The federal government has set an ambitious target of improving the position of Pakistan from current 136th to 100th on the Index of Ease of Doing Business (EODB) in one year. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Haroon Sharif shared the government's plan in this regard in a press conference here on Wednesday.
Razak Dawood said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has given task to BOI to improve the ranking of Pakistan at the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index. He maintained the result of the measures taken to improve the ranking on Ease of Doing Business Index could be seen in October 2019.
Talking about the steps being taken by BOI to improve ranking in Ease of Doing Business 10-Point Index till December 31, Haroon Sharif said the BOI in cooperation with the provinces was able to reduce the number of tax payments by investors from 47 to 16 which helped the companies reduce the business transaction costs.
He further said that the government has introduced relaxation on business visas for foreign investment. They (investors) would get the visas within 24 hours and could avail online facility for business visas. He said the facility is already available for four countries and would be extended to seven countries.
He said that foreign investors on their arrival in Pakistan would be entitled to pass through electronic gates instead of normal immigration process and travel restriction to Gilgit, Kashmir and other parts has been abolished. The chairman further said that neighbouring countries also showed their interest in investing in various sectors, adding that South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shown interest in oil and petrochemical, hospitality and food sectors.
Haroon maintained that one-window facility for company registration is now available. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) in cooperation with the provincial government of Punjab have developed a portal for registration of companies in Pakistan. Similarly, the provincial government of Sindh would also join the EODB portal shortly, he added. These measures would help reduce the registration process from 60 days to 16 days, he said.
"Initiating a business in the country was a difficult process in the past, but now any company looking to get itself registered will be able to do the same from a single place, instead of going to three different places," he added.
He further announced that dedicated Ease of Doing Business centres would be set up in Islamabad and the four provincial capitals in next three months to facilitate the entrepreneurs making investments in Pakistan.
Haroon further claimed that the time period to get commercial and industrial electricity connections for business houses has also been reduced to 50 percent. The NEPRA has been directed to put tariff details on its website. The number of days has also been reduced under the category of 'trading across the borders'. He further said that the liaison offices and branch offices of foreign companies would get security clearance within seven weeks. Razak Dawood said that issuance of Pakistani Promissory Notes is also a step to improve Ease of Doing Business Index. Exports and businessmen would get benefit from the scheme, he added.
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