ProSyllabus Journal

SAS Old-to-New Exemption Matrix: Which Revised Papers You Still Write

Exemptions from the old 27-paper SAS carry into the 20-paper syllabus only as the official matrix allows: most need two old papers, and PC-12 to PC-16 need a fresh attempt. Full matrix and a checker.

By ProSyllabus Admin

Updated 3 days agoCAG · Departmental exams · Syllabus

#SAS exemption matrix#SAS old syllabus exemption#SAS revised syllabus exemption#PC-12 PC-14 no exemption#SAS 27 papers to 20#existing SAS candidates

SAS Old-to-New Exemption Matrix: Which Revised Papers You Still Write

Checked 29 September 2026. From the paper-wise exemption matrix approved with HQ Circular 476 of 27.10.2022 and reprinted in the consolidated syllabus. Exam Wing circulars on individual cases, or on how long old exemptions stay current, can override a reading of the matrix.

If you passed or held exemptions in SAS papers under the old syllabus, your first question about the revised exam is how many of those papers still count. The official answer is a paper-wise exemption matrix, approved with HQ Circular 476 of 27 October 2022 and printed at the back of the consolidated syllabus. It is stricter than many candidates expect: most revised papers are exempt only if you held both of two old papers, and the five papers that are new in substance, PC-12 to PC-16, carry no exemption from any old paper, so every candidate of the stream has to attempt them at least once. This guide reprints the matrix, explains how to read it, and gives a checker. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of the CAG or the IA&AD. Every rule here is quoted or summarised from Exam Wing circulars and the CAG website; your Head of Department and the Exam Wing decide every individual case.

Where other pages get this wrong

The revised syllabus first applied at Exam-2 of 2025, held from 28 January to 1 February 2026, not at Exam-2 of 2024.

Commonly published instead: "The revised syllabus of SAS Examination shall be implemented from the Examination-II of 2024" — a 2022 field-office circular relaying HQ Circular 476; the model-questions PDF cover also reads "w.e.f. Exam-2 of 2024".

HQ Circular 02 of 2025 (19.11.2025) records that an HQ letter of 13.11.2024 put the revised syllabus in force from Exam-2 of 2025, and the Dashboard link to the same model questions now says "w.e.f. Exam-2 of 2025". The Exam-1 of 2025 date sheet (20 to 26 May 2025) still listed old papers up to PC-27. The date matters for the matrix: papers you sat up to Exam-1 of 2025 were old-syllabus papers, and the matrix is how they translate.

What changed between the old and the revised syllabus

Feature	Old syllabus	Revised syllabus
Branches	7 (Civil Audit and Local Audit separate)	6 (Civil Audit and Local Audit combined)
Papers in the syllabus	27 (PC-1 to PC-27)	20 (PC-1 to PC-20)
Papers a candidate passes	varied by branch	8, in 2 groups of 4
Common papers	PC-1 Language Skill, PC-2 Logical, Analytical and Quantitative Abilities, PC-3 IT (Theory), PC-4 IT (Practical), all branches	PC-1 Language Skills, PC-2 Government Audit, PC-3 IT (theory and practical in one paper)
First sitting	last used at Exam-1 of 2025	Exam-2 of 2025 (January-February 2026)

The branch and paper counts come from the 2022 circular that relayed HQ Circular 476, and the old common papers from the paper list of the CAG's 2017 SAS syllabus; "varied by branch" is our summary. The last row comes from Circular 02 of 2025 and the Exam-1 of 2025 date sheet. Note that old PC-2 (Logical, Analytical and Quantitative Abilities) appears nowhere in the matrix: it does not transfer to revised PC-2 Government Audit or to any other revised paper.

The full exemption matrix

Read each row as: you need not appear in the revised paper on the left if you secured exemption in the old paper or papers on the right in an earlier SAS exam. "AND" means both are needed; "OR" means either is enough. The old-paper names are as the matrix prints them.

