Checked 29 September 2026. From the CGDA circular of 11.03.2025. No Part-II has been held under these rules yet, and the Paper X syllabus was issued separately on 23.06.2025; the first notification may add detail about format and books.
Part-II is the second half of the Defence Accounts SAS examination, open only to those who have passed Part-I. Under the rules revised on 11 March 2025 it has five papers, VI to X, of 100 marks each, and all of them are to be "conducted in-house by the Department in descriptive mode using pen paper in place of CBT mode". That reverses the change of 2019 and 2023, when Part-II was moved onto computer as multiple-choice papers. If you prepared for the September 2023 Part-II, most of the content is the same but the way you answer is not. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of the Controller General of Defence Accounts or the Ministry of Defence. Every rule here is quoted or summarised from CGDA circulars; CGDA headquarters and your PCDA/CDA decide every individual case.
CGDA circular of 11.03.2025, para 3.2 and 3.3. Official.
Where other pages get this wrong
Part-II was multiple choice on computer in 2023, and goes back to written answers on paper under the 2025 rules.
Commonly published instead: "Part-II has always been descriptive", or "Part-II is on CBT like Part-I".
Both are half right. The SAS Rules 2019 printed each Part-II paper as 100 objective questions with negative marking, 2 hours long, and the September 2023 Part-II was held as a computer-based test at nine centres. The 2025 rules say Part-I stays on CBT while Part-II is conducted in descriptive mode on pen and paper, with no negative marking.
The five Part-II papers
| Paper | Title (official) | Books (official) | Sections and weights (official) |
|---|---|---|---|
| VI | Service Regulations (Practical) | With books | Pay and allowances (Civil) 40% | PF and pension 20% | P&A of your chosen Service 40% |
| VII | Works, Stores and Internal Audit (Practical) | With books | Works 50% | Stores and internal audit of your chosen Service 50% |
| VIII | IFA System with Elements of Law | Not marked in 2025 (without books in 2023) | Procurement and DFP 60 marks | Elements of law 40 marks |
| IX | Accountancy with Elementary Costing | Not marked in 2025 (without books in 2023) | Financial accounting 50 | Elementary costing 50 |
| X | Language Skills and Office Management (new) | Not stated | Language skills 70 marks (precis, short essay, comprehension, official drafting, audit report and legal drafting) | Office management 30 (syllabus of 23.06.2025) |
Every paper carries 100 marks, a pass mark of 45, an exemption mark of 60 and a duration of 3 hours. Rule 2 marks Papers VI and VII "(With Books)". The 2025 text does not mark Papers VIII and IX either way; in the September 2023 schedule they were "(Without Books)". Until the first notification under the new rules says otherwise, prepare VIII and IX as without-books papers.
Weights from Annexure A of the 11.03.2025 circular. Paper X (language skills 70, office management 30) is in the separate circular of 23.06.2025. Official.
What changed between the 2019 rules, 2023 and 2025, printed as it is
| Question | Older answer | 2025 answer | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| How long is a Part-II paper? | 2 hours: SAS Rules 2019; the 2023 CBT (Paper IX was printed as 3 hours and corrected to 2 on 26.06.2023) | 3 hours for every paper, VI to X | Changed by the 2025 rules |
| Is it on computer? | Yes, CBT in September 2023 | No: descriptive, pen and paper, in-house | Changed by the 2025 rules |
| Is there negative marking? | Yes, a quarter mark per wrong answer in the 2019 text | No negative marking in any Part-II paper | Changed by the 2025 rules |
| What is the exemption mark? | 50 per cent | 60 per cent | Changed by the 2025 rules |
These are changes over time that older notes and coaching material have not caught up with. One label inside the 2025 circular itself does not match: its comparison table gives Paper VII's existing title as "Works, Stores and Internal Audit Theory (With Books)", while the detailed syllabus in Annexure A heads it "Works, Stores and Internal Audit (Practical)". Either way Rule 2 makes it a with-books paper, written descriptively from 2025. The one genuine conflict in the record, on whether an aggregate pass mark exists at all, is covered in the pass-marks guide in this series.
