Pakistan’s top audit office has raised serious questions about how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs changed the charges for certifying documents for use abroad, and how it handed courier work to private firms. Its report for 2025-26, covering 2024-25, says the fee increase took effect without the approvals the rules required, and that courier contracts were awarded without open competition. For Pakistanis needing degrees and business papers recognised abroad, this goes directly to how much they pay and how their documents are handled.
An apostille is a certification that allows a document issued in one country to be accepted in another without a long chain of separate attestations. Students applying to universities overseas, workers seeking jobs abroad, families completing immigration paperwork and businesses signing deals across borders all rely on it.
How Much Apostille Fees Went Up
According to the audit, the ministry revised its apostille charges on 8 July 2024. A personal document rose from Rs500 to Rs3,000, six times as much. A legal document went up from Rs700 to Rs4,500, a little more than six times its old level. A commercial document climbed from Rs3,000 to Rs12,000, four times what it had been. The auditors say the new rates came in without prior Finance Division approval and without notification in the official Gazette as required. The ministry argues that fixing charges fell within the competent authority’s powers. That difference lies at the heart of the dispute.
Why the Auditor Objected
The auditors cited Rule 18 of the Financial Management and Powers of Principal Accounting Officers Regulations of 2021, which requires consultation with the Finance Division before decisions with financial implications, including fees and other charges. They also cited Clause 4 of the Apostille Act of 2024, under which the competent authority may set apostille fees through a notification in the official Gazette. On that reading, the revised rates needed Finance Division approval and the prescribed process. On 21 November 2025, ministry officials assured auditors that proof of approval would be provided, but the report records that none had been produced before it was finalised. At a Departmental Accounts Committee meeting on 19 December 2025, the ministry maintained that setting charges was the competent authority’s prerogative. The auditors did not accept that, and the committee directed the ministry to take the matter up with the Finance Division.
What This Means for You
The practical effect is easy to see. Three personal documents, for example a degree, a transcript and a birth certificate, previously cost Rs1,500 in fees. At the revised rates they cost Rs9,000, an extra Rs7,500. A legal document costs Rs3,800 more than before, and every commercial document costs a business Rs9,000 more. Courier charges come on top. An audit objection does not by itself cancel a fee, so the revised rates remain in place unless the government decides otherwise. The committee has directed the ministry to raise the matter with the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division, so the question now is whether to regularise the decision or revisit it.
Courier Contracts Awarded Without Open Tenders
In a separate observation, the audit questioned outsourcing document collection and delivery to five private couriers: TCS, Leopards, Gerry’s, M and P, and Excellent Courier Services. Engaged from 17 May 2024, they covered the ministry’s headquarters and liaison offices in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Gujrat. The auditors say the work was handed over without open tenders, without selection criteria set in advance, and without competitive evaluation of the firms’ profiles. Under Rule 20 of the Public Procurement Rules, open competitive bidding is the main procurement method, and the audit says it was not followed.
Concerns Over One Courier Company
The audit raised particular concern about Excellent Courier Services. The auditors say it had no established business profile before winning national apostille-related work, was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan or under federal or provincial sales tax systems, and had only three branches, in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. That limited its reach, especially for people in remote areas facing long journeys to a liaison office. The Auditor General argued that contracts without open competition undermined transparency, economy, efficiency and value for money, and that quoted rates could not be called competitive when never tested against rival bids.
Inquiry
On 21 November 2025, the ministry said it would have the relevant record verified by the audit authorities. At the Departmental Accounts Committee meeting on 19 December 2025, auditors repeated that no proper terms or criteria had been framed to evaluate the courier firms. The committee directed the ministry to hold a fact-finding inquiry and float a tender immediately to restore transparency. The Auditor General recommends those directions be implemented in both cases, on fees and on courier contracts. The ministry has recently moved consular services online, including a digital attestation system, which may change how applicants use the service. For now, applicants keep paying the higher fees, and how quickly the ministry acts will decide whether this report becomes a turning point, or simply another observation noted, debated and left unresolved.
