Generally, Income tax practitioners are either Law graduates or Chartered Accountants. They are authorized by the Law to deal with Income Tax matters. Chartered Accountants generally deal with the tax estimation, documentation, and processing while the Lawyers generally deal with legal litigation. At the same time, there are some practitioners who ventured out on their own after having adequate experience in dealing with Income Tax matters working under a Chartered Accountant or a Lawyer. Graduates of Law have an option of getting a PG Diploma in Income Tax. There are some courses also which offer Diploma in Income Tax to any graduate. But these courses alone may not actually lead you to a successful career as an Income Tax practitioner. Experience of working with a Lawyer, a Chartered Accountant, or an established practitioner is the key to developing a career.

Post Graduate Diploma in Taxation Law is offered at Symbiosis Societys Law College, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune 411 004, www.symbiosissociety.org/symbiosis_societys_law_college.htm and at ILS Law College, Pune 411 004, www.ilslaw.edu. Duration of these courses is 1-year full time.

For M. Phil, you need to have obtained at least 55% marks in aggregate in the M. Com final examination. Since you havent mentioned your marks, we cant comment on whether you are eligible for M. Phil.