ICAI Paper Pattern (New Scheme): CA Foundation, Inter and Final

The ICAI paper pattern under the new scheme of education and training is 4 papers at Foundation, 6 at Intermediate and 6 at Final, plus four Self-Paced Online Modules. Every Intermediate and Final paper is 100 marks, with 30 marks of case-scenario MCQs and 70 marks of descriptive questions. The scheme has been in force since 1 July 2023, and every figure below comes from ICAI's FAQ on the new scheme or from its exam notices.

Sixteen papers, one of them open book, two with negative marking, and the same pass rule at every level: 40 in each paper and 50 in aggregate.

TL;DR

• Foundation: 4 papers of 100 marks. Papers 1 and 2 descriptive, three hours; Papers 3 and 4 objective, two hours, with 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer.
• Intermediate: 6 papers of 100 marks, three hours each, 30% MCQ and 70% descriptive, no negative marking.
• Final: 6 papers of 100 marks. Papers 1 to 5 are closed book and three hours. Paper 6 is open book, case study based and four hours.
• Self-Paced Online Modules: Sets A to D, 100 marks each, 50% to pass, all four cleared before you can sit the Final.
• Pass rule at every level: 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate of the group, in one sitting.

How many papers are there under the ICAI new scheme?

The new scheme, notified in the Gazette of India on 22 June 2023 and in force from 1 July 2023, has 4, 6 and 6 papers in place of the old 4, 8 and 8, plus four Self-Paced Online Modules taken online before the Final.

Foundation and Intermediate exams are held in January, May and September, Final in May and November. The next Final runs from 2 to 13 November 2026; the January 2027 dates are in our CA Foundation January 2027 exam dates post.

Sixteen exam-hall papers: four, six and six, the last two levels in groups of three.

What is the CA Foundation paper pattern?

• Paper 1: Accounting, 100 marks, descriptive, three hours.
• Paper 2: Business Laws, 100 marks, descriptive, three hours.
• Paper 3: Quantitative Aptitude, 100 marks, objective, two hours. Part A Business Mathematics 40 marks, Part B Logical Reasoning 20 marks, Part C Statistics 40 marks.
• Paper 4: Business Economics, 100 marks, objective, two hours.

Papers 3 and 4 carry negative marking of 0.25 mark for every wrong answer. Papers 1 and 2 have none. Under ICAI's January 2027 exam notice, Papers 1 and 2 run from 2 PM to 5 PM with 15 minutes of reading time from 1.45 PM, and Papers 3 and 4 run from 2 PM to 4 PM with no reading time.

Two descriptive papers of three hours, two objective papers of two hours, and a quarter mark lost for each wrong objective answer.

What is the CA Intermediate paper pattern?

• Paper 1: Advanced Accounting, 100 marks.
• Paper 2: Corporate and Other Laws, 100 marks. Part I Company Law and LLP Law 70 marks, Part II Other Laws 30 marks.
• Paper 3: Taxation, 100 marks. Section A Income-tax Law 50 marks, Section B Goods and Services Tax 50 marks.
• Paper 4: Cost and Management Accounting, 100 marks.
• Paper 5: Auditing and Ethics, 100 marks.
• Paper 6: Financial Management and Strategic Management, 100 marks. Section A Financial Management 50 marks, Section B Strategic Management 50 marks.

All six papers follow the same pattern: 30 marks of case scenario based MCQs and 70 marks of descriptive questions, in one three-hour sitting from 2 PM to 5 PM with 15 minutes of reading time, and no negative marking. How the 70 descriptive marks are checked is in our post on the ICAI marking scheme.

Six papers of 100 marks, each 30 marks MCQ and 70 marks descriptive, three hours, no negative marking.

What is the CA Final paper pattern, and which paper is open book?

• Paper 1: Financial Reporting, 100 marks.
• Paper 2: Advanced Financial Management, 100 marks.
• Paper 3: Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics, 100 marks.
• Paper 4: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation, 100 marks.
• Paper 5: Indirect Tax Laws, 100 marks. Part I Goods and Services Tax 80 marks, Part II Customs and Foreign Trade Policy 20 marks.
• Paper 6: Integrated Business Solutions, 100 marks.

Papers 1 to 5 are closed book, three hours each, with the same 30% MCQ and 70% descriptive split as Intermediate and no negative marking. Paper 6 is the exception. ICAI's Board of Studies announcement of 14 January 2024 fixed its assessment: open book, case study based, four hours, five case studies of 25 marks each of which you attempt any four, and within each case study 40% by MCQs and 60% by descriptive questions.

Open book does not mean easy. The case studies pull together accounting, auditing, taxation, corporate law, finance and strategy around one business situation. In November 2026 it runs from 2 PM to 6 PM on 13 November.

Five Final papers are closed book on the 30:70 pattern; Paper 6 is open book, four hours, four case studies out of five.

What are the Self-Paced Online Modules?

• Set A: Corporate and Economic Laws, 100 marks, mandatory.
• Set B: Strategic Cost and Performance Management, 100 marks, mandatory.
• Set C: one elective out of ten, 100 marks, such as Risk Management or International Taxation.
• Set D: one multidisciplinary subject out of four, 100 marks, such as Digital Ecosystem and Controls.

You qualify a module with 50% marks, and the marks are not added to the Final result. To sit the Final you must have completed practical training six months before the exam month, finished Advanced ICITSS, and qualified all four modules.

Four online modules of 100 marks, two of them fixed and two chosen, each needing 50% and all four needed before the Final.

Passing marks and exemptions at a glance

At every level the rule is 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate of the group, in one sitting. Write both groups together and the aggregate runs over all six papers, so a 68 in Costing can carry a 44 in Accounting; our CA Intermediate passing marks post has worked examples.

Exemptions are the same at Intermediate and Final: 60% or more in a paper of a failed group exempts that paper for the next three exams, with 40% in each remaining paper and 50% in aggregate still needed. After that it can become a permanent exemption, with 50% in each remaining paper.

The pass line is 40 and 50 everywhere; a 60 buys a three-exam exemption.

How should you practise for a 30:70 paper?

1. Write every mock as a full 100-mark paper in three hours, MCQs included. Most students practise the 70 descriptive marks alone and run short on the day.
2. At Final, write two full Paper 6 sittings of four hours with four case studies each, open book.
3. Get the descriptive answers checked for step marks, not just a total.

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