Before: It was compulsory to mix red dye in Palm Stearin before importing, which increased the cost and also delayed shipments.

After: After elimination of this requirement, Palm Stearin can now be imported more conveniently, without incurring extra cost.

Before: Manufacturers of food products had to get certified against multiple standards of different provinces and the federal government.

After: One single National standard for each product is now applicable in all jurisdictions.

Before: PSQCA used to visit the factory multiple times before granting the license, which took several weeks.

After: The entire inspection/ verification process is completed in one day now.

Before: PSQCA regualtions allowed Max timeperiod of 45 days to issue CM License Certificate which was a lengthy process.

After: The maximum time period allowed for issuance of CM license has been reduced to maximum of 28 days.

Before: The manufacturers of PPEs were following a pharmaceutical regime which required them to hire pharmacists and install HVAC systems etc., causing huge financial burden.

After: Under the new Regime, all such unnecessary requirements have been removed for PPE manufacturers.

Before: To avail the facility of net-metering, consumers were required to first obtain a normal 3-phase meter before getting a bi-directional (green) meter, causing delay and extra cost.

After: Now, direct installation of bi-directional meter is allowed which saves time and Rs. 15,000 for each consumer.

Before: Section 05 of Factories Act authorized government to apply the provisions of Factories Act to smaller establishments with five or more employees.

After: Through an amendment, section 05 of Factories Act has been amended, thus smaller establishments can no more be regulated under the Factories Act.

Before: Each year PSQCA used to conduct four inspections to test products, which was costly and a burden on businesses.

After: Now, there would be only two annual inspections resulting in reduced testing and costs.

Before: License application along with documents had to be physically submitted in DRAP’s Islamabad Office, causing delay and extra cost to business.

After: The Registration process has been simplified and automated. Applicants can now submit applications online from anywhere in Pakistan.

Before: AEDB had fixed warranty periods for different equipment sometimes over and above the warranty period given by OEMs, causing additional cost to businesses.

After: Now the warranty period would be the same as given by OEMs which will remove hardship to businesses.

Before: Earlier, small solar businesses could install solar systems of a limited capacity as AEDB had strict criteria for certification.

After: With revised criteria, now small and medium size businesses may install systems with higher capacities which earlier were out of their scope ( C-1 “above 500 kw”; C-2 “upto 500 kw”; and C-3 upto 250 kw”).

Before: Every year, such companies needed to apply for renewal of their license, causing hassle and adding additional cost

After: Now the license will remain valid for 03 years

Before: Businesses were required to undergo a number of inspections for getting construction permits which was causing delay and hassle for SMEs.

After: After reform there are only 02 Inspections for low risk buildings; one before starting and other on completion. 

Before: Businesses were bound to get an NOC from EPA for construction of buildings regardless of their risk category. This was causing delay and adding cost to low risk small businesses. 

After: Now, the NOC requirement has been removed for low risk buildings. 

Before: The labour department charged a certain registration fee to register a business.

After: Now, businesses can register themselves with the concerned labour department without paying any fee. 

Before: Due to no prescription from Govt., Businesses in the mineral sector were charged with excessive surface rents .

After: A fair criteria for charging surface rent has been notified to safeguard businesses in the minerals sector.

Before: Firms were using the traditional manual system for registration with the Registrar of Firms, which was time consuming and adding cost.

After: Now firms can register themselves with the Registrar of Firms with less time and cost through the newly developed online system. 

Before: No timelines were provided in the by-laws for approval of maps/ layout plans, resulting in uncertainty and causing delays.

After: Now, the approval of map/ layouts is time bound and businesses can plan for construction with certainty

Before: Food Sector Businesses had to manually get registrations with food authorities, which was very cumbersome process and also time consuming and costly 

After: Now online facility has been launched for registration of food products

Before: Registering property was a manual and very hectic process in which several verifications were required

After: The law has been amended and electronic verification of credentials is possible now.