Revised paper	Exempt if you held (official matrix)
PC-1 Language Skills	old PC-1
PC-2 Government Audit	old PC-22
PC-3 Information Technology (Theory and Practical)	old PC-3 AND old PC-4
PC-4 Financial Rules, Service Rules and Basic Principles of Government Accounts and CPWA	old PC-5 AND old PC-8
PC-5 Financial Rules, Service Rules and Principles of Defence Accounts	old PC-6 AND old PC-9
PC-6 Financial Rules, Service Rules and Basic Principles of Postal and Telecom Accounts	old PC-5 AND old PC-10
PC-7 Railways Service Rules, Financial Rules and Principles of Railways Accounts	old PC-7 AND old PC-11
PC-8 Financial Rules, Basic Principles of Government and Public Works Accounts, Service Rules and Accounting Standards	old PC-5 AND old PC-12
PC-9 Basic Financial Accounting and Analysis of Financial Statements	old PC-13 OR old PC-14
PC-10 Advanced Accounting and Cost & Management Accounting	old PC-15 AND old PC-20
PC-11 Advanced Government Accounts and Government Accounting Standards	old PC-21
PC-12 Performance Audit and Compliance Audit	No old-paper exemption: every candidate of the stream must attempt it
PC-13 Government Budgeting and Flow of Resources	No old-paper exemption: every candidate of the stream must attempt it
PC-14 Financial Audit	No old-paper exemption: every candidate of the stream must attempt it
PC-15 Entitlement Functions and Treasury Inspection	No old-paper exemption: every candidate of the stream must attempt it
PC-16 Revenue Audit; Audit of Local Bodies; Public Works Audit	No old-paper exemption: every candidate of the stream must attempt it
PC-17 Defence Audit	old PC-17 AND old PC-23
PC-18 Finance and Communication Audit	old PC-18 AND old PC-24
PC-19 Railway Audit	old PC-19 AND old PC-25
PC-20 Commercial Audit, Commercial Laws and Corporate Tax Laws	old PC-20 AND old PC-26

Three things in the matrix are easy to miss. First, PC-3 needs two old papers: old PC-3 (IT theory) and old PC-4 (IT practical). A candidate who cleared only the theory writes the whole revised PC-3, including its 40-mark practical. Second, PC-2 Government Audit maps only to old PC-22, the Civil and Local Audit branch's government audit paper. A candidate from any other old branch writes PC-2 whatever else they cleared. Third, old PC-20 (Cost Accountancy, Commercial Laws and Corporate Tax) appears in two rows: with old PC-15 it covers revised PC-10, and with old PC-26 it covers revised PC-20. It is the only old paper that counts twice.

The papers no old exemption covers

Revised paper	Who writes it	Why no exemption (official)
PC-12 Performance Audit and Compliance Audit	all five audit branches	new paper; to be attempted by all candidates of the stream
PC-13 Government Budgeting and Flow of Resources	Civil Accounts	new paper; to be attempted by all candidates of the stream
PC-14 Financial Audit	all five audit branches	new paper; to be attempted by all candidates of the stream
PC-15 Entitlement Functions and Treasury Inspection	Civil Accounts	new paper; to be attempted by all candidates of the stream
PC-16 Revenue Audit; Audit of Local Bodies; Public Works Audit	Civil & Local Audit	new paper; to be attempted by all candidates of the stream

Circular 06 of 2026 says it directly: "The new paper added i.e. PC-12, PC-13, PC-14, PC-15 & PC-16 have to be attempted by all the candidates of respective streams." Put that together with the branch grid (our reading, in the papers-by-branch guide) and every existing candidate writes at least two revised papers, whatever they cleared before: PC-12 and PC-14 in the audit branches, PC-13 and PC-15 in Civil Accounts, and in Civil & Local Audit a third, PC-16. That is our arithmetic on the official matrix.

Worked examples

These are our applications of the matrix to invented records, to show how it reads. They are not rulings on anyone's case.

