8 exams per calendar year, does resits count to 8?

Hi I checked ACCA website which said student can give 8 distinct exams per calendar year. Does that mean I can give 8 different papers and resits doesn’t count to that 8? I was absent in one paper and I contacted ACCA, they said that the absent paper also counts towards the 8. So lets say if II have already given 8 papers in a year but I have one sitting left for a paper that I failed this year, can I sit that paper in the last sitting for that calendar year? or do I need to wait for another march sitting?