Learn Farsi: صرف نظر از ضوابط، همه معاف شدند. - Regardless of the criteria, everyone was exempted.

While be esthesnâ-ye means "with the exception of" (excluding a specific item from a larger group), sarf-e nazar az means "regardless of" or "setting aside" (ignoring a factor entirely). In this sentence, the criteria are being completely ignored, not excluded from a group. Both act as formal prepositional phrases.

Is there a hidden ezafe in the phrase sarf nazar az?

Yes, it is pronounced sarf-e nazar az. The ezafe vowel connects sarf (turning or changing) to nazar (view or sight). Literally, the phrase means "turning of sight from," which is a formal way to say "regardless of" or "irrespective of."

What is the singular form of zavâbet, and why does it look so different from standard Persian plurals?

The singular is zâbete (rule or criterion). zavâbet is an Arabic "broken plural" where the internal letters of the word change instead of taking a standard Persian suffix like -hâ. At the B2 level, you will see many of these irregular plurals used in formal, legal, or bureaucratic contexts.

mo'âf shodand translates to "were exempted". What would it mean if we used mo'âf kardand instead?

Using the auxiliary verb kardand (they did) makes the compound verb active, so mo'âf kardand means "they exempted [someone else]." Because this sentence uses shodand (they became), it forms the passive voice, meaning the group itself received the exemption: "they were exempted."