Direct Tax & International Taxation
The full Income-tax Act at Final depth plus a complete international-taxation module.
Free tier first, always. 20 MCQs a day, no card.
Full syllabus — 28 chapters
Inside Direct Tax & International Taxation
Income Tax — core to procedure
- Basic ConceptsAssessment year, previous year, person, residential status edge cases — tested as MCQs and as the opening step in big computations.
- Incomes which do not form part of Total IncomeSection 10 exemptions — agricultural income, HUF, charitable trusts; a dedicated question appears most attempts.
- Profits and Gains of Business or ProfessionPGBP is the heaviest income-head at Final — deemed profits, disallowances, presumptive taxation together can be 20+ marks.
- Capital GainsShort-term vs long-term, indexation, section 54-series exemptions — computation and exemption mapping tested nearly every attempt.
- Income from Other SourcesSection 56(2) deemed gifts, family pension, winnings — often 5–8 marks and frequently missed by students who under-prepare it.
- Income of Other Persons included in Assessee's Total IncomeClubbing provisions — spouse, minor child, HUF scenarios; 4–6 marks and a known distinction-line question.
- Aggregation of Income, Set Off or Carry Forward of LossesInter-head and intra-head set-off rules, speculation loss, 8-year carry-forward — gets marks wrong on technicality.
- Deductions from Gross Total Income80C to 80U catalogue — limits, conditions, new-regime exclusions; always part of the total-income computation question.
- Assessment of Various EntitiesFirms, LLPs, AOP, companies — entity-specific computation rules; at least one entity question appears every attempt.
- Assessment of Trusts and Institutions, Political Parties and Other Special EntitiesSection 11-13, 12A/12AB registration, accumulation — conceptual and application, 8–10 marks regularly.
- Tax Planning, Tax Avoidance and Tax EvasionGAAR, McDowell doctrine, permissible planning — short theory chapter; 4–6 marks and easy to score if distinctions are clear.
- Taxation of Digital TransactionsEqualisation levy, significant economic presence — new-scheme chapter; growing exam presence as digital economy cases increase.
- Deduction, Collection and Recovery of TaxTDS sections (192–194S), TCS, 15CA/15CB compliance — TDS computation is almost always part of an attempt's question set.
- Income Tax AuthoritiesPowers of CBDT, survey (section 133A), search and seizure — conceptual; 4–6 marks in MCQ or short-answer format.
- Assessment ProcedureScrutiny, best-judgment, time limits, reassessment under 148 — procedural accuracy earns marks others leave on the table.
- Appeals and RevisionNFAC, ITAT, CIT(A) — timelines, powers, forms; 5–8 mark procedural scenario questions appear regularly.
- Dispute ResolutionDRC, faceless proceedings, Vivad se Vishwas — recent policy changes make this a live exam topic; 4–6 marks most attempts.
- Miscellaneous ProvisionsSection 285BA, PMLA linkages, PAN-Aadhaar — small but tested as MCQ fodder; know the key thresholds.
- Provisions to Counteract Unethical Tax PracticesBenami transactions, bogus purchases, anti-avoidance provisions — scenario-based; 6–8 marks when paired with GAAR.
- Tax Audit and Ethical CompliancesSection 44AB, Form 3CD clauses, CA's liability — tax audit is always at least 8 marks; know the clause-by-clause reporting duties.
International Taxation
- Non-Resident TaxationDTAA vs domestic law, royalty, FTS, shipping income — NR questions test treaty override, a consistent 10-mark block.
- Double Taxation ReliefSections 90, 90A, 91 — DTAA credit method vs exemption method; tested annually with a treaty-computation scenario.
- Advance RulingsAAR/BAPA jurisdiction, binding nature — short chapter, 4–6 marks; know who can apply and what the ruling binds.
- Transfer PricingALP methods, documentation (3CEB), safe harbours — international tax's biggest mark block, often 10–14 marks.
- Fundamentals of BEPS15 action plans, MLI, country-by-country reporting — conceptual chapter; 5–8 marks theory expected as BEPS adoption deepens.
- Application and Interpretation of Tax TreatiesVienna Convention, tie-breaker rules, beneficial ownership — tested as interpretation questions; 5–6 marks in recent patterns.
- Overview of Model Tax ConventionsOECD vs UN models, PE definition, dividend/interest articles — 4–6 marks; know the key article differences between the two.
- Latest Developments in International TaxationPillar One/Two (GloBE rules), BEPS 2.0 — fast-moving chapter; examiners add fresh questions here as Indian law adopts changes.
Chapter list as per the current ICAI New Scheme study material. Every Pookie question cites its ICAI source; solutions follow ICAI marking-scheme structure.
How it works here
Question → your attempt → marks per step
You answer first. Then the solution opens step by step, with the marks each step carries — so you see exactly where answers gain and lose marks in the real exam.
Be first to know.
Launches are announced on the Telegram channels first. Pick yours by level — free.