The syllabus for ICAI Intermediate exam is vast, and requires in-depth understanding of concepts to clear this level. In such a situation, where the time for preparation is less and the volume is huge, it is better to ascertain the resources to be used for preparation beforehand.
Personally, I found the ICAI materials to be more than enough for not just passing the exams, but also to get AIR#16. The Practice Manuals, in particular, are the Bible - if you want to clear the exams in the first attempt. Even though the New Syllabus has no official Practice Manuals, the practice questions given in the Study Materials, along with the PMs for the old syllabus can be very good alternatives.
For practical subjects, some reference books may be considered, but only after completing the ICAI materials. Some of them are: (The list is in no way exhaustive. These are some of the books I personally browsed through before the exams)
Accounts
a) Basu & Das - a very easy to read and understand book on Accounts
b) Shukla & Grewal - This book is quite old, but it has some great problems - both worked out and for practice.
c) S.N. Maheshwari - another easy to understand book on Accounts
d) Hanif & Mukherjee - great compilation of past problems in M.Com, CA and CWA.
Direct Taxes
a) Vinod Singhania - by far the best book on DT available in the market. Some may go for Bangar, but I found Singhania to be the best for scoring good marks in DT.
Indirect Taxes
a) V.S. Datey - a good book for GST and approaching problems on GST
Although the list of books mentioned above is quite small, trust me, you would not get the time to refer more than one per subject during the preparation time. It is advisable to first complete the ICAI materials before going into the reference books and that too the ones which easier to grasp and understand.
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