Before: Businesses were facing difficulty getting drug licenses as Pharmacies and drug stores had to obtain drug licenses from provincial authorities which was time consuming and uncertain.

After: Now, the licensing process has been made time bound to ensure timely issuance of drug license.

Before: Pre-Partition Factories Act prescribed minute details like placement of spittoons and grading of whitewash. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for small violations.

After: Businesses have been permitted to make hygiene related measures as per best practices. Now inspectors cannot challan businesses on lesser no. of spittoons or specific grade of whitewash.

Before: Labour departments used to inspect all businesses on frequent basis and businesses particularly those where no risk of safety and security is involved, often complain about unnecessary and frequent inspections 

After: Now for compliant and low risk businesses, no. of inspections has been decreased. Un-necessary inspections are eliminated.

Before: For new businesses, the registration process was frustrating as there was no time frame for the registration of the factories.

After: The factory registration process has been made timebound and the registration process has become efficient.

Before: Drug businesses had to renew their licenses after every two years

After: To save drug businesses from hectic renewal process, the validity of drug license has been enhanced from 2 to 5 years.

Before: There was no efficient system for case and time management for judges and lawyers to track progress of cases. Resultantly adjournements were common and businesses use to face delay in case resolution.

After: The Case Management System enabled courts to keep track of the cases from filing to disposition in a coordinated  and timely manner. 

Before: Businesses of tourism industry were unable to formally start business as committee needed under the law for promotion of tourism did not exist in Balochistan

After: A committee has been notified and will work to tap Balochistan’s tourism potential 

Before: There was no timeframe specified for approval of building plans which caused delays in building plans approvals.

After: Now, with specific timelines for issuance of NoCs/Permits in place the process has become efficient. 

Before: It was mandatory for all businesses to employ 20% of the workforce as apprentices which meant extra cost to businesses for unskilled employees.

After: Now, for the SMEs, mandatory apprenticeship threshold has been reduced to 10% of the workforce.

Before: Businesses were facing delays in getting  approval for use of land under permissible use category as it used to take longer time than necessary.

After: An efficient timeline has been decided within which the process should be completed.

Before: Businesses were facing uncertainty as registrations for partnership were made without following any timeframe and in majority cases it took more time than necessary.

After: The partnership registration process has been made time bound, now the registration is required to be done within the stipulated time.

Before: Businesses of the mining sector in Balochistan were facing difficulty as  if a mining lessee failed to pay for the royalty within time, his lease was cancelled.

After: Now after this reform, an option to pay overdue royalty in 4 equal quarterly installments has been provided in law.

Before: New companies needed to obtain separate incorporation certificates from several agencies, causing hassle and adding to the cost and time.

After: Joint incorporation certificate by 7 agencies is issued electronically in one day, with QR code for verification.

Before: The process of labor registration was taking around 7 days and payment of fee was also a burden for small businesses. Payment of fee alone took 4-5 days.

After: Waiver of registration fee has now made it easy for Companies to register in one day with all relevant departments. Government of Sindh waived off registration fee of PKR 1,000 to reduce cost and time of business.

Before: Businesses were required to make tax payments manually, involving cumbersome processes. Besides, in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, the numbers of payments of Corporate Income Tax were recorded 05 and 12 for Sales Tax, as a result Pakistan’s ranking was 173/190.

After: Payments are being made online, which is quite simple and fast process, saving a lot of time and reducing calculation errors.

Before: It was budensome for businesses to pay contributions manually each month

After: After introduction of Online oayment facility by EOBI, Businesses can conveniently pay their contributions online

Before: : There was no integration of Animal Quarantine Dep, Plant Protection Department and Seed Certification Departments with the WeBOC system, resulting in more time and cost for documentary and border compliance in trade.

After: Integration with WeBOC Reduced a lot of hassle, time and cost for getting clearance from these departments for clearance.

Before: For businesses, it was worrisome if they were caught-up in any legal dispute because there was no time limit for disposal of a suit and maximum no. of adjournments. Resolution of Commercial Cases was taking much time, in some cases even more than three years.

