Entering Pakistan involves several authorities at federal and provincial level, each with its own requirements and timelines. The rules themselves are public, but they are spread across many institutions, and the order in which they apply is not always clear to a new entrant.
This checklist sets out the main areas a foreign company should map before committing to a structure. It is an orientation to the landscape, not legal or tax advice. Specific steps should be confirmed with qualified counsel and advisers in Pakistan.
1. Choose the form of presence
Foreign companies generally operate in Pakistan through one of three forms:
- A locally incorporated company, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), which may be wholly or partly foreign-owned subject to sector rules.
- A branch office of the foreign company, which requires permission from the Board of Investment (BOI) and registration with the SECP.
- A liaison office, also permitted by the BOI, which is generally limited to promotional and liaison activity and may not earn revenue in Pakistan.
The right form depends on the activity, the sector and how revenue will be earned and repatriated. Some sectors restrict foreign ownership or require a specific form of presence.
2. Incorporation and corporate compliance
- Company registration is handled online by the SECP, which also maintains the register of companies and receives annual filings.
- Where shareholders or directors are foreign nationals or foreign companies, applications may be referred for security clearance by the Ministry of Interior, which can affect timelines.
- Ongoing obligations include annual returns, audited financial statements and maintenance of statutory registers.
3. Tax registration
- Federal Board of Revenue (FBR): registration for a National Tax Number, income tax, withholding obligations, federal sales tax on goods and customs.
- Provincial revenue authorities: sales tax on services is administered by the provinces, through the Punjab Revenue Authority, the Sindh Revenue Board, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority and the Balochistan Revenue Authority. Services in the Islamabad Capital Territory are taxed federally. A company providing services in more than one province may need to register with more than one authority.
- Concessionary regimes: some activities carry special regimes. For example, exporters of IT and IT-enabled services registered with the Pakistan Software Export Board pay a 0.25 percent final tax on export proceeds, extended by the Finance Act 2026 to tax year 2029.
4. Foreign exchange and repatriation
Inward investment, remittance of profits and dividends, and repatriation of capital are governed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and its Foreign Exchange Manual, and are handled through authorised banks. In periods of pressure on foreign exchange reserves, the timing of outward remittances has at times been affected. A market-entry assessment should review the current SBP position and recent practice, not only the written rules.
5. Sector licensing
Many activities need a licence or registration from a sector regulator in addition to company and tax registration. Examples include:
| Sector | Principal regulator |
|---|---|
| Banking and payments | State Bank of Pakistan |
| Insurance, non-bank finance, capital markets | SECP |
| Telecommunications | Pakistan Telecommunication Authority |
| Electric power | National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) |
| Oil and gas | Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) |
| Pharmaceuticals and medical devices | Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) |
| Broadcast media | Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) |
| Competition and mergers | Competition Commission of Pakistan |
Provincial governments also regulate many activities, including food safety, environmental approvals and some professional services, so the location of operations matters.
6. Employment
Employers register with the federal Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution and with the provincial employees’ social security institution in the province where staff are employed, and must comply with provincial labour laws on wages and conditions, which differ between provinces.
7. Trade and customs
Companies importing goods need to map customs tariffs, regulatory duties and any import policy restrictions, which change through the federal budget and statutory regulatory orders during the year. Exporters should map incentive schemes and the conditions of preferential access to key markets, such as the European Union’s GSP+ arrangement.
8. Map what is changing
A checklist captures the rules as they stand. The higher risk lies in what is changing: the next federal and provincial budgets, pending regulations, court decisions, and the practice of individual regulators. Before committing, a new entrant should know which of the rules that matter to its business are under review.
How PIVRA helps
Our Market & Sector Research and Policy & Regulatory Research services produce a sourced regulatory roadmap for a specific activity and structure: which authorities apply, in what order, what the rules say, and what is changing. A roadmap of this kind is usually quoted as a Research Brief or a Research Study. PIVRA provides research only; it does not facilitate approvals or act before any authority.