The two routes of entry: Direct or Indirect?
You are unable to choose the two VAT Advisory papers on the Direct tax route. If you wish to sit these two VAT
Advisory papers then you will follow the Indirect tax examination structure.
Indirect route
The modules selected and sat at the Awareness
level cannot be the same papers which you have
sat, or intend to sit, as your Advisory papers.
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If you do not have a prior qualification from the
listed Confirmation of Eligibility qualifications you
must sit the Awareness paper first. You may take an
additional paper but if you fail Awareness then you
cannot take any other papers until the Awareness
paper has been successfully completed.
The Awareness Paper
Objective
The objective of the Awareness paper is to examine
core areas of the various taxes which you may not
deal with on a daily basis and which do not form part
of your chosen Advisory papers.
Detail
The paper will comprise a single three-hour paper
covering five modules. If you are a direct tax student
you will choose three out of the five modules and you
will answer all the questions on each of your chosen
modules. All Awareness modules must be attempted
at the same sitting.
Notes for Indirect Tax students
If you are an Indirect Tax student you will sit the
Accounting and Environmental Taxes, Excise Duties
and Stamp Duties modules (only available for Indirect
Tax students) and you will choose one further module
from Taxation of Unincorporated Businesses or
Corporation Tax.
The modules answered at the Awareness level cannot
be the same papers which you have sat, or intend to
sit, as your Advisory papers. In this regard, and for
the avoidance of doubt, if you have decided to sit
the Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses Advisory
paper you are precluded from choosing the Taxation
of Unincorporated Businesses module at Awareness
level.
Essential Accounting for Tax Practitioners Second Edition
This manual forms the syllabus for the “Accounting”
Module within the Awareness paper. This is a
compulsory module for all those sitting the Indirect
Tax route. You can purchase the manual from our
website: http://ciot.myshopify.com/
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The format
The format of each module will be 12 short-form
questions. Each question will be worth five marks. To
obtain a credit, you will be required to obtain 50%
or more of the total marks awarded for the whole
paper at the same sitting. There is no a requirement
to obtain 50% of the marks in each individual
module.
Notes for Direct Tax students
For direct tax students your module choices are:
•
•
•
•
•
Taxation of Individuals
Taxation of Unincorporated Businesses
Corporation Tax
Inheritance Tax, Trusts & Estates
VAT including Stamp Taxes
The Advisory Paper
Objective
The objective of the Advisory papers will be to
test the depth of your technical knowledge at an
advisory level, on the areas of taxation which you
choose, in accordance with the defined syllabus for
each paper (available as a separate document on the
Institute’s website www.tax.org.uk).
Detail
Separate three and a quarter hour papers (including
15 minutes pre examination reading time) will
examine each of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Taxation of Individuals
Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses
Advanced Corporation Tax
Inheritance Tax, Trusts & Estates
VAT on UK Domestic Transactions, IPT & SDLT
VAT on Cross-Border Transactions & Customs Duties
The Advisory Paper cont.
Notes for Direct Tax students
If you are on the Direct Tax route you will be required
to sit two from a choice of the six papers.
It is considered that the groupings as shown will
accommodate the choices of the majority of
candidates who wish to sit the examination in a
single sitting. There is no restriction on you choosing
two Advisory papers from the same group. In such
circumstances, however, you will not be able to sit
both of these papers at the same examination sitting.
You are unable to choose the two VAT Advisory
papers (VAT on UK Domestic Transactions, IPT & SDLT
and VAT on Cross-Border Transactions & Custom
Duties) on the direct tax route. If you wish to sit these
two VAT Advisory papers then you will follow the
Indirect Tax route examination structure which can be
found on the previous page.
Notes for Indirect Tax students
If you are on the Indirect Tax route you will sit the two
VAT papers.
Notes for both Direct and Indirect Tax
students
Each Advisory paper is a ‘stand-alone’ paper. If you
receive a mark of 50% or more of the total marks you
will receive a credit in that paper.
You will be expected to answer all questions which
make up the paper.
The questions in each of the six Advisory papers will be
for either 10, 15 or 20 marks.
The Application and
Interaction Paper
Objective
The objective of the Application and Interaction
paper is to test the ability to apply to a practical case
study the knowledge gained in sitting the Advisory
and Awareness papers and to demonstrate how the
various taxes interact.
Detail
This paper will comprise four case study questions.
Each question will be worth 100 marks and you will
answer one question only. The pass mark is 50%.
The examination will last three and a quarter hours
(including 15 minutes pre examination reading
time). The objective of this paper is primarily to
test candidates’ higher skills including the ability
to interpret and explain complex matters and to
provide relevant advice to a client. Accordingly, 22
marks will be allocated to presentation and higher
skills. It is not intended to be a ‘time pressured’
case study. The emphasis will be on allowing you
to have time to submit a complex answer, thus
demonstrating your ability to deal with a practical
situation. It will usually require the preparation of a
report or a substantial piece of correspondence. You
should therefore incorporate an Executive Summary
or synopsis as appropriate in your answer.
Notes for Indirect Tax students
If you are an Indirect Tax student you will sit the VAT
and other Indirect Taxes case study.
You can view further descriptions on the syllabi
of the above on our website:
www.tax.org.uk/syllabus
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