Indirect Tax Internship Scheme in Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

What is the Indirect Tax Internship Scheme in CBIC?

The Indirect Tax Internship Scheme in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is a short-term internship run by the Directorate of Legal Affairs (DLA), CBIC, under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. According to CBIC notices, the scheme engages law students and recent law graduates to assist departmental officers with the large volume of indirect-tax litigation; cases involving Goods and Services Tax (GST), customs duty and central excise, that CBIC handles before the Supreme Court, High Courts, CESTAT and other forums.

The internship is a capacity-building and exposure programme, not a recruitment channel. Interns get to see how tax notices, appeals, written submissions and case briefs are prepared, and how the government defends revenue matters. In return, the Directorate gets research and drafting support on pending cases.

The scheme runs in cycles. A notice is published for a given financial year (for example, FY 2025-26), inviting applications for a fixed number of internship slots. When no notice is live, there is no open application window.

Who is eligible for the CBIC Indirect Tax Internship?

Eligibility is defined in each year's notice. Based on recent cycles:

You can apply if:

• You are a law student pursuing a 3-year LLB course or a 5-year integrated LLB course, generally in a specified year of study; or
• You are a law graduate who has completed the LLB course recently — within the qualifying window stated in the current notice (recent cycles have referred to graduates who completed LLB within about two years).
• You are genuinely interested in indirect taxation and litigation.
• You can attend in person and commit to the required minimum attendance.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a law student or law graduate. The scheme is specifically for legal interns supporting litigation work.
• You are a serving government employee or otherwise barred by the terms of the notice.
• You do not meet the year-of-study or recency-of-degree cut-offs specified in the live notice.

Because the exact year-of-study and recency conditions have varied between cycles, treat the current CBIC notice as the authority and do not rely on an older year's criteria.

What are the benefits of the internship?

According to the FY 2025-26 notice, the stipend is Rs 10,000 per month for law students and Rs 20,000 per month for law graduates. Earlier cycles paid smaller amounts, so the figure is not fixed year to year. Beyond the stipend, interns receive:

• Hands-on experience in indirect-tax litigation and legal drafting.
• Access to the Directorate's working environment and mentorship from officers.
• A completion certificate, subject to satisfactory performance and the minimum attendance requirement (commonly stated as about 90%).

The internship does not provide accommodation, transport, or any promise of future employment, and interns are not government servants.

What documents are required?

The precise list is set out in each cycle's notice.

How to apply for the CBIC Indirect Tax Internship

1. Watch the official CBIC website, cbic.gov.in, for the internship notice, which is issued for each financial year. Applications are open only while a notice is live.
2. Read the notice in full to confirm the current eligibility (year of study or recency of degree), stipend, duration, number of slots and the contact address for applications.
3. Prepare your documents, proof of eligibility, CV, identity proof and any format or form the notice prescribes.
4. Submit your application in the manner and to the address or email stated in the notice, within the deadline given.
5. Await selection. Shortlisting is done by the Directorate; if selected, complete the confidentiality undertaking before starting.

Since the application route is defined afresh in each notice, avoid third-party "application services" and rely on the official CBIC notice.

Help and where to verify

The authoritative source is the official CBIC website, cbic.gov.in, where internship notices are published. There is no standing helpline dedicated to this internship; queries should follow the contact details in the current notice. Because the stipend, duration and eligibility have changed across cycles, verify every figure against the latest notice before applying.