NBR suspends C&F licence viva amid allegations of attempts to influence results

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has suspended the oral examination for clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent licences a day after publishing the viva schedule, triggering allegations from officials involved in the process that attempts were made to influence the examination results.

The suspension order was issued yesterday (18 June) by the NBR's Customs Cases and Dispute Resolution Division, citing "unavoidable reasons". 

The order did not provide any further explanation.

Officials associated with the examination process alleged that repeated efforts were made to interfere with the written examination results, creating obstacles to completing the licensing process.

Under the Customs Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agent Licensing Rules 2026, the Customs, Excise and VAT Training Academy (CEVTA) is responsible for publishing notices, scrutinising applications, conducting examinations and issuing licences. 

Officials involved in the process claimed the rules do not empower the NBR to suspend the examination.

According to data from the examination organising committee, 2,521 candidates sat for the written examination on 16 May after 2,987 applicants were declared eligible following scrutiny. A total of 210 candidates passed by securing at least 40 marks out of 80.

A member of the examination committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that all six committee members signed off on the results on the night of the examination and that publication was scheduled for the following day.

"However, a senior NBR official requested that an additional 110 candidates from a separate list be declared successful, citing political pressure. When the committee refused, the results were withheld for nearly 15 days," the official alleged.

The results of the 210 successful candidates were eventually published on 1 June following media reports highlighting the delay, according to the committee member.

The official further alleged that pressure was also exerted to prevent publication of the viva schedule.

"Under the rules, the oral examination must be completed by 24 June. Despite pressure from different quarters, CEVTA published the schedule on 17 June. 

The following day, the NBR ordered the examination to be suspended," the official said.

The committee member argued that the law clearly assigns responsibility for conducting examinations and issuing licences to CEVTA, leaving no scope for intervention in the examination process.

The centralised examination was organised for the first time under the new licensing rules by CEVTA, an agency under the NBR. A six-member committee was formed to oversee application verification, question preparation, examination management and publication of results.

Officials involved in the process further alleged that the list forwarded from the NBR included candidates who had scored fewer than 10 marks in the written examination. 

They suspect the suspension may be linked to the committee's refusal to include those candidates among the successful applicants.

They also called on the authorities to disclose the actual reason behind the suspension.

Contacted for comment, Md Shahadat Jamil, second secretary of the NBR's Customs Cases and Dispute Resolution Division, said he was unaware of any specific reason behind the decision.

"I do not know whether there was any particular reason for this decision. The instruction to suspend the oral examination was issued following directions from higher authorities," he said.

Attempts to reach NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan for comment through phone calls and text messages were unsuccessful.