Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s annual report revealed that Pakistan has improved its position on the World Bank (WB) Ease of Doing Business Index for the second consecutive year.
According to the latest rankings on ease of doing business for 2020, World Bank revealed that the position of the country has been improved by 28 points from 136 to 108 which point towards an exceptional improvement.
Read more: Pakistan improves Trading across Borders rank due to TFA implementation
The report further says that out of 6 reform areas acknowledged in 2020, the highest improvement of 58 points has been made in Starting a Business indicator where SECP is leading the reform process. The ranking of the country has improved from 130 to 72 and is placed at 2nd position in South Asian countries regarding ease of Starting a Business.
This improvement is primarily due to the integration of SECP e-Services with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) at the Federal level and with Business Registration portals of Punjab and Sindh at the Provincial level.
SECP’s eServices, after this integration, is in the process to offer one window facility for company registration with FBR (NTN registration), EOBI, provincial employees social security institutions (PESSI/SESSI), Labor Department and Excise and Taxation Department of Punjab and Sindh.
Consequently, the number of procedures to start a business as recorded in the Doing Business Report 2020 have been reduced from 10 to 5. In this way, Pakistan has been able to rank first in South Asia and 6th “among the top ten reformers worldwide.”
However, according to the Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) Act, 2016 (STA), enacted on July 01, 2016, there is a comprehensive legal framework for creation, perfection, priority and enforcement of security interest on movable assets.
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