ado, let’s see how to become a customs officer in India, including all the custom officer course and qualifications needed for that. Shall we begin?

How to Become a Customs Officer in India?

Customs officer is a broad term that has a total of nine postings. Not all postings can be filled immediately with traditional means like exams and so on. It is based on ranking, so it’s just given that you'll be climbing from the deep bottom. Anyway, before discussing any of that, let’s see what kind of custom officer qualification you need in order to enter that ranking system:

1. Get career counselling

We always recommend taking a full career counselling, because choosing a path may be easy, but staying in it and prevailing is not. That’s why every student or those who want to join an untraditional role in society should always get a complete session and clarify if this line is perfect for them or not. The term "Untraditional" doesn’t mean that the customs officer field is bad; it just has an entire new array of challenges that most people aren’t aware of. And learning that too late can cause big roadblocks to appear. So again, make sure to take your counselling seriously, and once everything is said and done, move on to the next step.

2. The Graduation Degree

This is where you get all the freedom since the Customs Officer field doesn’t have any preferred stream. So anyone from Arts, Science, Commerce, or any notable stream can try to become a customs officer in India. Just make sure to get above 55% marks, and you are all set. But if you fail to secure at least 55% mark, you may have to take your examination again and cross that minimum requirement first.

3. Pass the SSC CGL Group B or UPSC Civil Service

This is the most crucial stage where your learning skills are tested. You are expected to crack the customs officer exam syllabus of either SSC CGL, which is a graduate-level test, or Civil Service, which is an All India Service Test. In short,

• If you want to join a higher customs officer ranks, take the UPSC. It is significantly tougher and considered one of the hardest tests in India, and, probably in the world too.
• Take the SSC CGL Group B examination if you want to start at the bottom and climb your way through the ranks. This is the most preferred choice since CGL is known to be 100 times easier than UPSC and can be cracked with just one year of practice in the customs officer exam syllabus. Some can even crack it in only 6 months.

4. Additional requirements

As far as the majority of requirements go, the first and the second should be your priority. Afterward, start focusing on this list, which includes a set of negotiable and non-negotiable skills that are essential to becoming a customs officer in India:

• Non-negotiable: (Requirments)
  • Age must be above 21 and below 30.
  • You must graduation degree must be from a recognized board.
  • You must be an Indian citizen.
• Negotiable: (Skills)
  • Strong attention to detail for sniffing out illegal or forged documents and goods.
  • More than adequate knowledge of the Laws and Orders of India.
  • Perfect English reading and writing skills. Higher positions will require fluency in speaking too, since you will be talking with importers and exporters from other nations, and English is the most common language spoken by most, if not all of them.
  • Out-of-the-box thinking for unique cases.
  • A good person from the heart and proper understanding of Ethic. it is common to receive bribes and such, and the bribed goods often cause devastating effects in our nation and may also take the lives of many.

Remember that these additional skills may look insignificant, but as you start soaring through the ranks, each and every one of them will start making a comeback and force you to learn them. So, we will recommend at least having a fundamental level understanding of all these, and if you want, count them as a core element of custom officer qualification and become an expert on these. So that when the time comes, you can instantly join your new rank instead of worrying about prequisition.

All the Various Types of Customs Officer Ranks in India

There are a total of nine posts, and not all of them can be achieved through the way we just mentioned. For example, the highest positions are usually filled by promotion and sometimes by political affairs. Regardless, here’s a quick overview of all the ranks available in India in a hierarchy system:

1. Chairman of CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs)
   1. The highest position of this arc.
   2. Responsible for overseeing all the legal ways of customs in India.
2. Board Member of CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs)
   1. The Board Members support the Chairman and make sure that the laws get adopted across various branches of the customs officer in India.
   2. Commissioners are also considered a part of this chain of command.
3. Commissioners
   1. This is the biggest branch of the customs officer that can have up to 10 roles.
   2. They all work in various departments like clearance of goods, assessment, and enforcement of excise laws, duties, trade facilities, customs laws, and so on.
4. Examiner of Indian Customs
   1. The most important role in the entire arc.
   2. They physically inspect the goods & documents and have the first, and sometimes final, say on whether the goods will be accepted, rejected, or taken into custody.
   3. This also includes airport customs officers too.
5. Central Excise Inspector
   1. The second most important role that makes sure taxes or duties are paid correctly.
   2. They can also visit factories directly and audit the records for themselves.
6. Probationers
   1. This is where the new SSC CGL and UPSC passouts are placed
   2. This position refers to newbies who aren’t officially appointed and must undergo training under the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics, or NACIN for short.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the average custom officer qualification in India?

Ans. On average, you will need a bachelor’s degree in any stream. Students from any field can attempt the UPSC or SSC CGL examination and join their dream position.

Q2. How to become a airport customs officer in India?

Ans. The qualifications process is the same across all sorts of customs officer. The placement depends on the higher-ups, so there is no surefire way. But preferably, you should be aiming for SSC CGL Group B.

Q3. What does the customs officer exam syllabus include?

Ans. The general customs officer exam syllabus includes three parts: General Knowledge, Law and custom-related knowledge, and Quantitative aptitude.

Q4. What is the customs officer uniform in India?

Ans. The customs officer uniform in India is similar to the Navy, where they wear a White Uniform and badges on the left chest and stars on the shoulder representing their achievements and contributions to the country.

Q5. What is the average airport customs officer salary in India?

Ans. The average salary for an airport customs officer in India is somewhere between ₹50000 and ₹70000 per month. It is counted hourly, which is around ₹300 to ₹500 per hour.