After: This reform lifted the confidence of businesses operating in the country as more than 50% of commercial cases are disposed of within the time limit of 180 days and within 2 adjournments. It will also improve Pakistan's ranking in this indicator in the Doing Business report.

Before: Timely decision from court is very important for businesses confronted with any dispute. Unfortunately, Commercial Cases were taking much time for resolving a business dispute, because of a greater number of other cases, causing delay and resulting in loss of confidence by businesses on the system.

After: Now, exclusive courts have been established for hearing Commercial Cases. Cases are being filled in these courts and disposal time of these cases has been reduced substantially.

Before: Only incorporated companies were getting loans against immovable assets. Besides, only current assets could be kept as collateral for loans. This situation was difficult for businesses as it restricted the access to credit

After: Now, businesses can get loans against their moveable assets as well and unincorporated entities are also eligible for loans. Besides, future assets can also be kept as collateral for getting loans. Such practices are considered business friendly and improvement is expected in the ranking in Getting Credit indicator in Doing Business report, 2021.

Before:A manual process to apply for Construction Permits meant that businesses had to put in much time and effort to obtain them.

After: The process of Construction Permits has been simplified by automation and integration of different agencies, reducing time taken to obtain them.

Before:Businesses required clearance of materials, accessories, components etc., for use in production of exportable goods. All importers (including reliable ones) required to get each consignment examined which was causing delay & additional expense to the businesses.

After: Pakistan Customs/FBR has introduced Risk Management System under WeBOC to facilitate the clearance for import of materials, accessories, components etc., for production in exportable goods. Now, a huge portion of 50% export clearances are being granted under Green Channel.

Before: Imported food products/ingredients (Peanut Grit, Raisins, Dehydrated Vegetables, Egg Powder etc.) consignments were stopped by the Department of Plant Protection for sample collection, testing and reporting every time, causing delay & additional expenses.

After: Introduction of a mechanism of Temporary Release Certificate (TRC) by PSQCA has minimized time involved in clearance of imports of food products, samples and edible items and it has saved importers from damages.

Before: To participate in tea auctions abroad, importers received (non-commercial quantity) tea samples. Department of Plant Protection (DPP) regulations require Release Order for Customs Clearance causing considerable delays. Sometimes, samples were cleared after auction had already been completed, rendering the entire exercise futile.

After: Inspection regime for import of samples of edible items has been shifted to Risk Management System. Now less than 1% of shipments are stopped for inspection. Risk based filters like source/origin, importer’s and exporter’s profile and product have been developed and deployed. Only two interceptions have been reported in the last 6 months, and the number of inspections will be increased or decreased depending upon the frequency of violations.

Before: Imported food products ingredients (skimmed milk powder, whey powder, coconut oil etc.) consignments were stopped for drawing samples, testing and reporting every time before issuance of clearance by the Animal Quarantine Department. This process was causing delays & additional expenses for importers.

After: Inspection regime for import of samples of edible items has been shifted to Risk Management System. Now less than 1% of shipments are stopped for inspection. Risk based filters like source/origin, importers and exporter’s profile and product have been developed and deployed.

Before: Exporters of software were not allowed to utilize their own export earnings in Foreign Currency accounts exclusively for payment of expenses incurred by employees travelling abroad to provide business related services. The existing rules only allowed the payment of commission/discount, promotional publicity, import of hardware/software, and foreign consultant’s fee etc.

After: SBP broadened the use of funds by I.T exporters and have allowed to retain a certain portion of their exports proceeds in their special foreign currency accounts and use it for branch office, branding, marketing and traveling expenses.

Before: Process for filing of monthly and annual reporting of EE statements for annual export ticket approval was manual which caused delays and huge expenses for the businesses.

After: Automated filing of monthly and annual reporting of EE statements for annual export ticket approval has reduced the turnover time from 21 to 07 days.

Before: SBP had imposed margin restriction on import of items listed under FE Act-BPRD Circular No. 2 of 2017 and 5 of 2018.