Paper VI: Service Regulations (with books)
Paper VI is a practical paper on pay, allowances and retirement benefits. Section I, pay and allowances (Civil), carries 40 per cent: GFR chapter 12 (parts I and IX only), chapters 9 and 4, FR and SR Parts I to V, CCS (Leave) Rules as updated on 19.09.2022, CGEGIS, CGHS, LTC, children's education allowance, house building advance, overtime allowance, the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules 2016 and TDS on salary. Section II, provident fund and pension, carries 20 per cent: GPF (Central Services), CPF, the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, dearness relief, Pension Regulations Parts I and II, the Armed Forces personnel provident fund schemes (AFPP, DSOP, NOPF, AFOPF), GPF (Defence Services) and the National Pension System. Section III, pay and allowances of the Services, carries 40 per cent and is where you choose one of three options.
Paper VII: Works, Stores and Internal Audit (with books)
Paper VII is the other practical paper. Section I, works, carries 50 per cent: the MES Regulations, the Defence Works Procedure, the Operational Works Procedure, the Unit Accounts manual, the MES Local Audit Manual, Office Manual Part VIII, quarters and rent, the IAFW 2249 general conditions of contract, and delegation of financial powers for works. Section II, stores and internal audit, carries the other 50 per cent and again depends on your Service option.
Which books does your Service option bring into Papers VI and VII?
Papers VI and VII each have one section where you choose Army, Air Force or Navy. Pick your option to see the regulations and manuals that section is built on, and how much of each paper it carries.
From Annexure A of the 11.03.2025 circular. The 2019 rules also offered a fourth option, D (Factory); the 2025 text lists only A to C. The common sections (pay and allowances (Civil), PF and pension, works) are the same whatever you choose.
| Option (official) | Paper VI, Section III (40%) | Paper VII, Section II (50%) |
|---|---|---|
| A: Army | Pay and Allowances Regulations (Officers) and (Other Ranks), Leave Rules for the Services Vol I, Travel Regulations, AGIS, and Office Manual Parts IX and X | Stores Accounting Instructions, the Army Local Audit Manual Parts I and II, and Defence Services Regulations Vols I and II |
| B: Air Force | Pay and Allowances Regulations for the IAF, Leave Rules for the Services Vol III, Travel Regulations, and Office Manual Part III | IAP 1501, the Air Force Local Audit Manual, and IAP 1541 |
| C: Navy | Pay and Allowances Regulations for the Navy, Leave Rules for the Services Vol II, Travel Regulations, and Office Manual Part VII | the Naval Store Keeping Manual, the Indian Navy Victualling Manual, the Naval Local Audit Manual, MM 3, and the Material Planning Manual |
The SAS Rules 2019 had a fourth option, D, for the Factory side. The 2025 text lists only Army, Air Force and Navy. If you work in an ordnance factory accounts office and were planning on option D, raise it with your office before you prepare, because the rules no longer offer it.
Preparing Papers VI and VII with books
Rule 13 decides what a with-books paper means: in the papers to be answered with books, candidates "may bring with them Compendium of Audit decisions issued by CGDA in addition to the prescribed books". The same rule forbids handwritten notes, indexes and keys. So the books are the official regulations and manuals named in the syllabus, as printed, and nothing you have written in or added to them. Three practical consequences follow (our advice, not CGDA's):
Working with books in a 3-hour written paper
- Know where things are rather than what they say. In a practical paper the time goes on finding the rule, the table or the form, so rehearse lookups in the actual volumes you will carry.
- Use current editions. The syllabus names specific updates (CCS Leave Rules as updated on 19.09.2022, the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, and for Paper VIII the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules 2024); an outdated volume is a wrong answer you paid to carry.
- Write the working. With no negative marking and descriptive answers, a calculation of pay, leave salary or pension that shows the rule applied can earn marks even if the final figure is off. The rules do not state a marking scheme, so this is our reading.
- Check with your office whether flags or tabs count as "additions" before the day; the rule prohibits notes, an index and keys, and says nothing about blank markers.
Rule 13 of the 2025 text is official; the rest is our advice.
