The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has flagged irregularities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MoFA) increase in Apostille certification fees, which went up as much as sixfold, as well as in its outsourcing of courier services to private companies allegedly without open tenders.
According to the AGP’s audit report 2025-26 for the financial year 2024-25, MoFA revised the Apostille fees on July 8, 2024, without prior approval from the Finance Division and allegedly without notifying the new rates in the official Gazette.
How Much Apostille Fees Went Up
The audit found that the fee for personal documents was raised from Rs. 500 to Rs. 3,000, the fee for legal documents from Rs. 700 to Rs. 4,500, and the fee for commercial documents from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 12,000.
| Document Type | Old Fee | New Fee | Increase |
| Personal documents | Rs. 500 | Rs. 3,000 | 6 times |
| Legal documents | Rs. 700 | Rs. 4,500 | About 6.4 times |
| Commercial documents | Rs. 3,000 | Rs. 12,000 | 4 times |
Why the Auditor Objected
The AGP cited Rule 18 of the Financial Management and Powers of Principal Accounting Officers Regulations 2021, which requires prior consultation with the Finance Division on decisions with financial implications, including the imposition of fees, levies, and other charges.
It also referred to Clause 4 of the Apostille Act 2024, under which the competent authority may set fees for Apostille certificates through a notification in the official
The audit said new rates should have been fixed with the Finance Division’s approval and through the prescribed legal procedure.
During discussions on November 21, 2025, the ministry assured the audit team that it would provide a copy of the relevant approval. However, no documentary evidence was provided before the audit report was finalized.
At the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting on December 19, 2025, the ministry maintained that setting service charges was the prerogative of the competent authority under the Apostille Act 2024.
The audit stood by its objection, and the DAC directed the ministry to take up the matter with the Finance Division.
What This Means for You
Anyone getting documents apostilled for study, work, or immigration abroad is directly affected. At the old rates, a person apostilling three personal documents, such as a degree, a transcript, and a birth certificate, would have paid Rs. 1,500 in fees. At the revised rates, the same three documents cost Rs. 9,000, an extra Rs. 7,500.
For a legal document, the fee is Rs. 3,800 higher than before, while businesses now pay Rs. 9,000 more for every commercial document. Courier charges for collecting and delivering documents come on top of these fees.
The audit does not cancel the new fees. For now, DAC has only told the ministry to take up the matter with the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division, so the revised rates remain in place unless the government decides otherwise.
Courier Contracts Awarded Without Open Tenders
In a separate observation, the AGP questioned the ministry’s decision to outsource Apostille courier services to five companies without inviting open tenders, setting selection criteria, or competitively evaluating their business profiles.
The five companies, TCS, Leopards, Gerry’s, M&P, and Excellent Courier Services (ECS), were engaged from May 17, 2024, to collect and deliver documents submitted for Apostille certification.
The service covered the ministry’s headquarters and its Foreign Office Liaison Offices in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, and Gujrat.
According to the audit, the contracts were awarded without following the open competitive bidding required under Rule 20 of the Public Procurement Rules, which makes open bidding the main method for procuring goods, services, and works. The ministry also had no criteria for assessing the credentials, business profiles, or operational capacity of the selected companies.
Concerns Over One Courier Company
The audit raised particular concerns over the selection of ECS, which it said had no established business profile before being awarded the contract for Apostille-related services at the national level.
ECS was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) or under the federal or provincial sales tax systems, the audit noted. It also had only three branches, in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, which limited its reach, particularly in remote parts of the country.
AGP said awarding contracts without open competition undermined transparency, economy, efficiency, and value for money. It added that the rates quoted by the companies could not be considered competitive without a transparent bidding process.
Inquiry
When the matter was discussed on November 21, 2025, the ministry said it would get the relevant record verified by the audit authorities. At the DAC meeting on December 19, 2025, the audit team repeated that no proper terms and conditions or criteria had been framed to evaluate the courier companies.
The committee directed the ministry to hold a fact-finding inquiry and immediately float a tender to ensure transparency in the outsourcing process. The AGP has recommended that the DAC’s directives be implemented in both cases.
MoFA has recently been moving its consular services online, including the launch of a digital attestation system for consular documents.
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