After: SBP has waived the condition of 100 percent cash margin requirement on imports made against the restrictions imposed in 2017-18 for 106 items in 2020 and for 11 items in 2021.

Before: All 120 trades including small ones had to obtain Trade License and and pay pay License fee and annual inspection fees .

After: All trades have been exempted from Trade License Fee & Inspections under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013

Before: SMEs engaged in any professions or vocations business had to pay fees to obtain/ renew registration/ license to start/operate their business on annual basis.

After: Fees to obtain/renew Licensing of professions or vocations has been abolished under the “Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2021”.

Before: Businesses were required to undergo a number of inspections for getting construction permits which was causing delay and hassle for SMEs.

After: After reform there are only 02 Inspections for low risk buildings; one before starting and other on completion. 

Before: Businesses were bound to get an NOC from EPA for construction of buildings regardless of their risk category. This was causing delay and adding cost to low risk small businesses. 

After: Now, the NOC requirement has been removed for low risk buildings. 

Before: The labour department charged a certain registration fee to register a business.

After: Now, businesses can register themselves with the concerned labour department without paying any fee. 

Before: Firms were using the traditional manual system for registration with the Registrar of Firms, which was costly and time consuming.

After: Now firms can register themselves with the Registrar of Firms online saving time and cost.  

Before: Firms were using the traditional manual system for registration with the Registrar of Firms, which was time consuming and adding cost. t

After: Now firms can register themselves with the Registrar of Firms with less time and cost through the newly developed online system. 

Before: Firms were using the traditional manual system for registration with the Registrar of Firms, which was time consuming and adding cost.

After: Now firms can register themselves with the Registrar of Firms with less time and cost through the newly developed online system. 

Before: Product registrations with food authorities was manual, which was very cumbersome process involving extra time and cost. 

After: Now online facility has been launched for registration of food products

Before: Product registrations with food authorities was manual, which was very cumbersome process involving extra time and cost. 

After: Now online facility has been launched for registration of food products

Before: Registering property was a manual and hectic process. There was no provision in Law to create online repository and authorize electronic verification

After: The law has been amended and electronic verification of credentials is possible now.

Before: Registering property was a manual and hectic process. There was no provision in Law to create online repository and authorize electronic verification.

After: The law has been amended and electronic verification of credentials is possible now.

Before: Pre-Partition Factories Act prescribed minute details like placement of spittoons and grading of whitewash. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for small violations.

After: Businesses have been permitted to make hygiene related measures as per best practices. Now inspectors cannot challan businesses on lesser no. of spittoons or specific grade of whitewash.

Before: Pre-Partition Factories Act prescribed minute details like placement of spittoons and grading of whitewash. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for small violations.

After: Businesses have been permitted to make hygiene related measures as per best practices. Now inspectors cannot challan businesses on lesser no. of spittoons or specific grade of whitewash.

Before: For new businesses, the registration process was frustrating as there was no time frame for the registration of the factories.

After: The factory registration process has been made timebound and the registration process has become efficient.

Before: The process of labor registration, particularly processing of, the process of registration was taking around 7 days and payment of fee was also a burden for small businesses. Payment of fee took 4-5 days.

After: Waiver of registration fee has now made it easy for Companies to register online in one day thus save cost and time of business.

Before: In civil courts, the disposal of commercial cases took a lot because of existing civil case burden, causing delay and resulting in loss of confidence by businesses in the system.

After: Now, exclusive courts have been established for hearing Commercial Cases. Cases are being filed in these courts and disposal time of these cases has been reduced substantially.

Before:Obtaining Construction Permits was a manual and cumbersome task

After: The process of Construction Permits has been simplified by automation and integration of different agencies, reducing time taken to obtain them.

Before: There was no time limit prescribed for processing of Rebate claims selected by Risk Management System for compliance check.

After: FBR has prescribed a time limit of 07 working days in law for clearance of selected rebate claims for compliance within.