Paper VIII: IFA System with Elements of Law
Section I, procurement and delegation of financial powers, carries 60 marks: GFR chapters 6 to 8, Financial Regulations Part-I Volume-I chapters 3, 6 and 7, the Defence Procurement Manual, the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, the DRDO Procurement Manual 2020, the DFPR 2024, orders on delegation of financial powers to the Defence Services and to allied organisations such as DRDO, Border Roads and the Coast Guard, INCOTERMS, and the government manuals for procurement of consultancy and of goods (June 2022). Section II, elements of law, carries 40 marks: the Indian Contract Act 1872, the Sale of Goods Act 1930, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, the Workmen's Compensation Act 1923, the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Payment of Wages Act 1936, letters of credit and GST, each limited to the sections the syllabus names.
Paper IX: Accountancy with Elementary Costing
Paper IX is split evenly between financial accounting and elementary costing. The syllabus suggests standard accountancy textbooks (it names TS Grewal, Shukla and Grewal, and RL Gupta and VK Gupta) and the ICAI Indian Accounting Standards. A suggested book in the syllabus is reading advice, not permission to bring it into the hall.
Paper X: Language Skills and Office Management
Paper X is new in 2025. The March circular gives its marks, pass mark, 3-hour duration and 60 per cent exemption mark, and said its syllabus "will be notified separately". CGDA issued it on 23 June 2025 (Annexure B, "SAS Part II (Descriptive)"), in a circular that is not linked from the SAS page. It carries much of the old Part-I Language Skills paper into Part-II, as written answers.
| Section (official) | Items and marks (official) |
|---|---|
| Language skills (70) | Precis 15-20; short essay on one of four or five topics 8-12; comprehension 8-12; drafting an official letter, DO letter, office memorandum or office note 15-20; drafting an internal audit report and MFAI, affidavits, counter-affidavits and para-wise replies on administrative, pay and pension matters 15-20 |
| Office management (30) | Structure of the DAD and roles of its offices 8-12; recruitment, appointment, promotion and confirmation of IDAS, gazetted and non-gazetted staff 6-8; leave and attendance 6-8; general concepts of management 6-10 |
Suggested reading in the circular: Precis and Draft Made Easy (Muthuswamy and Brinda), Karyalay Sahayika (Kendriya Sachivalaya Hindi Parishad), books at the standard of the bank clerical and PO examinations, ISTM material on noting and drafting, Office Manual Part I, and a book on principles of management, for example L.M. Prasad. The circular does not say whether Paper X is written with or without books.
What carries over from earlier sittings
The 2025 circular says exemption marks in Papers VI, VII, VIII and IX under the existing pattern are carried forward into the revised pattern, and that candidates who passed Part-I on CBT may appear in the revised Part-II. An exemption lasts three consecutive examinations under Rule 15; because no sitting has been held since September 2023, how that count runs across the long gap is a question for your office.
The last Part-II: September 2023
The September 2023 Part-II was the only one held on computer. The schedule of 20.07.2023 put Papers VI and VII on 14 September 2023 "(With Books-Practical)" and Papers VIII and IX on 15 September "(Without Books)", in sessions of 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00, at nine centres: Hyderabad, Meerut, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur and New Delhi. It was open only to those who passed the May 2023 Part-I. Revaluation of computer-based papers was discontinued in July 2023. The result list of 26.09.2023 is numbered to 1,290 rows (our count of the last serial number; a row count, not a pass count) and was revised on 02.07.2024 after representations; CGDA did not publish a pass count. A special Part-II on the pre-revised syllabus was held in the same month for candidates still on the old pattern.
Previous Part-II papers and answers
The CGDA SAS page lists Part-II papers for September 2023 with answers and a revised answer key, June 2022, November 2020, November 2019, September 2018, September 2017, December 2016, November 2015, February 2015, May 2014, September 2013 and a 2007-09 set, plus model questions with answers for the Part-II CBT. Rule 26 of the 2025 rules says model answers for Part-II will be disclosed two years after the examination.
| Material (official) | Best used for | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Part-II September 2023 papers with answers, and the revised answer key | Core subject matter of Papers VI to IX | Multiple choice; the 2025 papers are descriptive, and Paper VIII now names the DFPR 2024, which post-dates this sitting |
| Part-II papers 2013 to 2022 | Practising written, practical answers with books | Pre-revised pattern; check each rule against the current edition |
| Model questions for Part-II (CBT), 2023 | Rule coverage | Written for the CBT format |
For a descriptive paper the older written papers are, oddly, closer to what you will face than the 2023 computer-based set. Work them with the current books open, in 3 hours, and time how long the lookups take.
