ICAI Marking Scheme: How CA Exam Answers Are Checked

ICAI marks every descriptive answer step by step against a marking scheme, and it has said so in writing since September 2019: an answer without step-wise marks is treated as unevaluated. The objective part, 30 marks in every Intermediate paper and in Final Papers 1 to 5, is machine-read and carries no negative marking. Final Paper 6 is different again, with a 40:60 split and an open book. Here is how each piece works, from ICAI's own notices.

You are not marked on the final figure alone. You are marked on every step the scheme lists, and verification can add those marks later.

TL;DR

• Foundation: Papers 1 and 2 descriptive, Papers 3 and 4 objective with 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer.
• Intermediate Papers 1 to 6 and Final Papers 1 to 5: 30 marks of case-scenario MCQs plus 70 marks descriptive. No negative marking.
• Final Paper 6, Integrated Business Solutions: four hours, open book, five case studies of 25 marks each, attempt any four, 40% MCQ and 60% descriptive.
• Pass marks: 40% in each paper and 50% aggregate in the group. 60% in a paper earns an exemption.
• There is no revaluation. You can apply for verification within a month of the result, and it includes a check that step-wise marks add up.

How are marks split in each CA paper?

ICAI's FAQ on the New Scheme of Education and Training sets out the pattern for all three levels.

CA Foundation

• Paper 1, Accounting, and Paper 2, Business Laws: descriptive papers.
• Paper 3, Quantitative Aptitude, and Paper 4, Business Economics: objective papers, with 0.25 mark deducted for every wrong answer.

CA Intermediate and Final

• Every Intermediate paper and Final Papers 1 to 5: 30% case scenario or case study based MCQs and 70% descriptive questions, in one 100-mark paper of three hours.
• The MCQs carry one or two marks each and have four options. There is no choice among them.
• From the May 2026 exams, candidates receive one combined question booklet, descriptive and MCQ together, at 1.45 PM, 15 minutes before the 2 PM start.

Final Paper 6, Integrated Business Solutions

Paper 6 is a four-hour case study paper covering Final Papers 1 to 5, the Self-Paced Online Modules Sets A and B, and Strategic Management. It has five case studies of 25 marks each and you attempt any four. Within each case, 40% of the marks are MCQs and 60% are descriptive. It is an open book exam: printed reference material is permitted.

The split to remember is 30:70 for every paper at Inter and for Final Papers 1 to 5, and 40:60 with an open book for Final Paper 6.

Is there negative marking in CA exams?

Only at Foundation, and only in Papers 3 and 4, where a wrong answer costs 0.25 mark. ICAI's FAQ states plainly that there is no negative marking in MCQ-based questions at Intermediate or Final. An unanswered MCQ and a wrong MCQ both score zero at those levels, so at Inter and Final you should answer every MCQ.

Does ICAI give step marking?

Yes, and this is an ICAI rule rather than a custom. In its announcement of 21 September 2019 on the evaluation of answer books, ICAI said that step-wise marking is being enforced, that an answer without step-wise marks is deemed an unevaluated answer, and that the step-wise marks will be awarded during re-verification.

The verification FAQ on the exam website lists what a verification covers. One item is whether the step-wise marks awarded for each question match the total shown for that question on the cover page. Another is whether any question or part of a question has remained unvalued.

What this means for you is simple. In a 10-mark computation, the examiner has marks reserved for the working, the formula, the treatment and the figure. A wrong final answer with correct steps keeps most of them. A correct final answer with no visible steps gives the examiner nothing to award except the last mark.

Step marks are a published ICAI rule, not an examiner's kindness. Write so that each step can be seen and ticked.

Who checks the CA answer books?

The same 2019 announcement describes the evaluation system. Applicants for the examiner panel must pass an online test in their subject before they are empanelled, and existing examiners sit an online test once every three years. Since November 2018, several papers are evaluated centrally, with examiners working under a Head Examiner and Associate Head Examiners. Digital evaluation of scanned answer books covers all Intermediate and Foundation papers, which ICAI says removes totalling errors and lets it review examiner performance in real time.

What are the passing marks for CA exams?

A minimum of 40% in each paper of a group and 50% in the aggregate of all the papers of that group, at every level. Scoring 60% or more in a paper while failing the group gives you an exemption in that paper for the next three attempts. The detail on how exemptions work, including what happens when they run out, is in our post on CA Intermediate passing marks and exemption.

Can you get a CA answer book re-checked?

You can ask for verification, not revaluation. Regulation 39(4) of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 allows verification, and ICAI's FAQ says revaluation is not permitted. Apply from your SSP dashboard within a month of the result. Verification checks that every question was marked, that step-wise marks add up to the question total, that the cover page total is right and that the handwriting is the same across the books. You can also apply for certified copies of your answer books, which show you the marks the examiner wrote against each step.

Verification can raise or lower your marks, and ICAI lists both outcomes. It is worth doing when a paper is a few marks short of 40 or 60.

How to write so step marks are awarded

1. State the provision, standard or formula first, in one line, before you apply it.
2. Show each working as a numbered note and refer to it in the main answer. An examiner cannot give marks for a figure that appears from nowhere.
3. Carry units and currency through the working and box the final answer.
4. End every case question with a conclusion: allowed or not allowed, valid or invalid, with the amount.
5. If time is short, write the method in three lines rather than leaving the question blank. The 2019 rule means those steps must be marked.

At Gradehunt, we have checked more than 6,000 answer sheets, and the marks students lose most often are step marks on questions they knew. Our CA test series has your handwritten papers checked by ex-examiners within 48 hours, with the step-wise marks written on the sheet the way ICAI's scheme would split them. The first paper is checked free.

For the official papers and suggested answers to compare your answers against, see our CA Final suggested answers post.