The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced on Wednesday that 5,000 candidates have cleared an examination that would pave the way for them to be licensed as tax return preparers.

These candidates will undergo short training at 100 centres throughout the country and appear for a certification test before being licensed to prepare and file tax returns.

The scheme is being implemented in partnership with NIIT. About 48,000 candidates were shortlisted from 90,000 applications to take the examination, which was held on December 24.