Best IDT Faculty for CA Final (May 2027): 8 Options Compared on Facts

There is no single best IDT faculty for CA Final. For May 2027, the right indirect tax faculty depends on the language you follow best, whether you want live classes or recordings, how many months you have left and whether GST or customs is your weaker part. The eight below are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Shortlist on facts that fit your calendar, then pick the teacher whose demo on a full GST computation you can repeat on your own.

TL;DR

• Published full courses run from about 117 to 280 hours.
• Taught in English: Tharun Raj. Separate English courses: Akshansh Garg, Riddhi Baghmar and Siddhesh Valimbe.
• ICAI's September 2026 IDT study material, marked for May 2027, covers law in force by 30 April 2026.
• ICAI's free live virtual IDT classes for May 2027 run on Friday and Sunday mornings.

Who are the well-known IDT faculty for CA Final (May 2027)?

I took the first eight faculty with a full IDT course in the CA Final IDT section of a large course platform, in its default order. Facts come from each faculty's course listing on that platform, checked on 23 October 2026. Prices are the lowest listed for May 2027 and change often. All eight link demo videos on YouTube. I left out anything a listing did not state.

CA Akshansh Garg

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant, UGC NET-JRF and CAT qualified. 140 to 150 hours in Hindi-English mix, recorded May to July 2026, on app or Google Drive, with 9 months' validity and a 1.8x view limit. Price from ₹9,399 with books; the English course (about 130 hours) costs ₹7,399. Covers May 2027 and later. Amendments are mentioned without a cut-off date.

CA Brindavan Giri

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant who teaches IPCC tax and Final IDT. 280 hours (84 classes) in Hindi-English mix, on Google Drive or pen drive, with 12 months' validity and a 1.5x view limit. Price from ₹14,499 with six books. Covers November 2026 and May 2027.

CA Rajkumar

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant, 12 years of teaching indirect tax. 140 hours in Hindi-English mix, recorded in January 2026, on app or Google Drive, with 12 months' validity and a 1.5x view limit. Price from ₹12,749 with books. Covers November 2026 to May 2028. Amendments, if any, go on YouTube.

CA Riddhi Baghmar

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant, all CA levels cleared in the first attempt, all CFA Program levels completed. 120 to 125 hours in Hindi-English mix, live or on Google Drive, app or pen drive, with 12 months' validity and a 1.7x view limit. Price from ₹7,999 for the course starting live on 2 November 2026, whose books carry amendments till 31 October 2026. The English course costs ₹8,499.

CA Siddhesh Valimbe

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant, All India Rank 26 when he qualified in 2019. About 155 hours in Hindi-English mix, recorded in September 2026 and described as updated for GST 2.0 amendments, on Google Drive, with 12 months' validity and a 1.7x view limit. Price ₹7,499 with books. An English course of about 117 hours costs ₹6,999. Covers May 2027 onwards.

CMA Tharun Raj

Credentials stated: ACMA, Senior Manager, Finance and Audit, Madras Stock Exchange Ltd. 180 hours in English, live or on Google Drive, with 12 months' validity from the course start and a 1.8x view limit. Price from ₹11,799 with books. May 2027 options: the August 2026 recording, or the live course from 26 November 2026 on Monday to Saturday mornings.

CA Vishal Bhattad

Credentials stated: Chartered Accountant. 140 hours in Hindi-English mix, live (July to October 2026) or on Google Drive, with unlimited validity and a 1.5x view limit. Price from ₹8,999 with three books. Covers May and November 2027. Amended content is promised without a cut-off date.

CA Yashvant Mangal

Credentials stated: Fellow member of ICAI, qualified Company Secretary, author on indirect tax. About 140 hours in the November 2026 recording (155 in April 2026's), in Hindi-English mix, on Google Drive or pen drive, with 9 or 12 months' validity and a 1.5x view limit. Price from ₹10,999 with books. Covers May 2027 to May 2028.

Most sell recordings for May 2027, so check which recording your attempt gets before you pay.