Before: TFor different categories of electric connections, change of name, load and other particulars used to take a long time since there was no timeline present to complete the process.

After: Efficient timelines for all categories of electric connections have been added in the Consumer Service Manual of NEPRA to facilitate consumers.

Before: DRAP restricted utilization of approved premises for production of other relevant products due to which businesses couldn’t utilize extra space in manufacturing of allied products.

After: Now DRAP has allowed use of approved premises for additional relevant processes such as manufacturing medical devices

Before: New companies needed to obtain separate incorporation certificates from several agencies, causing hassle and adding to the cost and time.

After: Joint incorporation certificate by 7 agencies is issued electronically in one day, with QR code for verification.

Before: New companies were reuired to obtain separate incorporation certificates from several agencies, causing hassle and adding to the cost and time.

After: Joint incorporation certificate by 07 agencies is issued electronically in one day, with QR code for verification.

Before: Businesses were required to undergo a number of inspections for getting construction permits which was causing delay and hassle for SMEs.

After: After reform there are only 02 Inspections for low risk buildings; one before starting and other on completion. 

Before: There were restrictive arrangements for cloud outsourcing arrangement for banking sector.

After: Enhanced banking relationships with digital banking options to cater to the requirements of IT & ITeS and other sectors. 

Before: Procedure for payment to foreign vendors against digital services obtained was lengthy and involved approval from SBP for each transaction above USD 100,000.

After: Now State Bank has allowed payment up to USD 400,000 to 62 white listed companies without obtaining approval from State Bank. 

Before: Foreign Exchange (FE) Manual had prescribed approval of SBP or ECC for each investment made abroad which discouraged businesses from investing in foreign countries.

After: Now the residents of Pakistan including firms and companies are allowed to make equity-based investment in entities abroad on repatriable basis, and decision has been delegated to banks for different categories. 

Before: Foreign subsidiaries were unable to secure direct financing from banks to meet their working capital.

After: The Authorized Dealer (Banks) have been allowed to open standby letter of credit to facilitate the offshore entity of a Pakistani firm/company for raising funds from offshore jurisdiction. 

Before: Import of material in small quantities was subjected to stringent regulations under the Foreign Exchange Manual.

After: Industry friendly policies have been introduced to allow small quantity import of material on an open account basis.

Before: Previously, only frozen meat products were included in the Export Finance Scheme and short term financing facility was not allowed for fresh meat products.

After: Now, fresh meat products have also been added in the Export Finance Scheme along with frozen food products.

Before: Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF)/ Islamic Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) was restricted to few sectors and limit was up to Rs. 2,500 million which was regarded as insufficient.

After: The scope of LTFF/ILTFF has been extended to all sectors and maximum financing limit has been enhanced from Rs. 2,500 million to Rs. 5,000 million.

Before: There were no special tax exemptions for Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Services (IT & ITeS) sector to enhance its exports.

After: Now, custom duties have been exempted to facilitate the exports of services in the IT & ITeS sector.

Before: All businesses having at least 5 employees were required to register with the Employees’ Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI).

After: Employees’ Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) has exempted micro/ small organizations from mandatory registration. 

Before: PSQCA has mandate to ensure observance of standards of mandatory products in Pakistan. Businesses had to visit PSQCA office to register their products.

After: A dedicated web portal (http://pas.psqca.com.pk/e_services/ca_online.aspx) for Licensing has been introduced by PSQCA. Now applications for licensing and inspections can be filed from anywhere online.

Before: All Consumers intending to connect with national grid through net-metering had to obtain generation license from NEPRA.

After: Now the small consumers and SMEs can avail facility of net-metering and connect their solar or wind power generation up to 25 kilowatt without requiring to obtain a license from NEPRA.

Before: Exporters need to register as users in the WeBOC system of FBR which required more than twenty documents and also required exporters to physically visit concerned offices for physical verification.

After: Now registration of exporters is done through an integrated online system of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) with data exchange with other concerned departments as well as biometric through NADRA. This has reduced a lot of hassle and cost on the part of exporters.

