How to study CA Final Indirect Tax Effectively | Important Topics | ABC Analysis

IDT is a very interesting subject loved by tax lovers and also by majority of students. It contains GST laws and Customs laws but more of GST. It is a vast subject and needs to be given time. It should be looked upon in 4 parts- GST provisions, GST procedural part, Custom laws and FTP.

Students need to have the knowledge and understanding of provisions thoroughly for this subject. Also, this is a subject where different students study from various different material. None the less, wherever you study from you need to understand the provisions and also be able to apply them in the questions. If you dont know where to prepare from, Icai study material is perfect.

Weightage and Past Trend

Weightage and Past Trend

*= This means that the question has multiple adjustments from different chapters also.

Also, the above data is just for the written paper and 30 marks MCQs have not been included.

WEIGHTAGE: As said above the subject when divided into 4 parts:-

1. GST Provisions (Chp 1 to 16) - 50 to 55 marks
2. GST Procedures (Chp 17 to 24) - 25 marks approx
3. Custom Laws - 30 to 35 marks
4. FTP - 5 marks approx

Study Plan/ABC Analysis

As this subject being vast, it is recommended to not study in a rush. It will take around 12 complete days at least. But those can be spread over other subjects in between. Now it is very important to not skip any topic as such unless advised by any of your professors because it may be asked as an adjustment or even as a mcq. Some chapters which are difficult and require more practice are Value of Supply, ITC, Refunds and Valuation under Customs. You should study the questions in the Study mat as well as past papers, 2-3 past rtps and mock papers. The rest of the chapters are quite manageable like studying and understanding any other law.

For MCQs it is recommended to only practice the ones given by ICAI on its bos portal website.

From which chapter to start preparing

The subject being a law is advised to study chronologically as given by the ICAI. This applies for GST as well as Customs, but you can study FTP as a chapter alone. Also as much as possible try to remember the sections by studying chronologically as writing section number also gives a great impression on the examiner (Although it is not necessary). Dont try to remember too much stuff which is not needed, for example in customs the test your knowledge is filled with many case laws which are not needed to be remembered.

It is not necessary to solve too many questions from any authors book unless you are studying from there only. None the less, your focus should be on understanding the provisions and their application.              

Also Read: Effective  strategy to score good marks in  CA Final Law with Weight-Age

Most Scoring Part

Although you should know all the chapters but there are some chapters which are very easy and are really very much scoring, for example module 2 & 3 is very much scoring i.e. Chapter 9 to 13 and 16 to 23 in the index above. They are very easy and can give you many marks as it includes small chapters like job work, advance ruling, etc.

Another topic which is much ignored by students and is very much scoring is Customs. Customs comes for around 25-30 marks and is very easy as compared to others. You can finish entire Customs in 2 to 3 days maximum. Valuation under customs and Duty Drawback are very important chapters as a question from each of them is very likely to be asked. With the reduction in portion from Nov 19, Customs has become really scoring.

FTP is a single topic out of which one question is very much expected. So it should not be left in option and should be studied nicely as it is not that difficult. You may take any short notes for the chapter from somewhere if reading from module is taking too much time.

Which question to attempt first

Always attempt the easiest question first which you think you are MOST CONFIDENT about. When paper checker starts checking your paper you surely wish to start with good impressions.

You can also solve the MCQs in the beginning or in between the paper but do not solve them at the end they are the most scoring. While solving them have a look at the time because it should not take more than 35 minutes to solve them. Dont think too much on them as it might create confusion. Read twice and mark the answer you think is correct. If you start with the MCQs then after completing them, start the paper with a very simple question like Valuation under customs and small GST chapters. The MCQs and this question should be completed within the first hour. In the second hour solve the 2 questions which you are confident to get right. And in the last hour solve the 2 questions which you think are dicey i.e. might go right or wrong, for example the ITC or Refund question.

Important Questions/Amendments

Being a subject where there are amendments almost every attempt, please go through all of them as they are quite important from exam perspective. Only read the ICAI notified amendments that are mentioned on the bos portal as statutory updates. It is quite likely to be asked in the exam. For example, the composition scheme amendment was asked in a 5 mark question in the Last CA exams.

Important questions include questions from small or format chapters as also mentioned above like Job work, registration, advance ruling, assessment and audit, accounts records and e-way bill, etc. Apart from these Offenses and penalties is a very important chapter for MCQs and brief questions as well.

Common mistakes/Tips

One of the common mistakes of students is focusing too much on MCQs and studying them from various materials other than the material given by ICAI. It is very time consuming and does not really help that much. If you cover the portion and understand the provisions you will be able to solve the MCQs nicely. Another common mistake is not focusing on Customs and small chapters in GST, but they can ensure your exemption or even help you score more than 70. Also, many students do not focus on provisions but try to solve questions from various sources other than all the ICAI material. The more you focus on provisions you will be able to write the answers nicely in IDT unlike DT.

You should also make your own notes for many of the chapters in short because it will help you cover the portion in 1 and a half day and will also reduce your hard work for the last paper for which you might be a little bit tired.

Aim to score 40 in the 70 marks paper and 20+ in the MCQs at least. Write test papers.

Forget however were the earlier papers and just give your best shot for this very last paper and you should be able to score an exemption comfortably if you have studied well.

Motivation:  “Dont Aim to become something Aim to do something”. ALL THE BEST!