Revaluation for Part-II
Rule 20 allows a Part-II candidate to apply through proper channel for revaluation of a paper, on a fee of Rs 500 for each paper, provided the candidate scored at least 30 per cent in that paper and applies within the time CGDA sets. The rule adds that revaluation "does not mean remarking of the answers". There is no revaluation for Part-I.
ProSyllabus has no CGDA SAS practice quizzes. For how the pass and exemption marks work together, see the pass marks, exemptions and chances guide.
Is CGDA SAS Part-II descriptive?
Under the 2025 rules, yes: all five Part-II papers are to be conducted in-house in descriptive mode on pen and paper, in place of CBT. The September 2023 Part-II was multiple choice on computer.
How long is each Part-II paper?
Three hours under the 2025 rules. Under the 2019 rules and in the 2023 sitting each paper was 2 hours.
Which Part-II papers are with books?
Papers VI (Service Regulations) and VII (Works, Stores and Internal Audit). The 2025 text does not mark VIII and IX; in 2023 they were without books.
What can I take into a with-books paper?
The prescribed books and the Compendium of Audit decisions issued by CGDA. Rule 13 forbids handwritten notes, an index or keys.
What is the new Paper X?
Language Skills and Office Management, 100 marks and 3 hours. Its syllabus, issued by CGDA on 23.06.2025, gives 70 marks to precis, essay, comprehension and official and legal drafting, and 30 to office management in the DAD.
Can I choose Army, Air Force or Navy?
Yes. Paper VI Section III and Paper VII Section II each offer options A Army, B Air Force and C Navy. The 2019 rules also had a Factory option, D, which the 2025 text does not list.
Is there negative marking in Part-II?
No. The 2025 circular says there will not be any negative marking in any Part-II paper.
Do my Part-II exemptions from 2023 still count?
The circular carries forward exemptions in Papers VI, VII, VIII and IX from the existing pattern. How the three-examination validity runs across the gap since 2023 is not stated; ask your office.
Can I get a Part-II paper revalued?
Yes, for Rs 500 a paper if you scored at least 30 per cent in it. Revaluation is a re-check, not a re-marking.
Sources
- official — CGDA — Circular AN/SAS/16200/ORDERs/2023/Vol. XIII, 11.03.2025: revised SAS scheme and Annexure A "SAS Rules 2019 (Revised)" with the syllabus (scanned PDF)
- official — CGDA — Circular AN/SAS/16200/ORDERs/2023/Vol. XIV, 23.06.2025: syllabus and study material for Part-I Paper III (Office Procedure and Documentation) and Part-II Paper X (Language Skills and Office Management), Annexures A and B (PDF; not linked from the SAS page)
- official — CGDA — SAS Rules 2019 (MoD(Fin) file 26(1)/C/2017, 20.02.2019): the CBT scheme used for the 2023 sittings (PDF)
- official — CGDA — SAS Part-II (CBT) syllabus updation, 26.06.2023: Paper IX duration corrected from 3 hours to 2 hours (PDF)
- official — CGDA — Revaluation discontinued for CBT papers, 06.07.2023 (PDF)
- official — CGDA — SAS Part-II (CBT) 2023 schedule, 20.07.2023: 14-15 September, with-books and without-books papers, nine centres (PDF)
- official — CGDA — SAS Part-II (CBT) September 2023 result, 26.09.2023 (PDF)
- official — CGDA — SAS Part-II (CBT) September 2023 revised result, 02.07.2024 (PDF)
- official — CGDA — SAS Examination page: circulars, rules, previous papers, model answers (live page)
- official — CGDA — SAS Part-II September 2023 question papers with answers (PDF)
- official — CGDA — Revised answer key, SAS Part-II September 2023 (PDF)
- official — CGDA — Model questions with answers for SAS Part-II (CBT), July 2023 (PDF)
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.
