How to Claim Exemption in CMA Final: Rules and Steps

You do not file anything to claim a 60% exemption in CMA Final. Under ICMAI's Syllabus 2022 rules, if you fail a group but score 60 or more in a paper, you are exempted from it for the next three terms. The only Final exemption you apply and pay for is qualification-based, such as the papers ICMAI waives for qualified Company Secretaries.

An exemption is earned in the exam hall. On the exam form, the only decision left is whether you keep it.

TL;DR

• Exemption: 60 or more in a paper of a group you failed. No fee, no application. It counts as 50 next time.
• Carry forward: 60-plus in a paper and 40-plus in every other paper of that group in the same attempt. Your actual marks count.
• Both last three terms. Sitting the paper again cancels them.
• Qualified CS: exemption in Papers 13, 19 and 20B on application, at ₹1,000 a paper.

What are the CMA Final groups and pass marks?

CMA Final under Syllabus 2022 has eight papers of 100 marks each:

• Group III: Paper 13 Corporate and Economic Laws, Paper 14 Strategic Financial Management, Paper 15 Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation, Paper 16 Strategic Cost Management.
• Group IV: Paper 17 Cost and Management Audit, Paper 18 Corporate Financial Reporting, Paper 19 Indirect Tax Laws and Practice, and one elective out of 20A, 20B and 20C, picked when you enrol.

You pass a group with at least 40 in each paper and 50% of the total marks of the non-exempted papers of that group. Inter follows the same rules, covered in our post on CMA Inter passing marks.

Forty in each paper and half the marks of the papers you write: every rule below works off that line.

How do you earn an exemption in a CMA Final paper?

If you fail a group but secure 60% or more in any paper, you are exempted from appearing in that paper in later exams. For the aggregate in your next attempt at that group, the exempted paper counts as 50, whatever you actually scored.

So a 75 helps you no more than a 61. Both count as 50.

Worked example: an exempted paper counted at 50

Group III, first attempt: CEL 55, SFM 64, DIT 38, SCM 45. The total of 202 clears 200, but DIT is under 40, so the group fails. SFM at 64 is exempted.

Next attempt, the student writes the other three. With SFM counted at 50, those three must add up to 150, with at least 40 in each. Scores of 48, 52 and 50 make exactly 150 and clear the group. Scores of 60, 45 and 44 make 149 and miss by one mark.

A 60-plus paper in a failed group drops out, and the three you still write must average 50.

When do your actual marks carry forward instead?

Carry forward applies when you fail a group but score 60 or more in a paper and at least 40 in each of the remaining papers of that group in the same attempt. You are exempted from that paper, and your actual marks go into the next aggregate.

Worked example: 66 carried forward

Group IV, first attempt: CMAD 46, CFR 41, ITLP 66, elective 42. The total is 195, so the group fails on aggregate even though every paper is above 40. ITLP's 66 carries forward.

Next attempt, the student needs 134 from the other three papers (200 minus 66), with 40 in each. Scores of 45, 44 and 45 do it. With a plain exemption the target would have been 150.

The weakest paper of the failed attempt decides which rule you get. Had CFR been 39 instead of 41, the same 66 would count as only 50.

How do you claim an exemption in CMA Final?

For a marks-based exemption the prospectus lists no application and no fee. What you control is the exam application. I would do it in this order:

1. Open the marksheet of the failed attempt and mark each paper of that group at 60 or more.
2. Check the other papers of that group. All 40 or more means carry forward. Any below 40 means an exemption counted at 50.
3. Fill the exam application by the last date (10 April for June, 10 October for December, per the prospectus) and leave the exempted paper out, because sitting it cancels the exemption.
4. Set your target: 200 minus 50 for each exempted paper, or minus the carried marks, with 40 in every paper you write.

Leaving the paper out of your exam application is the claim. Only qualification-based exemptions need a separate request.

How long does a CMA Final exemption last?

Exemption and carry forward run for the three terms immediately after the term in which you earned them. An exemption earned in December 2026 covers June 2027, December 2027 and June 2028. After that the paper is back on your list.

If you moved from Syllabus 2016, a carry forward earned under the old syllabus is treated as only an exemption in the matching 2022 paper, so it counts as 50.

Three terms from the result, then it lapses.

Can you give up an exemption and write the paper again?

Yes. The prospectus describes no separate surrender step. The benefit ends automatically when you appear in the exempted paper on your own, and the new score is the one that counts.

One reason to do it: ICMAI's Certificate of Merit goes only to candidates who pass with all papers at one sitting and no exemption, and several Final prizes carry the same condition.

My view: unless you are aiming for a rank, keep the exemption. One more paper is one more chance of a score under 40, and that fails the group whatever the total. Sitting the paper is the only way to drop an exemption.

Which qualifications give exemption in CMA Final papers?

At Final the prospectus lists one qualification-based scheme, the reciprocal exemption with ICSI. ICMAI's notification of 24 April 2023 exempts candidates who have passed the CS course from three Final papers:

• Paper 13, Corporate and Economic Laws.
• Paper 19, Indirect Tax Laws and Practice.
• Paper 20B, Risk Management in Banking and Insurance, which helps only if 20B is your elective.

The fee is ₹1,000 a paper, and you apply online at least 60 days before the exam. ICMAI keeps the circulars on its Syllabus 2022 exemptions page.

The prospectus lists no Final paper exemption for CA, LLB or engineering. LLB and engineering exemptions stop at Intermediate. A CS qualification can cover three Final papers on application, and a CA qualification covers none.

The December 2026 papers run from 10 to 17 December (see our CMA December 2026 timetable). A paper that keeps landing at 38 or 39 decides whether you get a carry forward or a plain exemption. In Gradehunt's CMA Final test series you write full papers by hand, and an ex-examiner checks them within 48 hours with step-wise marks, so you can see which paper sits closest to the 40 line.