Draft SRO 2088 (2026): Customs Agent Licence Renewal Rule 96

Written 5 November 2026. FBR has published a draft amendment to rule 96 of the Customs Rules, 2001, the rule that governs renewing a customs agent's licence. FBR lists it as draft SRO 2088(I)/2026. It would change one word in what you swear to when you renew, change the same word in one of the grounds for refusing a renewal, and add a Licence Renewal Committee that looks at your past profile and performance.

Nothing here is in force. It is a draft, and objections are invited.

The instrument

The notification is dated 3 November 2026 and issued under section 219 of the Customs Act, 1969 (with the corresponding sales tax, federal excise and income tax provisions). It is headed "DRAFT AMENDMENTS". It says the draft "is hereby published for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby", and that "objections or suggestions thereon, if any, may, for consideration of the Federal Board of Revenue, be sent within ten days of publication of this notification in the official Gazette."

The ten days run from Gazette publication, which the instrument does not date. So we have not worked out a closing date, and 3 November is the dateline, not the start of the clock. For how to tell a draft from a notified SRO, see Is an SRO in force?

What the draft would change in rule 96

1. The renewal affidavit: "tax" becomes "fiscal" (rule 96(1)(a))

Today, a renewal application must include "an affidavit to the effect that no case of tax fraud and criminal case has been finalized from the court of law or tribunal against the licensee or any of the partners [or directors], as the case may be". The draft substitutes "fiscal" for "tax", so the affidavit would refer to fiscal fraud.

2. A ground for refusing renewal: "tax" becomes "fiscal" (rule 96(2)(b))

Today, the licensing authority may refuse renewal if "the licensee has become insolvent or bankrupt or is convicted in cases of tax fraud and criminal cases under any law for the time being in force". The draft makes the same substitution here.

The draft does not define "fiscal fraud", and we have not read a definition of it for this article. So we are not saying whether the change is wider or narrower in practice. If it matters to your affidavit, ask your consultant.

The term is not new to the Customs Rules, though. In the rules on licensing cargo tracking companies, rule 1096(2)(o) asks for an undertaking that the company "has not been involved in confirmed cases of fiscal fraud including that specified in section 32A of the Act". That points to section 32A of the Customs Act as one example ("including"), not as a complete definition. Section 32A is the Customs Act's own provision titled "Fiscal fraud"; we set out what it covers in a separate explainer.

3. A new Licence Renewal Committee (new rule 96(3))

"The relevant Collector may, as and when required constitute Licence Renewal Committee, headed by the licencing authority comprising two Assistant Collectors or Deputy Collectors, one of whom shall be holding the charge of licencing. The Committee, while considering the renewal of a license, shall also examine the past profile and performance of the licensee."

Two points on its wording. The Collector "may" constitute the committee "as and when required", so it is not described as sitting on every renewal. And performance is not a new consideration: rule 96(2) already lets the licensing authority refuse renewal where "the licensee's profit based on previous performances has not been satisfactory". The draft adds a committee and a duty to examine "past profile and performance". It does not add a new refusal ground.

What the draft does not change

The renewal fee in rule 96(1)(c), "ten thousand rupees per year for the renewal of license for five years", is untouched. That is the per-year renewal rate. It is a different Rs 10,000 from the non-refundable application fee covered in our piece on the licence exam.

What to do with this

If you renew in the coming months, keep an eye on whether the final rule changes the wording of the affidavit you will sign.
Expect that your renewal could go before a committee looking at your past profile and performance. Your own records of declarations filed and cases against you are worth having in order; rule 96(1)(b) already asks for them.
If you or your association want to comment, the window is ten days from Gazette publication. Watch for the Gazette date, and for the final notification.

Read on 5 November 2026 at the page images: the draft notification (dated 3 November 2026, C.No.1(7)L&P/2006(pt); the SRO number field is blank on the scan, with "2088" handwritten in the margin and used in FBR's listing), and rule 96 as printed in FBR's consolidated Customs Rules, 2001 (file dated October 2025, printed pages 19 and 553). Check for any later amendment. This is general information about a draft rule, not legal advice.