CBLR Exam 2024 Guide to obtain Customs Broker License in India
To become a Customs Broker (CB) or a Customs House Agent (CHA) in India, you need to appear for the CBLR exam 2024 conducted by NACIN and obtain the license. We have provided the complete information on โhow to become a Customs Broker in Indiaโ, and โCBLR Exam 2024.โ Please stay tuned with us on eximpedia.com and go through this page to know about the CBLR exam 2024 eligibility, CBLR exam application process, and customs broker exam 2024 guide (online + oral exam).
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Table of Contents
Who is a Customs Broker or Custom House Agent (CHA)?
To know about the CBLR exam 2024 to obtain a customs license and to become a Customs Broker in India, first, we must understand who a custom broker is and what is the role of a customs broker. A Customs broker is also commonly known as a custom house agent (CHA). Customs Broker (CB) or Custom House Agent (CHA) is an expert in customs laws and procedures, customs tariffs, documentation work, and everything that is needed for clearance of import or export goods.
What is the role of a Customs Broker or CHA?
A custom house agent or a Customs Broker will help you in computing your duties and taxes, and refunds, he will do the documentation work on behalf of you at the customs office, give you updates on the tariff rates and custom laws, and will do all types of customs work that is needed for the import or export of goods.
How to become a customs broker in India in 2024?
To become a CHA or custom broker in India you need to know these 6 six things which are mentioned in customs broker licensing regulations โ
1. You need to be a citizen of India
2. You should be โ
i) a graduate from a recognized university
ii) should have a professional degree or masterโs degree like PGDM, MBA, CA, LLM, ACMA/FCMA, etc. If you do not have a masterโs degree then, you should do a post-graduate diploma course in custom clearance and freight forwarding from a government university or should hold a G-card for a minimum of 2 years.
3. You should have a valid Pan Card and Aadhar Card.
4. You should have minimum solvency of Rs.5lakhs and your bank should issue a letter stating the same.
5. Legally, you should not be involved in any disputes like being unable to pay debts or criminal proceedings.
6. You should clear the customs broker licensing exam and get the customs broker or CHA license.
After you have fulfilled all the above points you can become a customs broker or customs house agent.
CBLR /Regulation 6 โ Exam 2024
Customs Broker, also known as CHA, is one of the most rewarding careers. The license to act as Customs Broker is issued to the Central Government after the written exam and viva. This exam, conducted once in a year, is one of the highest-level professional exams in the country. Following is the information for โ
- Eligibility โ MBA, CA, CS, CMA, LLM
- Age limit โ None
- Career Opportunities โ Jobs and independent business
- Form Submission date โ From 18.10.2023 to 17.11.2023
- Date of publication of eligible candidates โ 8.12.2023
- Admit Card Download date โ to be declared soon
- CBLR 2023 Exam Dates โ March 2024 (exact date to b declared soon)
- Format of Exam โ 150 MCQs
- Negative marking โ Yes
- Passing Marks โ 60%
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CBLR Exam guide to obtain โCustoms Broker Licenseโ (CHA or F Card) | How to Become a Customs Broker?
Watch this video to know everything about Customs Broker Exam/ CBLR Exam/ CHA Exam/ F Card Exam
About the CBLR โ Customs Broker exam โ
Eligibilityย criteria for becoming a Customsย Broker (CB) or Custom House Agent (CHA)
1. You should be a graduate of a recognized university
2. You should have a masterโs degree or postgraduate degree in accounting, finance or management, CA/CS/MBA/LLM/ACMA/FCMA or diploma in customs clearance work from any institutes or government-recognized university or you should be a G-card holder for at least 2 years.
3. If you are a retired Group A officer from the Indian Revenue Service (customs and excise) with a minimum of 5 years of experience then you can apply for a customs broker license provided that all other conditions are satisfied.
4. You should be a citizen of India and have a valid Aadhar and Pan Card.
5. There should be no criminal proceedings against you.
6. If you fit in the above 5 points, you can appear for the CBLR exam 2024.
7. If you do not fit in the 5 points above, you can still do the customs broker work by hiring a person with a customs broker license as a director in your company. You will then have to make an agreement with such a person and pay him salary every month or only a lumpsum amount as per your agreement terms and can do the clearance work.