Fact-based picks

• Taught in English: Tharun Raj. Separate English courses: Akshansh Garg, Riddhi Baghmar, Siddhesh Valimbe.
• Shortest full course: Siddhesh Valimbe's English course, about 117 hours. Longest: Brindavan Giri, 280 hours.
• Live classes still to start on 23 October 2026: Riddhi Baghmar (2 November), Tharun Raj (26 November).
• Amendment cut-off stated: Riddhi Baghmar, 31 October 2026.
• Lowest starting price: Siddhesh Valimbe's English course, ₹6,999 with books. Unlimited validity: Vishal Bhattad.

These labels come from the listings, not from my view of anyone's teaching. Comparing other papers too? See our subject-wise CA Final faculty guide.

What must a good IDT faculty cover for May 2027?

ICAI's September 2026 edition of the IDT study material, marked for May and November 2027, sets the law your faculty's notes must follow:

• GST: the CGST and IGST Acts as amended by the Finance Act, 2025, with notifications and circulars in force by 30 April 2026. Most Finance Act, 2026 GST changes were not in force by then, and ICAI will announce whether they apply.
• Customs and FTP: the law as amended by the Finance Act, 2026, in force by 30 April 2026.
• Changes from 1 May to 31 October 2026 will come as a Statutory Update for May 2027.

The GST rate changes of 22 September 2025 fall inside this cut-off and appear in ICAI's Statutory Update for November 2026. GTA services with input tax credit, for example, moved from 12% to 18%.

ICAI's applicability list for May 2027 was not out on 23 October 2026. For context, the November 2026 list used law in force by 30 April 2026.

How is the IDT paper split?

IDT is Paper 5 in Group II: one 3-hour, 100-mark paper, with GST at 80 marks and customs and FTP at 20. The syllabus gives no finer split. In May 2026, Part I had 15 MCQs of 2 marks each, twelve on two case scenarios. In Part II, Question 1 (14 marks, a GST liability computation) was compulsory, plus any four of the other five. See our CA Final groups and subjects guide and the ICAI paper pattern under the new scheme.

For May 2027, pick a course built on the September 2026 edition that gives customs its 20 marks of time and promises the May 2027 statutory update.

How do you judge an IDT demo lecture?

1. Pick a demo on input tax credit or valuation, not the introduction.
2. Check that each treatment cites its section or rule, as the May 2026 Question 1 required.
3. See whether the rates match those in force from 22 September 2025.
4. Ask how the May 2027 statutory update will reach you.
5. Watch 30 minutes at your real speed, then solve one question without notes.

A demo on your hardest chapter tells you more than any list; our FR faculty guide uses the same test.

What free IDT resources does ICAI give?

• Study material: the September 2026 edition on ICAI's IDT study material page. Statutory updates sit on the Paper 5 page.
• RTP and MTP: the BoS RTP page (the May 2027 RTP was not up on 23 October 2026) and the BoS mock test papers page.
• Past papers: ICAI's Final question papers page and suggested answers such as May 2026. Our CA Final suggested answers post shows how to use them.
• Free live virtual classes for May and November 2027: IDT runs Friday and Sunday, 7 am to 10 am, from 24 July 2026, after registration. ICAI's announcement promises recordings, also on ICAI CA Tube.

You can prepare IDT from ICAI's free material and classes, and pay only for the help you lack.

Where do students lose marks in IDT?

Patterns I see in checked IDT copies, without numbers:

• No section or rule. When a question asks for the provision behind each treatment, a bare figure answers half of it.
• Old rates. A GTA answer at the pre-September 2025 rate will not match the current material.
• Customs left for last. Part II carries 20 marks, and baggage and valuation need their own practice.
• Too long on Question 1. At 100 marks in 3 hours, 14 marks are worth about 25 minutes.

Timed full papers expose all four before the exam does.

Whichever faculty you choose, write full IDT papers and get them checked. In Gradehunt's CA Final test series you write by hand and upload, and an ex-examiner checks each paper within 48 hours with step-wise marks. The first paper is checked free.