Only full-time corporate work experience with documented Income Tax Deduction at Source, Provident Fund deduction, or Professional Tax qualifies for JAP 2026 work-ex score. Work-ex is calculated in completed months as of December 31, 2025, counting only service after graduation/CA/ICWA/CS result declaration. What does NOT count: pre-graduation work, part-time work, projects, internships, articleship, pre-CA work, fellowships, unpaid work, cash/UPI salaries (Paytm, GPay etc.), family business ownership, or positions in companies without GST compliance. This eliminates many family enterprise candidates and freelance workers who show high "CTC" on paper. For context, at Rs 14L-16L fees at these IIMs with Rs 17-18 LPA average placement, every work-ex month adds composite score points that help compensate for acads below 80%. If you have 12-18 months of verified corporate work-ex in IT, consulting, or banking, you gain a real shortlist edge over freshers for these new IIMs where diversity hiring is standard. Documents get verified at admission - fake claims mean expulsion and forfeit of fees paid. If you are a CA articleship holder, those months do NOT count - only post-qualification work. Commerce/eco/BBA backgrounds benefit most since their grads typically have 1-2 years finance work-ex by age 23-
2