Example record (old syllabus)	Revised branch	Still to write (our application)
Civil & Local Audit; held old PC-1, PC-3, PC-4, PC-5, PC-8, PC-14, PC-22	Civil & Local Audit	PC-12, PC-14, PC-16 (3 papers)
Railway; held old PC-1, PC-3, PC-7, PC-19	Railway Audit	PC-2, PC-3, PC-7, PC-9, PC-12, PC-14, PC-19 (7 papers)
Commercial; held old PC-1, PC-3, PC-4, PC-5, PC-12, PC-15, PC-20, PC-26	Commercial Audit	PC-2, PC-12, PC-14 (3 papers)
Civil Accounts; held old PC-1, PC-13, PC-21	Civil Accounts	PC-2, PC-3, PC-4, PC-13, PC-15 (5 papers)

The Railway example is the cautionary one. Holding old PC-7 and old PC-19 sounds like progress, but revised PC-7 also needs old PC-11 and revised PC-19 also needs old PC-25, so neither transfers. Only the language paper does.

What the matrix does not settle

Questions to put to your office in writing

How long an exemption earned under the old syllabus stays current. The three-year currency in Circular 06 of 2026 is stated for fresh candidates, and the matrix itself sets no period.
Whether an old exemption earned while registered in one branch counts toward a revised paper of a different branch, for example after a change of stream. The matrix names the branch in brackets for some rows only.
How chances already used under the old syllabus count against the 12-in-8-years limit after the change.
Whether the matrix itself will change. A CAT (PB) common order of 19.01.2026 in OA 4412, 4413 and 4417 of 2025 (text as reproduced on Indian Kanoon, reported) sent the revised scheme back to the Department to "specifically examine whether exemptions already granted and papers or groups already declared as passed under the old syllabus can be protected". Circular 3 of 2026 said the Department was contemplating a challenge. We found no later circular changing the matrix.
After a technical resignation: the FAQ carries exemptions and chances over only "subject to scheme and syllabi of Examination remaining the same", and the scheme has since changed.

The onus of eligibility and data rests with the field office (letter 478 of 01.06.2026); the Exam Wing's email for examination matters is saoexam@cag.gov.in.

The Incentive Examination has its own change: Circular 1 of 2026 merged old IE-3 and IE-4 into a revised IE-3, with exemption only for those who passed both. It is a separate exam from SAS and is mentioned here only because its papers share date sheets with SAS. ProSyllabus has no SAS practice quizzes yet.

Do my old SAS exemptions still count?

Only as the official exemption matrix allows. Most revised papers need two old papers exempted (for example old PC-3 and old PC-4 for revised PC-3), and no old paper exempts you from PC-12 to PC-16.

Which revised SAS papers have no exemption?

PC-12, PC-13, PC-14, PC-15 and PC-16 have no exemption from old-syllabus papers. Circular 06 of 2026 says they have to be attempted by all candidates of the respective streams. An exemption earned by sitting one of them under the revised syllabus is a separate matter, governed by the current rules (60 per cent, current for three years, for fresh candidates under Circular 06 of 2026).

I cleared old IT theory but not IT practical. Am I exempt from PC-3?

Not on the matrix. Revised PC-3 needs old PC-3 and old PC-4.

Which old paper exempts me from PC-2 Government Audit?

Only old PC-22, the Government Audit paper of the Civil and Local Audit branch.

Which old papers exempt me from PC-9?

Either old PC-13 (Accountancy, Civil Accounts) or old PC-14 (Financial Accounting with Elementary Costing). PC-9 is the one row where either is enough.

When did the revised syllabus start?

At Exam-2 of 2025, held from 28 January to 1 February 2026. A 2022 circular had named Exam-II of 2024, but HQ moved it.

How many revised papers must an existing candidate write at the least?

On our reading of the matrix and the branch grid, at least two (PC-12 and PC-14, or PC-13 and PC-15 in Civil Accounts), and three in Civil and Local Audit because PC-16 is also new.

Who decides my exemptions?

Your field office validates your record and the Exam Wing decides. The matrix is the rule both work from.

Sources

official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.

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