Companies can now be registered in a single day with SECP

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan SECP has revamped its operation by establishing Incorporation and Facilitation desks at offices of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, which will facilitate the incorporation of a company in a single day.

An online mode of registration has been introduced for the corporate sector so that all necessary documents are filed online and a company is registered on the same day. Information technology will facilitate online payment of fee through credit cards, online transfer of funds and online issuance of digital signatures. The press release reads,

“Further, in order to reduce the turnaround time in business start-up and ease the process of incorporation, registration of companies with a single object has been allowed, which will enable registration of companies on the same day subject to the condition that the registration documents are filed under online mode. This swift mode of registration is likely to further corporatization of the business sector.”

Other business-friendly reforms introduced are:

• Reduction in registration fee for small companies
• Filing fee of companies with small capital base is also reduced
• No need to pay the name availability fee
• Provision of complimentary certified true copies of company formation documents
• The name availability and incorporation processes will be merged in order to save time, etc.

The SECP has established its registration offices at Gilgit-Baltistan, Sialkot and Abbottabad, in order to expand its services.

All these reforms will enhance the ways of starting and doing businesses, which will help Pakistan improve in the rankings published by the Word Bank.