Before: For reappointment or appointment of a foreign director in another company, fresh NOC from MoI was required which took a lot of time.

After: The requirement of fresh NOC from MoI for incumbent Foreign Director of a company has been eliminated.

Before: Drug Sale license were issued by using traditional manual system which was burdensome because of increased cost and compliance hassle. 

After: Drug Sale Licenses can be obtained by applying on newly developed online portal;(http://www.dghs.gob.pk/medicalapp/index).

Before: Factories Act prescribed minute details like grading of whitewash and ensuring all surfaces are white washed. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for even minor violations like whitewashing of factory premises.

After: Now the businesses have been permitted not to compulsorily white wash the surface if it is made of the material which cannot be painted, varnished or whitewashed including marble tiles or similar material.

Before: Punjab Factories Act prescribed minute details like grading of whitewash and ensuring all surfaces are white washed. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for even minor violations concerning whitewashing of factory premises.

After: Now the businesses have been permitted not to compulsorily white wash the surface if it is made of the material which cannot be painted, varnished or whitewashed including marble tiles or similar material.

Before: Factories Act prescribed minute details like grading of whitewash and ensuring all surfaces are white washed. Inspectors used to penalize businesses for even minor violations concerning whitewashing of factory premises.

After: Now the businesses have been permitted not to compulsorily white wash the surface if it is made of the material which cannot be painted, varnished or whitewashed including marble tiles or similar material.

Before: Labour departments used to inspect all businesses on frequent basis even inspected those businesses where no risk of safety and security is involved.

After: Now for compliant and low risk businesses, no. of inspections has been decreased. Un-necessary inspections have been eliminated.

Before: For new businesses, registration process was time consuming and frustrating as there was no time frame specified.

After: The factory registration process has been made time bound and the registration process has become efficient.

Before: There was no Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism in place, therefore, courts were the only forum to resolve the business-related disputes.

After: Balochistan Government has approval “The Balochistan Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill, 021” to enable establishment of alternate dispute resolution system in Balochistan.

Before: Businesses suffer as commercial Cases were taking much time for resolving a business dispute, because of a huge litigation burden, causing delay and resulting in loss of confidence by businesses on the system.

After: Now, legislative changes enabling establishment of Commercial Courts have been made to fast track dispute resolution

Before: Section 05 of Factories Act authorized government to apply the provisions of Factories Act to smaller establishments with five or more employees.

After: Through an amendment, section 05 of factories has been deleted, thus smaller establishments can no more be regulated under the Factories Act.

Before: The validity period of license granted to auto workshops was just 01 year and the owners have to get it renewed every year.

After: Now, the validity period of the auto workshop license has been extended to 03 years instead of 01 year bringing ease to those businesses.

Before: The validity period of fisheries license under the Fisheries Rules, 1983 was 01 financial year (July-June).

After: Now, the validity period of fisheries license has been increased from 01 year to 03 years.

Before: The manufacturers of surgical items could not export goods below the price fixed by the Ministry of Commerce even if it was financially feasible.

After: This restriction has been eliminated and exporters of surgical instruments can sell goods in accordance with market conditions.

Before: The bank account opening process involved manual verification from Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) which used to take 30-40 days. This procedural bottleneck delayed the bank account opening for the corporate consumers and legal persons such as companies registered with SECP.

After: Now, on the filling of request for Corporate Account opening, any commercial bank can obtain the requisite verification from SECP through SECP’s Virtual Portal which is integration with all the commercial banks.

Before: Earlier the outbound foreign exchange payments were heavily regulated and involved cumbersome paperwork which caused unwarranted delay and frustration among the newly founded businesses.

After: Now these businesses can make outbound forex payments on the basis of their National Tax Number, Sale Tax certificates or other tax registration evidence with FBR.

Before: As per the Companies Act, a resolution shall not be deemed to have been passed, unless the resolution has been circulated, together with the necessary papers, if any, to all the directors

After: Now, a resolution can be passed by a majority of the directors.