Customs Broker Licencing Regulation exam 2024 (CBLR exam 2024)
There are many names for the CBLR exam, in the past, it was called Rule 9 but now it is called Rule 6, Other names are the F Category exam, Custom broker license exam, CHA license exam, F-card exam, etc. But these are all just short names that are used by the people at their convenience. The name of the exam for obtaining a customs broker license is โF category customs broker licensing regulations, 2018 exam under Rule 6โ or โF category CBLR, 2018 exam under rule 6โ
What is CBLR exam?
- CBLR exam or customs broker licensing regulation exam is given to obtain a license for doing customs clearance work of export and import in India.
- This exam is held every year and the candidate must undergo three phases to obtain the license.
- The first phase is the application phase, wherein your application will be evaluated as per the eligibility criteria mentioned in CBLR,2018.
- The second phase is the online written examination which is conducted by NACIN. The candidate must answer multiple-choice questions and pass the exam.
- The third phase is the oral exam wherein industry experts will ask questions and will be evaluated and given scores on basis of their answers.
- It is compulsory to pass all three phases, if the candidate fails in any phase he will have the option to re-attempt the exam next year.
- Total of 6 attempts can be made by the candidate for the CBLR exam. The candidate will not be able to re-attempt the exam anymore if he/she is not able to clear the exam in 6-attempts.
CBLR exam 2024 dates
| Application submissions | 18.10.2023 to 17.11.2023 till 6 pm |
| Application result | 08.12.2023 |
| CBLR Exam date 2024 | March 2024 (exact date to be declared soon) |
| CBLR Admit card date | to be declared soon |
| CBLR exam admit card download link | to be released soon |
| CBLR Oral exam date | To be announced |
| CBLR Result date | To be announced |
| CBLR Result 2024 Results | to be declared soon |
The Customs Broker Exam of 2023 will be held in March 2024 (exact date will be declared soon)
You can also check all the latest notification updates on the CBIC website regarding the CBLR exam here.
CBLR exam format 2024
- CBLR written exam details
- The exam will be conducted online.
- Multiple choice questions (MCQs)
- Duration: 3 hours
- No. of Questions: 150
- Language: Hindi & English
- Marking/scores: +3 for every right answer & -1 for every wrong answer
- Maximum marks: 450
- Passing marks for the CBLR exam is 270 (60%)
- CBLR oral Exam details
- The purpose of the exam is to test the knowledge of the candidate
- The passing percentage for CBLR oral exam is 60%
Therefore, candidates should obtain a minimum of 60% in written and 60% in oral each to clear the exam. The total attempts will be 6 attempts and the exam will be held once every year.
CBLR Exam syllabus 2024
Below we have mentioned the syllabus for CBLR/ CHA / CB / Rule 6 / F card exam.
1. The Customs Act, 1962 (Also known as the Bare Act)
2. Customs Tariff Act, 1975
3. Foreign Trade Act, 1992
Click on this link to study the above acts in detail โย
https://www.cbic.gov.in/htdocs-cbec/customs/cs-acts-botmRev
What type of questions are asked in the CBLR exam?
In the written examination, it is an online exam wherein questions will be multiple choice questions with 4 answers. The question and answers will be in Hindi and English both. You must select one right answer for each question.
CBLR exam questions will be on โ
- Preparation of various documents like bill of entry, shipping bill, and other clearance docs.
- Entry or arrival of the vessel and their clearance procedure
- Customs tariff classification and duty calculations
- Dates and time limits for determining the tariff value of the shipments
- Duty payments, duty applicability for various goods, duty refunds, and the procedure and time span of refunds
- Goods examination at customs and its procedure
- Restrictions and prohibited goods in import and export
- Warehouse clearance and bond formalities
- Drawback schemes and re-importation rules
- Export promotion schemes and their conditions and applicability
As per previous papers, most questions are based on the three acts mentioned above. Customs Act, 1962 is the most important book you will need to refer to for this exam as 50% of questions or more are from the Customs Act, 1962.
