There have been a whole lot of rumours with respect to Exemption in CA IPCC & CA Final Exams, its applicability, its details etc. To clear all such rumours, Chartered Club has extensively researched on IPCC and CA Final Exemption for CA Exams and extracts of the Research are discussed below for your Reference.

Criteria for Exemption in CA IPCC, CA Final Exams

In accordance with Regulation 38A of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 as published by Notification No. 1-CA(7)/51/2000 dated 14th August 2001:-

  • If a Candidate who was Present in all the Papers of a Group, fails in one or more papers comprised in a group but,
  • Secures a Minimum of 60 Marks in any paper or papers of that Group,
  • Shall appear in the next attempt in only those Papers in which he secured less than 60 Marks,
  • And shall be declared passed if he obtains minimum 40% in each subject and 50% in aggregate including the paper(s), in which the candidate had secured more than 60 marks in the earlier examination.
  • The Exemption would be specifically mentioned for each subject and shall be valid only for the next 3 following attempts.

The implications of the above paragraph are clarified below:-

  1. You must have appeared in all the papers of a group
  2. You must have failed in the Group and should have secured a minimum of 60 Marks in any paper of that group.
  3. An exemption is valid for 3 immediately succeeding exams and will be carried forward automatically for the next 3 examinations.
  4. A Candidate shall be declared to have passed in a Group if he secures in one sitting – a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of the group. For the purpose of arriving at the aggregate marks, the paper(s) in which 60 or more marks were secured shall also be taken into account.

Please Note – There is no condition with respect to the number of marks you shall secure in the paper which you fail to clear. Even if you secure zero marks in the papers in which you fail, exemption would still be valid for papers in which you obtain 60 or more than 60 marks, provided you appeared in all the papers of the group.

Maximum No. of Exemptions in CA IPCC & CA Final Exams

There is no maximum limit on the number of exemptions that can be availed by a Student. No Maximum Limit has been stated in the Chartered Accountants Act with respect to the No. of Exemptions and thus a student can avail of any number of Exemptions.

There is a rumour amongst the CA Students Fraternity that Exemption in CA IPCC & CA Final can be claimed only in 1 paper which is wrong. We’ve confirmed the same in written with ICAI and they have also said that a student can avail exemptions in all papers of CA IPCC & CA Final in which he has secured more than 60 Marks provided he appeared for all papers in that group. Refer FAQ Section below for more details

Procedure for Availing Exemption in CA IPCC & CA Final Exams

There is no procedure for availing exemption and the exemption is automatically granted to CA IPCC/ CA Final students by ICAI and the same would be mentioned on the mark-sheet awarded to the students.

Once an exemption is awarded, the Student shall not be eligible for any other exemption in that group untill he has already exhausted the exemption awarded to him in that group.

The fact that you are eligible for an exemption in a paper, will be found indicated in the statement of marks, issued by the Institute, by way of a symbol ‘#’ against marks of the papers in which the student had secured minimum 60 Marks.

In your statement of marks, you will find the alphabet “E” marked against the marks of already exempt papers, carried forward from an earlier examination, provided the exemption is still valid.

Check IPCC & CA Final Exemption Status Online

From May 2014 Exam onwards, CA Students can also check online if there exemption in a particular subject is valid or not for the next attempt. The validity of Exemption for any specific subject is uploaded online by 15th April for May Attempt and by 15th Oct for Nov Exams

The Exemption Status can be checked online on http://www.exemptions.icaiexam.icai.org

FAQ’s regarding Exemption in IPCC & CA Final Exams

Ques. – Many Students have approached us with the query that they have obtained 65 Marks in one subject, but failed to clear the Group. So how much should they get in the rest of the Exams?

Ans. – The Student should obtain such minimum marks so as to take the aggregate above 50% in that group (notwithstanding the fact that you have to obtain minimum 40 Marks in each paper).

So in such a case, if the minimum passing marks is 200 in that group, you’ll have to obtain 135 Marks in the rest of the non-exempt papers.

Ques. – We have also received queries that a Student has obtained 62 and 68 Marks in 2 Papers of a Group but failed to clear the Group. So how much should they get in the rest of the Exams?

Ans. – To maintain a minimum aggregate of 50%, you’ll have to secure 70 Marks in the remaining 2 Papers. But you’ll also have to ensure that you get minimum 40 Marks in each of the Remaining Papers to be declared passed in that Group.

Ques. Another popular query is that if a Student achieves an exemption in 1 subject of a group in one attempt and achieves more than 60 in another subject of the same group in another attempt, would the exemption stay valid?

Ans. An exemption is allotted to a student only if he appears for all papers in a group. As the Student has not appeared for all papers in the 2nd Attempt, the exemption availed in the succeeding attempts will not stay valid and only the exemption availed in the attempt in which he/she appeared for all papers in that group will stay valid.

Why do Students surrender Exemptions in IPCC & CA Final Exams?

Another trend which has been noticed is that Students have started surrendering Exemptions and the reasons for the same have been shared below.

For the IPCC as well as Final Level, ICAI allots Ranks to the top 50 Candidates. And to obtain a Rank, you have to be present in all the Papers of both the Groups.

Now, if you are claiming exemption, it implies that you won’t be appearing for all the papers in the next attempt so your chances of claiming a Rank are all washed out. It is for this purpose that Students surrender their Exemptions.

Claiming or Surrendering Exemption is a case to case decision depending on the Candidate.

Recommended Read:-

Procedure for Surrendering Exemption in IPCC & CA Final Exam

In case, a candidate opts for not availing the exemption, the following is the procedure for surrendering the exemption.

  1. The Candidate shall write a letter to the Additional Secretary (Examinations) informing him of his decision to surrender the Exemption and shall also enclose a copy of the Relevant Mark Sheet.
  2. On Receipt of the same, ICAI shall send a Proforma to the Candidate which is to be executed by the Candidate on a Non-Judicial Stamp Paper.
  3. Candidates shall note that the surrender of Exemption will become effective only after furnishing of the requisite affidavit and on issue of confirmation letter to this effect by the Institute.

In case any clarification is required with respect to Exemption in CA IPCC and CA Final Exams, feel free to post it on Chartered Club Forum and we would be happy to help.