Do you wish to open and register a company in Pakistan? Do you want to know how to register a company in Pakistan? Are you not aware of the step by step process? Then you have come to the right place.
Company registration in Pakistan takes serious determination and thorough information. If you have planned to register a company in Pakistan, you have to follow these steps accurately. Read the whole guide carefully.
INITIAL STEPS FOR COMPANY REGISTRATION IN PAKISTAN
- First and foremost, to register your company in Pakistan, you need to visit the webpage of SECP.
- Sign on the web page
- Choose a company name. Make sure it’s unique and attracts your future clients. You cannot go back once you have chosen a name for it. Make sure you coin the perfect name.
- You will be provided a form, fill it up, and provide your details.
- A fee challan of 100 PKR is required to move forward with the registration of the company name. It is to be paid at any specific branch of UBL or MCB.
- Put in some relevant details that are required for the completion of the registration process, and pay a fee for the incorporation of the company that is 1800PKR. It is the company registration fee in Pakistan.
These steps are very easy but it is required to pay attention to each step and follow it precisely. Registration of a company is a legal process and if it goes the wrong way, the individual is responsible. So, make sure to be attentive and cautious of the process as well as the details you’re providing them. DO NOT provide the website with false information or legal action can be taken against you. The above step by step guide was just a brief follow up. Let’s get more into the details.
The government of Pakistan has made it easy to register a company in Pakistan. The process has been made easier for people who have little or no knowledge about computers. It is very simple and precise.
The main website to visit for this process is SECP (Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan). They are responsible for the registration process. Therefore to register a company in Pakistan you need to visit either the SECP office or the SECP website. They will provide you information as well. Since Covid 19 is at its peak it is requested to stay home and register your company online on the SECP website. With the relevant information that you would want to get or provide to the SECP office, you will get the same information and feedback from the website as well. It’s safer as well. To access the site and register your company, read below.
WHAT IS SECP (SECURITY EXCHANGE COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN)?
SECP is the website established by the Pakistani government that handles all the registration processes of different companies. The SECP website has various kinds of services for the people of Pakistan. It offers E-services and registration of companies on the website without having any internet or Wi-Fi connections. It is also beneficial for those people who don’t have access to electricity as much. There are different kinds and types of companies you can register in Pakistan.
SECP RULES THAT ARE MANDATORY TO FOLLOW BEFORE OPENING A COMPANY IN PAKISTAN
There are some important rules set by the SECP for the people of Pakistan. Please read them carefully
- The name of your company should not have the name of any existing company or any registered LLP.
- The company name should be appropriate and up to the point. It should be precise and formal. Make sure you don’t include any word in between the company’s name that is offensive or harmful to anyone.
- There shouldn’t be any word present that is undesirable and baseless under the eye of the registrar.
- The name of your company should not be appropriating any culture, religion, and race. It should be free of religious violence and discretion.
- Try not to use any word that is strictly prohibited under Section 10 of the Act and Regulation 4 of the Companies (Incorporation) Regulations, 2017.
These are some of the rules and regulations that you have to consider before registration of your company in Pakistan.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPANIES YOU CAN OPEN IN PAKISTAN
Before you go out there and register a company, you should have the basic knowledge of how many different types of companies are there in Pakistan and what is the process of each one. There might be cons to certain types of companies.
The three main types of companies established in Pakistan are:
- Private Limited Company (LTD)
- Public Limited Company (PLC)
- Single Limited Company (SMC)
To explain each one of them, I will briefly annotate every single one of them.
1. PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY (LTD)
The most limited definition of this type would be that, if two or more people come together as one and associate themselves by the law of the country can form a Private Limited Company. This would only happen if they register or apply at a memorandum of association and agreeing with the requirements of the company.
2. PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (PLC)
In Pakistan and according to the laws of this country, a public limited company is which is formed by a group of three people when they come together as one and associate themselves with the law of the country can form a Public Limited Company. This would only happen if they register or apply at a memorandum of association and agreeing with the requirements of the company. A public limited company has two major subtypes, make sure you are well aware of it before you move on with the public limited company registration. The two sub-types are as follows:
- LISTED: A Public Listed company has all its share accessible for the public. They are very limited. The minimum investment required to set up a public listed company is PKR 200 million.