How difficult is the CBLR exam? Or Is the custom broker exam hard?
The CBLR exam is considered one of the most difficult exams in India. In the year 2022, only 48 candidates cleared the CBLR exam to obtain a customs broker license in India. Most of the applicants to the customs broker license exam fail to satisfy the application process because it is too complicated for many /or the applicants fail to satisfy the CBLR examโs eligibility criteria. To clear the written examination of CBLR, one needs to have knowledge in the field of Indian customs, the Indian Customs Act, tariff, foreign trade, import-export process, trade laws, rules, and regulations. To clear the CBLR oral exam, one needs to have relevant work experience to be able to answer questions from the panelists or must have enough practical + theoretical knowledge if they are freshers.
How many candidates cleared CBLR Exam 2022 and 2023 in India?
As per the data available with us, a total of 48 candidates passed the CBLR exam in 2022 out of approximately 1500 applications in India which is approximately 3% of candidates that applied for the exam in the entire India. In the year 2022, a total of 60 candidates cleared only the CBLR written exam out of these 60 candidates who cleared the written exam, 48 candidates cleared the final CBLR oral exam to become a customs broker.
What is the passing rate of the customs broker exam?
Only 48 candidates passed the CBLR exam in 2022 to obtain a customs broker license. The passing rate or passing percentage of the customs broker exam is approximately 3%.
Now letโs have a look at the passing rate of CBLR exam applicants from Mumbai. In 2021, a total of 16 candidates passed the final phase-out of 400 candidates from Mumbai alone.
The passing rate to obtain a CB license or CHA license in India ranges between 2% to 3% on average for the last few years.
Customs broker license exam application links โ
| CBLR exam is Organized by | National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes, and Narcotics (NACIN) https://nacin.gov.in/ |
| Application date for CBLR exam 2024 | 18.10.2023 to 17.11.2023 till 6 pm |
| Application Fees | Rs.500/- |
| Mode of Application | By post or In-person |
| Notification for CBLR exam 2024 | Link |
| List of documents | Download here |
| Application Form PDF | Download here Form A |
| Format of Declaration 1 PDF (On Rs.100 Stamp paper) | Download here |
| Format of Declaration 2 PDF (On Rs.500 Stamp Paper) | Download here |
| Sound mind certificate | To be obtained from a government hospital or authorized medical practitioner |
| Cover letter format | Download here |
| CBIC website Link | Click here |
| CBLR Exam Admit Card link | Click here |
| Results link | Click here |
FAQโs on CBLR EXAM / CUSTOM BROKER EXAM /RULE 6 EXAM
1. How to apply for the CBLR exam 2024? Or What is the procedure to apply for the CBLR exam 2024?
To apply for the CBLR exam 2024 follow these steps โ
โข Check your eligibility (given above)
โข Download Form A from the important links section above and fill in the details asked in the form. Print the filled form.
โข Download and edit declarations 1 & 2 from above, print them in Rs.100 and Rs.500 stamp paper respectively, and notarize & attest the same.
โข Visit a government hospital and obtain a sound mind certificate from the doctor.
โข Obtain your solvency proof of Rs.5 lakhs on the letterhead from your bank.
โข Attach your self-attested PAN card, Aadhar card, Voter Id
โข Attach your HSC mark sheet, graduation mark sheet, and masterโs degree certificate.
โข If you are a G-card holder, then attach the same (if applicable)
โข If you are a Group A officer, then proof of 5 years of work from authority.
โข Paid challan of Rs.500/- (you will get this from a stationery shop near the court or nearby custom house)
โข Once this set is created go to the customs house and submit it or send it to the customs house of your city by post. You will get the address of your custom house on the customs website or on the CBLR notice issued by your city/state custom house.
