The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Saturday declared 39,704 companies “Inactive by Registrar” for failing to file annual returns and/or financial statements for four years. The SECP said the move would make the corporate register more reliable and help prevent dormant companies from being misused.
The inactive status will appear in the system and be visible to banks and other stakeholders. These companies cannot open new bank accounts until they file their overdue documents and regain active status. They are also barred from accessing financial services or registering changes in their directors.
By location, the inactive companies include 13,927 in Lahore, 13,859 in Islamabad, 4,868 in Karachi, 2,031 in Peshawar, 1,861 in Multan, 1,384 in Faisalabad, 1,102 in Gilgit, 436 in Quetta and 236 in Sukkur.
Filing annual returns and, where required, financial statements is a legal requirement under the Companies Act, 2017. These filings keep public information on companies, their ownership and their management up to date. The SECP said prolonged non-filing weakens the corporate register and can hinder efforts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The SECP said Pakistan had 317,002 registered companies at the end of September 2026. It registered 43,559 new companies in the previous financial year, 24 percent more than the year before. Company name reservation and incorporation are now fully digital, with 99.9 percent of new companies registered online.
SECP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said a clean and credible registry is the bedrock of trust in the corporate sector. He said the commission is protecting the integrity of the financial system while giving companies a clear opportunity to return to compliance.
