CA exam pattern: Foundation, Intermediate & Final under the ICAI New Scheme

CA runs three levels under the 2024 ICAI New Scheme - Foundation (4 papers, 400 marks), Intermediate (8 papers across 2 groups, 800 marks) and Final (8 papers across 2 groups, 800 marks) - with a 50 percent group-aggregate plus 40 percent per-paper minimum at every level and a 30 / 70 MCQ-to-subjective split on Inter and Final papers. This page lays out the paper-by-paper structure, the marking rules, the one-fourth negative-marking arithmetic at Foundation, the 40 / 50 rule worked on a sample mark sheet, and the New Scheme vs Old Scheme differences you need to know if you registered before 2024.

What does the CA Foundation paper look like? (4 papers)

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free CA mock and see your indicative pass-line in 3 hours.

How is CA Intermediate structured? (8 papers, 2 groups)

Intermediate is the genuine filter level. 8 papers, 800 marks, split evenly across two groups. You can sit one group or both groups in a single attempt; both groups together unlocks the set-off advantage but carries double the syllabus load.

The ICAI New Scheme consolidated several legacy papers - Enterprise Information Systems and Economics for Finance, for instance, no longer appear as standalone Inter papers. Topics moved into the surviving subjects or into the self-paced online modules that gate Final.

How is CA Final structured? (8 papers, 2 groups)

Final mirrors Intermediate's two-group split but raises the conceptual ceiling. Group II Paper 6 - Integrated Business Solutions - is the multidisciplinary case-study paper introduced under the New Scheme, sitting on top of the self-paced online modules.

Want to attempt this format end-to-end? Take a free CA mock in the live ICAI 30 / 70 paper pattern.

What is the passing rule across all CA levels?

To clear a group you need a minimum of 40% in every individual paper AND 50% aggregate across all papers in that group. Both conditions must hold.

• Exemption: Score 60%+ in any single paper and that paper is exempted - it carries forward to the next attempt even if you fail the group. Valid for the next 3 immediately-following attempts.
• Group attempt choice: For Intermediate / Final you can attempt one group or both groups together. Both together unlocks set-off (a high paper can offset a low one within the same sitting).

Already know the rule? Take a free CA mock with the 40 / 50 pass verdict applied to your scorecard at the end.

Time per paper

Every CA paper is 3 hours (some Final papers have a 15-minute reading time on top). The objective MCQ section is typically attempted first (auto-submitted at a fixed time on OMR / screen), then the subjective section in the answer booklet.

How does the one-fourth negative marking actually work?

Foundation Papers 3 (Quantitative Aptitude) and 4 (Business Economics) are 100 percent objective MCQ with a quarter-mark negative for every wrong answer. The math is straightforward but the strategic implications are not - guessing wildly costs you more than skipping does.

The arithmetic

Each MCQ carries 1 mark for a correct answer and minus 0.25 for a wrong answer. An unattempted question scores zero. With 100 questions, the worst possible score is minus 25 (every question wrong), and the best is plus 100. The break-even guess rate sits at one correct in every five attempts (1.0 minus 4 multiplied by 0.25 = 0.0) - in other words, you need to be better than a 20 percent guess to come out positive on wild attempts. With genuine 50 / 50 narrow-down logic (one correct in two attempts) you net 0.375 per question, which is worth doing.

The same one-fourth penalty applies to the MCQ section of every Intermediate and Final paper (the 30-mark MCQ block); the 70-mark subjective section carries no negative marking. Treat the two sections as separate strategy games inside the same three-hour window.

40 / 50 rule worked on a sample mark sheet

Two candidates with very similar totals can end up on opposite sides of the pass line. The interaction between the 40 percent per-paper floor and the 50 percent aggregate is where most candidates lose attempts they thought were secure. Three worked examples on a CA Intermediate Group I scorecard:

Candidate B has the same 150 / 300 as Candidate A but fails the group because of one paper below the 40 floor - the strong 72 in Laws cannot rescue a sub-40 in Accounting. Candidate C clears the group AND picks up a 60-plus exemption that carries to the next sitting if (in a different scenario) the group had failed overall. Both rules - the 40 floor and the 50 aggregate - have to hold simultaneously.