Important points to note before submitting the CBLR Exam 2024 application โ
i. Form A is the most important form and hence make sure you fill it properly without mistakes as even one point can be the reason for the rejection of your application.
ii. Make sure your declarations are correct and that it is signed by you and the lawyer who gives you notaries. The stamp papers should be in your name.
iii. While obtaining a sound mind certificate from a government hospital, make sure it is signed by the head doctor or director of the hospital or competent authority also.
iv. All banks have different formats for issuing solvency certificates. Confirm with your bank the same and do not do this at the last moment as some banks take time to issue it.
v. Make sure all your identity proofs, mark sheets, and degree certificates are self-attested and if possible, take attestation of a โtrue copyโ from the lawyer.
vi. Make sure your cover letter is on point and placed above all documents. (Find the above format for your reference in important links, edit the same, and submit along with the set)
vii. Make sure you have mentioned your email, phone number, signature, and Rs. 100 stamps on the cover letter.
viii. Attach 3 to 4 photographs along with the application set.
ix. It would be better if you go and submit the application in person than send it by post to avoid risk. If you submit in person, you can also ask the person collecting the documents at the customs house to re-check if anything is missing.
2. What are the documents required For CBLR Exam?
โข Duly filled Form A
โข Identity proof โ Pan Card, Aadhar Card, Voter Id, Passport
โข Declarations on stamp paper as given in CBLR, 2018
โข Rs. 5 lakhs bank solvency letter
โข Educational proof โ HSC certificate, Graduation certificate, Degree certificate, diploma (if applicable)
โข Sound mind certificate issued by a government hospital
โข G-card holder proof (if applicable)
โข Group A retired officer who worked for 5 years proof (if applicable)
โข 4 photographs
โข Rs.500 paid challan.
3. CBLR exam 2024 application fee
The application fee for the CBLR exam or customs broker exam is Rs.500/-
4. Selection Process for CBLR exam or CHA license 2024 exam in India
The exam is held in 3 stages and thus the selection of candidates is also done in three stages. for more details visit โ https://eximpedia.com/cblr-exam-study-material/
โข First stage is the Application stage, wherein all applications submitted on the time specified are evaluated and deficient applications are rejected. A list of candidates selected for written examination is then released on the customs website.
โข Second stage is of online written examination wherein the candidate has to obtain a minimum of 60% marks. The format of the written examination is given above in this blog. Results are released on the customs website as well as by email.
โข Third stage is the oral examination, if the written examination is cleared by the candidate, he will appear for an oral examination wherein he will be asked questions based on syllabus and practical experience to test the knowledge of the candidate and granted marks for the same.
If the candidate fails in any of the above stages, he will have a chance to re-attempt the exam next year as the CBLR exam is held only once a year.
5. How many attempts are allowed for CBLR Exam or CHA license exam
There are total 6 attempts allowed for each person to give CHA license exam
6. Passing marks for CBLR exam
Passing marks for CBLR Exam or customs broker license exam is 60% for the written exam and 60% for the oral exam.
7. When is CBLR oral exam held
CBLR oral exam is held within six months after written exam results are declared.
8. Customs Broker Licence Validity
โข As per the new notification no. 62/2021 issued by customs the validity of the license is for lifetime until it is revoked.
โข However, if the customs broker does not transact any business and remains inactive for more than one year the license becomes invalid.
โข Click here to download the notification.
Contact information for CBLR exam-related queries
For any queries related to the CBLR exam, you can contact below โ
1. Email โ [email protected] or [email protected]
2. You can contact your near Customs Commissionerate
3. Visit โ www.cbic.gov.in or www.nacin.gov.in
4. Phone number โ NACIN โ 022-62507718
5. You can also email us at โ [email protected]
CBLR exam previous exam question papers links โ
You can purchase this book for previous yearsโ question papers โ https://www.vorabook.com/Guide-To-Customs-Brokers-Licensing-Exam-2020-VBH000108
You can watch videos on previous papers โ https://youtu.be/k1C1XnWTvMU
CBLR exam mock test links โ will be available soon
Fill out the form below to get all the above details on your EMAIL or WhatsApp
What exam should a Qualified CA write to become CHA?
You can apply and appear for the 2023 year CBLR exam.
Does Kerala (G- card holder Cochin commissionarate ) candidate can also apply for CBLR EXAM in another exam centers also like Delhi ?