NBR withholds C&F agent licence exam results

• Rules require results within 24 hours.
• Officials alleged pressure to add over 100 candidates.
• Only 210 candidates passed the written test.
• Some proposed candidates allegedly scored below 10 marks.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has allegedly withheld the results of the licence examination for clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents amid pressure from influential quarters to accommodate favoured candidates, according to officials involved in the process.

Although the rules require publication of the written test results within 24 hours, the authorities have yet to announce them more than a week after the examination was held.

The examination was organised by the Customs, Excise and VAT Training Academy (CEVTA) under the NBR.

A six-member committee was formed to oversee the process, including preparing question papers, scrutinising applications, and publishing the results.

C&F agents act as intermediaries in customs clearance and shipment handling for import and export goods.

According to members of the examination committee, 2,521 candidates sat for the test on May 16 out of 2,987 eligible applicants.

A total of 210 candidates passed the 80-mark written examination by securing at least 40 marks, the minimum requirement under the “Customs Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agent Licensing Rules, 2026” to qualify for the viva examination.

Speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, a committee member said the list of the 210 successful candidates, along with a formal report signed by all six committee members, was finalised and submitted on the night of the examination.

“The results were supposed to be published by Sunday. But we were not informed why the publication was halted,” the official said.

Another committee member alleged that pressure was exerted from within the NBR to include more than a hundred additional candidates on the pass list.

“The chairman of the committee and CEVTA Director General M Sofiuzzaman was asked to accommodate additional names. But other committee members refused to endorse it, and the results were subsequently withheld,” the official claimed.

He further alleged that some candidates included in the list sent from the NBR had scored fewer than 10 marks.

Contacted over the allegations, CEVTA Director General M Sofiuzzaman denied any unethical lobbying. However, he did not explain why the results were sent to the NBR for further consultation or disclose the actual number of successful candidates.

“The matter has been sent to the NBR for guidance from the higher authorities. The NBR chairman is awaiting advice from the finance minister,” he told The Daily Star.

Officials involved in the examination process, however, said there is no legal requirement to seek approval from the NBR or the finance ministry before publishing the results. They described such intervention in the examination process as “unethical”.

Repeated calls and text messages sent to NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan seeking comment went unanswered.