New Scheme vs Old Scheme: what changed in 2024?

ICAI transitioned to the New Scheme of Education and Training in mid-2023, with the first New Scheme exams running from 2024. Candidates who registered before then have been migrated to New Scheme syllabi over a phased switchover. The differences worth knowing:

Two practical implications. First, the textbook count is lower - fewer subjects means a cleaner core syllabus per level. Second, the practical-training year has shrunk by a year, which lets a focused candidate finish the qualification 12 months sooner end to end. If you are using older study materials, check the publication year; pre-2024 books cover topics that have been retired or restructured.

Attempt strategy: one group or both?

For Intermediate and Final, you choose between attempting a single group or both groups together each sitting. There is no universally right answer; the choice is a function of your mock numbers, the time you have left before the attempt, and your appetite for the set-off advantage. Use this checklist:

• Pick both groups together if your last two full-length mocks are landing at 55-plus aggregate on each group and no paper is below 45. Both-together unlocks set-off across six papers, cutting the risk of one weak paper torpedoing the whole sitting.
• Pick a single group if any paper is bouncing around the 40 mark or you have less than four months of clean prep runway. Focused single-group prep tends to produce cleaner papers and higher exemptions for the next sitting.
• Always aim for exemptions. Any 60-plus paper is exempted for the next three sittings - even if the group fails, exemptions narrow the re-attempt syllabus. Budget two papers per group as exemption targets in your prep plan.

How MCQ and subjective sections are graded

The 30 / 70 MCQ-subjective split within each Intermediate and Final paper is not just a question-type division - it is graded on two separate answer sheets with two different sets of evaluators. The MCQ portion is machine-evaluated against the official answer key (released a few days after the exam), and your raw MCQ score is locked once the key is published. The subjective portion is manually evaluated by ICAI examiners under a step-marking rubric, with a moderation pass for outlier scores. The two scores are then combined into the paper total reported on your scorecard.

Practical consequence: a 30-mark MCQ section that you clear at 22 plus 6 marks on the subjective is a 28 paper score, which sits below the 40 floor. The MCQ section is where you must bank marks; underperforming on MCQs and trying to recover in the subjective section is the most common single-paper failure pattern in ICAI attempt-data discussions. Target a 70 percent strike rate on MCQs as your baseline.

Per-level paper-attempt strategy

The decision of how many papers to sit in one go varies meaningfully by level. The paper-attempt-strategy logic is different at Foundation than at Intermediate or Final, and worth thinking through explicitly.

• Foundation: Take all 4 papers in one sitting. ICAI rules treat Foundation as an all-or-nothing level - you cannot split papers across sittings without re-registering, and the syllabus is small enough that a single 5 to 6 month prep block covers it cleanly.
• Intermediate: Group-wise attempts are viable and common. A focused single-group prep cycle of 4 to 5 months often outperforms a both-groups attempt of the same calendar length. The trade-off is the set-off advantage - both-groups attempts let a strong paper offset a weak one across all six papers.
• Final: The clear-Group-I-first then Group-II pattern is the most common single-group sequencing. Group I (FR, AFM, Audit) is the more conceptually demanding group; clearing it first leaves a cleaner runway for Group II during the final stretch of articleship.

How articleship workload affects Inter and Final timing

Articleship is a 9-to-7 commitment during audit season (October to March, peak December) and a more manageable 10-to-6 outside it. Candidates who try to sit Intermediate during the peak audit cycle typically underprepare on at least one paper. The practical sequencing rule is to align your Intermediate or Final attempt with a leave-eligible articleship block - the 3 months of study leave that ICAI permits over the full 2 year training period should sit immediately before the attempt you are most invested in, not split across multiple sittings.