CA Inter Group 1 Subjects (2026): Advanced Accounting, Law & Taxation

CA Inter Group 1 subjects at a glance

• Total: 3 papers, 300 marks, 3 hours per paper.
• Every paper is 70 marks descriptive and 30 marks objective.
• You can attempt Group 1 alone, or both groups together.

Paper 1 — Advanced Accounting (100 marks)

The heaviest practical paper in Group 1. Under the New Scheme, Advanced Accounting absorbed material that used to sit across two separate accounting papers, and it now covers all 27 Accounting Standards.

The bulk of the marks sit in a predictable set of areas: the Accounting Standards themselves, amalgamation, internal reconstruction, consolidation of financial statements, branch accounts including foreign branches, and buyback of securities.

• Accounting Standards are the single largest scoring block — treat them as core, not revision filler.
• Amalgamation, internal reconstruction and consolidation are format-heavy, which makes them reliable marks once drilled.
• This paper rewards working through problems, not reading. Presentation and correct formats carry marks of their own.

Paper 2 — Corporate and Other Laws (100 marks)

A theory paper with a clear internal division: Part I is Company Law for 70 marks, Part II is Other Laws for 30 marks. Part I dominates, so plan your time accordingly.

Part I runs through the Companies Act — incorporation, prospectus and share capital, acceptance of deposits, registration of charges, management and administration, meetings, declaration of dividend, accounts and audit, and directors. Part II covers the General Clauses Act, interpretation of statutes and the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

• Company Law is 70 of the 100 marks. If time is short, that is where it goes.
• The 30-mark MCQ portion is where students lose marks — the questions give a fact pattern and expect you to apply the correct provision, not recite it.
• Section numbers matter less than knowing which provision governs which situation, and in what order conditions apply.

Paper 3 — Taxation (100 marks)

Taxation is two half-papers in one: Section A is Income-tax Law for 50 marks and Section B is Goods and Services Tax for 50 marks. Both must be prepared — you cannot trade one off against the other, because the 40% minimum applies to the paper as a whole.

In Income-tax, the marks cluster in the five heads of income — salaries, house property, profits and gains of business or profession, capital gains and other sources — along with deductions, clubbing, set-off and carry-forward, and computation of total income. In GST, the dependable scoring areas are supply, charge of GST, place and time of supply, value of supply, input tax credit, and registration.

• Income-tax 50 marks, GST 50 marks — an even split, so give them even attention.
• GST is the more scoring half for many students because the provisions are newer, tighter and less riddled with exceptions.
• Amendments matter here more than in any other paper. Always study the version applicable to your attempt, not last year's material.

Group 1 exam pattern and passing marks

All three papers follow the same structure, so there is one pattern to learn rather than three.

• There is no negative marking on the MCQ portion, so never leave one blank — an unanswered question is a certain zero, a considered guess is not.
• 40% in every paper AND 50% in aggregate. Scoring 75, 60 and 35 fails the group despite a 56% average, because the 35 breaches the per-paper floor.

Which Group 1 paper to study first

The common mistake is studying in paper order and reaching Taxation with three weeks left. A more defensible order works backwards from how long each paper takes to become reliable.

Start Advanced Accounting first and keep it running throughout — it is the largest and the slowest to build, and it decays fastest without practice. Take Taxation second, because amendments make late preparation risky and because GST rewards repetition. Corporate and Other Laws can start later, as theory consolidates faster, but it needs the most revision passes at the end to stay retrievable in the exam hall.

• Advanced Accounting — start earliest, practise continuously, never park it.
• Taxation — second, with amendments settled early and GST revised often.
• Corporate and Other Laws — can start later, but needs the most repeat revision.

Should you attempt Group 1 first?

If you are taking one group at a time, Group 1 first is the usual choice, and there is a reason beyond convention: Advanced Accounting and Taxation feed directly into CA Final, and articleship work draws on both constantly. Clearing them early compounds.

The counter-argument is workload. Group 1 is widely considered the heavier group, so students short on time sometimes clear Group 2 first to bank a pass and reduce pressure. Both are defensible. What is not defensible is starting both groups and preparing neither properly.

Preparing for Group 1 without re-reading everything

Group 1's real difficulty is not any single paper — it is that 300 marks of accounting, law and tax will not fit into one revision cycle. Students who clear it are not the ones who read the most. They are the ones who know exactly which concepts are weak and repair those first.

A chapter is not one thing. A CA Inter chapter holds many separate concepts, and scoring 12/20 on a chapter test does not tell you which of them broke. Concept-level practice does, which is what turns limited revision time into marks.

Frequently asked questions