By Huma Ishfaq ⏐ 2 weeks ago ⏐ Newspaper Icon Newspaper Icon 3 min read
Finance Bill 2025 Grants Tax Exemptions To 50 Entities

ISLAMABAD: The Finance Bill 2025–26, recently approved by Parliament and now awaiting the signature of President Asif Ali Zardari, introduces more than 50 tax exemptions.

This marks a significant shift from earlier tax credit provisions to full tax waivers for a range of government, charitable, and development organizations.

These exemptions cover:

  • Pensions for a former president and his widow
  • Government entities, including SBP, WAPDA, FBR Foundation, and PCSIR
  • Charity and disaster relief funds, such as the Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Relief Fund-2020 and the PM Special Fund for Terror Victims
  • Developmental and educational organizations, like NEST, BEEF, AKDN institutions, and Karandaaz Pakistan
  • International and Islamic financial bodies, including IFC, AIIB, ADB, and OIC-affiliated groups
  • Military welfare foundations, such as Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust, and Army Officers Benevolent Fund (including Olympic medal awards)

These exemptions are intended to strengthen efforts in charity, education, disaster relief, infrastructure, and rural development, while maintaining fiscal oversight.

List of 50+ Tax-Exempt Entities in Finance Bill 2025–26

# Exempt Entity
1 Former President’s Pension
2 Former President’s Widow’s Pension
3 State Bank of Pakistan
4 SBP Banking Services Corporation
5 FBR Foundation
6 Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR)
7 WAPDA
8 Corporatized entities of WAPDA
9 Pakistan Agricultural Research Council
10 Prime Minister’s Special Fund for Terror Victims
11 CM (Punjab) Relief Fund for IDPs of NWFP
12 National Disaster Risk Management Fund
13 Supreme Court – Diamer Bhasha & Mohmand Dams Fund
14 Prime Minister’s COVID‑19 Pandemic Relief Fund‑2020
15 National Endowment Scholarship for Talent (NEST)
16 Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan
17 Privatisation Commission of Pakistan
18 Audit Oversight Board
19 SC Water Conservation Account
20 Balochistan Education Endowment Fund (BEEF)
21 Fauji Foundation
22 Army Welfare Trust
23 Public Private Partnership Authority
24 Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma, Karachi
25 National Memorial Bab-e-Pakistan Trust
26 Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund
27 National Rural Support Programme
28 Karandaaz Pakistan (from TY 2015)
29 Institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (Pakistan)
30 International Finance Corporation (IFC)
31 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
32 Saarc Energy Centre
33 Asian Development Bank (ADB)
34 International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation
35 Islamic Corporation for Development of Private Sector
36 ECO Trade and Development Bank
37 Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OIC)
38 Export‑Import Bank of Pakistan
39 Deposit Protection Corporation
40 WAPDA First Sukuk Company Ltd
41 Pakistan Domestic Sukuk Company Ltd
42 WAPDA Second Sukuk Company Ltd
43 Pakistan International Sukuk Company Ltd
44 Second Pakistan International Sukuk Co. Ltd
45 Third Pakistan International Sukuk Co. Ltd
46 Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates Co. Ltd (INPCCL)
47 Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company Ltd
48 Pakistan Global Sukuk Programme Company Ltd
49 Army Officers Benevolent Fund/Beneaved Family Scheme
50 Any Olympic medal monetary award to Pakistani sportspersons
51 PM’s Relief Fund for Floods, Earthquakes & Disasters

 

The tax exemption for the Army Officers Benevolent Fund also covers sums awarded to Pakistan’s Olympic medallists, effective from the tax year 2025.

Why It Matters?

  • These exemptions accentuate the government’s commitment to development, welfare, education, and infrastructure sectors.
  • They represent a policy shift from tax credits to comprehensive exemptions, simplifying financial support.
  • The move is expected to boost charity, disaster relief, financial inclusion, and growth in crucial institutions, while ensuring fiscal discipline.