Frequently Asked Questions

  • How are Study Materials made available to students?

    The study materials are available by placing order on the CDS Portal. Students can place an order on CDS and make the payment/use coupon. Material would be delivered. The study materials are also webhosted at the BoS Knowledge Portal. Students may read/download the study material by navigating to the respective subject in the BOS Knowledge Portal.

  • How can I place order on CDS portal for free supply of Study Material against my registration?

    After online registration to the course, your registration data will be transferred to CDS Portal. Once your data is transferred to CDS portal, you will receive SMS/ email advising you to place your order on https://icai-cds.org/ portal by Sign in. In view of this procedure, you are requested to wait till you receive SMS/ email alerts as under to place your requisition for supply of Study Material free of cost against your registration by redeeming coupon.

    Specimen SMS is given below. On receipt of SMS place your order on: https://icai-cds.org/ :

    Dear XXXXXXXXX,
    You have successfully registered on the Centralised Dispatch System (CDS) portal of ICAI. Your user name is XXXXXXXXXXX. Your password is your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format. In case you are a student, you can order your required Study Material/s by redeeming coupon/s. Log in to www.icai-cds.org with your credentials.

  • How a Member / non registered student or any other stakeholder can place order on CDS portal?

    Visit www.icai-cds.org. Click on Sign up, register yourself with desired detail and create your login ID and password for placing order.

  • How many coupons are allowed to a student against his registration?

    A student on successful registration to the course will be allotted coupon/s against registration (Foundation Course student will be allotted 1 coupon, Intermediate course and Final course students will be allotted 2 coupons (1 coupon for both Groups/single Group and another for any book left out for later use, if required). Student needs to select the required study material either English or Hindi Medium and redeem the allotted coupon on this portal to receive the study material from the Centralized Distribution System.

  • What is the validity period for coupon?

    For Foundation course, validity of coupon is 1 year from the date of registration.

    For Intermediate and Final course, the validity of coupon is 2 years and 3 years respectively from the date of registration/ conversion from old course to new course.

  • How to know eligible/ Valid study material for my exam ?

    Please refer to the applicability list given in www.icai.org under Board of Studies Announcements of Students Section

  • How to update my communication details on CDS ? / How do I change my shipping address ? / I have placed my order earlier at a different shipping address. Now I want to change my shipping address. How do I do this ?

    Before placing an order, there is an option to edit shipping/ delivery address on the CDS portal and that is through OTP on your registered mobile phone. After placing an order, any change in shipping address is not allowed under any circumstance.

  • I have placed an order before the approval of my registration No. / without receiving a SMS from CDS against payment, how can I receive refund/ adjustment with registration amount ? / I have placed wrong order. How can I cancel it and obtain refund ?

    The order once placed can be cancelled on the same day in CDS Portal. No request for cancellation shall be entertained later on under any circumstances. The amount of order cancelled on the same day will be refunded within 15 working days in the account of customer. No refund/ charge back claim is allowed thereafter for successful orders under any circumstance. Therefore, check your order carefully before making payment.

  • If I do not receive confirmation for approval of registration, what should I do?

    For knowing the registration approval status, please write to your Regional Office.

  • If my account is debited and I do not receive SMS confirmation for placing order, what should I do ?

    Mail your query to cdsonline@icai.in

  • What to do for getting Courier Tracking No.?

    After dispatch of your study material, tracking no. will be sent to you on your registered mobile number. For detail kindly refer Contact us

  • How much time does it take for ordered books to reach the member/ student?

    As far as study materials are concerned, if a student orders a kit against usage of coupons/ Payment then the same is transported through surface transport. As per the arrangement with courier agency, surface transport takes a maximum of 12 working days, depending upon the location of the student.*.

    Students are therefore advised, in their own interest, to plan their study early and order for books timely.

    All member related publications are sent by air courier, for which payment has to be borne by member concerned, and it normally takes up to 7 working days for delivery depending upon the location of the member.

    *The above delivery schedule takes into account date of dispatch and is dependent upon stock out situation.

  • Why sometimes some books are taken off the portal?

    On rare occasions, a study material may go out of stock for some days, due to unforeseen rush of orders, or delay on the part of printer or due to reason beyond ICAI's control. On such occasions, in order not to keep students waiting for the book, the same is taken out of portal till the time the stock is replenished.

    Study material which are no longer applicable for the incoming examinations or where revised edition has been brought out, such material are taken off the portal, so that the students do not by mistake order for a non-applicable or old edition.

  • What happens if after ordering the whole kit, some subjects are revised by ICAI?

    In such cases, the revised edition or the supplementary study material is made available on the portal. The same are also hosted in the Knowledge Portal of Board of Studies. The students can either buy those study materials against payment. Alternatively, they can download the same from the Knowledge Portal of BOS free of cost.

  • Can I order books for the examination to be held after the forthcoming examination?

    Yes. However, there is a risk of some of the material getting revised partially or fully, for which the student will not be able to use the coupon, but will have to buy them in loose manner by paying the cost of books and also courier charges.

    It is further advised that a student should always check applicability of Editions (hosted by Board of Studies at ICAI website in student category under BoS Announcements) for a particular examination before ordering any book.

  • When are the Revisionary Test Papers/Suggested Answer made available in CDS portal?

    These are prepared by Board of Studies and are normally available roughly 2 months before examinations.

  • I have placed my order successfully, but it is not delivered to me within the schedule time mentioned at the portal or I have received less/ extra study material, than what I had ordered.

    Kindly refer Contact us and contact accordingly.

  • I have received old course study material, instead of revised course study material or vice versa.

    In order to avoid such instances, a caution has been shown before proceeding to pay as under - "Are you sure, you want to place the order? Please note that order once placed will not be cancelled - Please check and ensure your order before payment".

  • Who do I contact in case of difficulty ?

    Kindly refer the detail given at Contact us and contact accordingly. (Between 10.00 AM to 5.30 PM except Saturday, Sunday and Gazetted Holidays)