The bare text says what. These pages say why, and how it is tested.
Every section here is one you will meet in an exam question. Each page gives the provision in plain language, the reason it exists, how examiners frame it, and the mistake students make when applying it to facts.
Most examined
The sections that return attempt after attempt.
12 of 12 shown
Companies Act, 2013
5 sectionsSection 135 — Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Section 135 makes India one of the few jurisdictions with statutorily mandated CSR: qualifying companies must constitute a CSR committee and spend at least 2% of average net profits of the preceding three years on CSR activities.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 139 — Appointment of Auditors
Section 139 governs how company auditors are appointed and rotated: first auditor by the Board within 30 days, subsequent auditors at the AGM for five-year terms, with mandatory rotation for listed and prescribed classes of companies.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 143 — Powers and Duties of Auditors
Section 143 arms the auditor with a right of access to books at all times and prescribes the content of the audit report — including the famous section 143(12) duty to report fraud to the Central Government or the audit committee.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 149 — Board Composition and Independent Directors
Section 149 sets the architecture of the board: minimum and maximum directors, the resident-director requirement, the woman-director mandate, and the definition and tenure of independent directors.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 185 — Loans to Directors
Section 185 restricts a company from advancing loans, guarantees or securities to its directors and persons in whom directors are interested — the anti-self-dealing provision at the heart of corporate governance questions.
Read the sectionIncome-tax Act, 1961
4 sectionsSection 80C — Deduction for Specified Investments and Payments
Section 80C is India's best-known tax deduction: up to ₹1,50,000 from gross total income for specified savings and payments — LIC premium, PF, PPF, ELSS, principal repayment of housing loans, children's tuition fees and more. Available only under the old tax regime.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 44AD — Presumptive Taxation for Small Businesses
Section 44AD lets eligible small businesses declare income at a flat 8% of turnover (6% for digital receipts) and skip detailed books and tax audit — the compliance shortcut that dominates small-business tax planning and exam problems alike.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 54 — Capital Gains Exemption on Sale of Residential House
Section 54 exempts long-term capital gains on sale of a residential house when the gains are reinvested in another residential house in India within prescribed timelines — the cornerstone of property tax planning and a fixture of capital-gains exam problems.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSections 194C / 194J / 194I — TDS on Contracts, Professional Fees and Rent
The 194-series sections are the workhorses of TDS practice: 194C (contract payments at 1%/2%), 194J (professional and technical fees at 10%/2%) and 194I (rent at 10% for buildings, 2% for plant and machinery) — with thresholds every CA student must know cold.
Read the sectionCGST Act, 2017
3 sectionsSection 16 — Eligibility and Conditions for Input Tax Credit
Section 16 is the gateway to GST's defining feature: it lays down who can take input tax credit, the four (now effectively six) conditions for availing it, the 180-day payment rule and the time limit for claiming credit.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 17(5) — Blocked Credits under GST
Section 17(5) is the negative list of GST credits: motor vehicles, food and beverages, club memberships, works contracts for immovable property, personal-consumption goods and more — credits denied even when the business-use test of section 16 is met.
Read the sectionintermediate · finalSection 9 — Levy, Charge of GST and Reverse Charge
Section 9 is the charging section of GST — the legal spine that levies CGST on intra-state supplies at notified rates, and creates the reverse-charge mechanism (RCM) that shifts the payment obligation to the recipient for notified supplies.
Read the sectionCite the section where you are sure. Never where you are not.
A correctly quoted section number is worth a mark and signals command of the subject. An invented one costs more than the mark it was reaching for, because it tells the examiner the rest of the answer may be guesswork too. Learn the numbers for the provisions that appear every attempt, and state the principle in plain language everywhere else.
3
Acts covered across the CA syllabus
- Companies Act, 2013
- Income-tax Act, 1961
- CGST Act, 2017
12
Sections explained end to end
- Provision in plain language
- Exam framing
- Application traps
3
Levels, Foundation through Final
- Level tags on every section
- Depth matched to the level
Reading a section is easy. Applying it under a clock is the exam.
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