All about Custom Officer Job & selection for any graduate

In order to get selected for a job of a Custom Officer, one needs to clear the Civil Services Examination being conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on all India basis. This exam is consisted of two separate parts having the Preliminary and Main Exams. After clearing both the parts the candidate can opt for the Indian Customs & Central Excise Services. Those who are selected are either sent to Chennai for training in the functions of Customs Department or those selected for Central Excise Service training is done in one of the metropolitan cities.

The written examinations & the interviews are based mainly on the current affairs which require a good command in the other subjects as well.

In context to the eligibility criteria, the candidate must have attended 21 years of age with the Graduation or a Bachelor's degree from a recognized University or Institute as the minimum required qualification in either of the stream with having the overall percentage of above 55%. There are restraint too wherein the upper age limit of the applicant is 30 years and if you have exceeded this than most probably you have lost the chance but at the same time you may expect some relaxation when belonging to other backward category group.

For initial understanding onto this, one can also go through with the coaching classes and do interaction with others who are also pursuing for this.

This may seem good for others that other than governmental services there are many other private companies who offer the same job but this again are based on the credentials of the past experiences in the relative fields.

A custom officer functions in the custom department which controls the import/ export of merchandise and goods and checks whether correct custom duties are levied on the material. Another aspect is to monitor and to control the entry of restricted and prohibited goods directly or through smuggling modes.

For becoming a custom officer one has to appear in UPSC Civil Services Examination. The age eligibility is more than 18 years and qualification is graduate with at least 55% marks. The aspirant for custom officer should be possessing a driving licence and capable of handling radio, wireless and console monitor equipments. The Civil Service Commission is conducted for many services and one of them is Indian Customs & Central Excise Services. This exam is conducted in two parts (Preliminary and Main Exam) followed by the interview.

One has to prepare General Knowledge, General English, Current Affairs and Basic Mathematics from which most of the questions will be asked in this exam. So the candidate has to make his or her preparations in the same areas. There are many guide books available and old question papers are available in market or some internet sites. There are select coaching centres where coaching is imparted for Civil Services. One can take guidance there also.

One thing which is of the paramount importance is that there is a large rush of candidates for these coveted services conducted by the apex Govt department called UPSC and one has to toil hard and work in a focussed and dedicated manner to achieve the objective. Selective study may not be much useful and thorough study is the only key to the doors of the success.