- UNLISTED: An unlisted company basically has nothing to offer to the public, so the investment is also low, and to open an Unlisted Public Company the investment required is PKR 100,000.
3. SINGLE LIMITED COMPANY (SMC)
The definition of this type of company revolves around the establishment of a private company by a single person after he/she associates him/herself with the law of the country can form a Single Limited Company. This would only happen if they register or apply at a memorandum of association and agreeing with the requirements of the company.
Overall, this was the basic information and knowledge that you have to bear in mind before you register a company in Pakistan. If we talk about the process, there is so much more to it than just steps. If you want the process to become easier then you should read further below:
RESERVING A NAME FOR YOUR COMPANY AND COMPANY INCORPORATION
To keep it brief and on point, if you want to register a company in Pakistan, first and foremost, decide the name of your company beforehand according to the rules and regulations mentioned above. Check if that name is available on the site, if not think of another one. Always keep options if one doesn’t work out. Thoroughly go through section 10 of the companies Act, 2017. There is a long list of the prohibited terms meaning what is allowed and what is not on the SECP website and the name which you cannot use in a company name. So it’s better if you observe the list first and decide the company or firm name. it will save you time and just make sure to choose a unique company name. After you decide the name of your company, check for its availability. If it is available then you can easily finalize and reserve that company name by creating an account with SECP and the steps to create the account are already mentioned above. If you want to learn it step by step, read the following steps:
Here are a few important steps to reserve the company name:
- Go to the SECP website and go into the e-services page/ portal on the SECP website.
- You need to give your valid CNIC number if you live in Pakistan. Whereas, if you are a Pakistani National then it won’t be a problem but if you are a foreigner you need to have a valid passport.
- If you want to register your company fast and quick, you should click on the ‘fast track registration services’ (FTRS) option on the website.
- Fill out the online form carefully because once you fill it, there’s no going back. After filling it, submit a user registration form by providing your particulars.
- You will then receive security confirmation codes via SMS or email that you need to fill or write down in the form.
- After your code is verified a pin code will be generated.
- When it comes to the user registration fee, it can be paid via online bank transfer or through credit/debit card. If you’re not familiar with digital banking, you can print out your challan. The amount can be deposited in any of the branches of MCB or UBL. The usual registration fee is 100 PKR.
When this fee process is done, you will receive a confirmation email from SECP within 24 hours. If there is no racial or prohibited word in your company name then that company name will be reserved easily. You can also reserve a company name and company incorporation without using the Wi-Fi which is also called the offline system. In that, You have to submit your application to the SECP registrar’s office with three optional proposed names in the application in case if one or two are already registered on the site. The registrar’s office will take 3 to 5 working days and will provide you with a license so that you can use the name for your company documents for company incorporation.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED COMPANY REGISTRATION IN PAKISTAN
When you’re in the process of registration of your company, there are some documents that you must provide the SECP if you want to register a company in Pakistan.
- Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. This is easy to find and their samples are easily available on the website of SECP.
- Memorandum of Association basically tells how your company is linked wand with the outside world and under which business sector your company comes e.g. it can be an Institution, Travel agency, etc.
- Articles of Association is about the daily proceedings within the company. It tells about the importance that the CEO and directors have and their roles in the company or firm. In short, it tells about how the company will run.
- CNIC Copies of Directors, CEO, or copies of passport if you are not Pakistani.
- NOC or letter of intent/ license from concerned authorities of higher grade if you want to register some different locality of business.
In case you want to open a foreign company, it will be a bit of a hassle, you will need to provide more details and information regarding your company such as List and details of Directors. The profile of your company, the information, and roles of Directors and their nationalities. You need to provide the Company charter’s certified copy and a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association as well.
CERTIFICATION OF YOUR COMPANY
After you submit all the documents, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) will go through them and they will check if all the documents you shared were valid or not. It might take some days. After verification you will be provided with a digital signature or company certification will be granted to you by the National Institutional Facilitation Center (NIFT). You can also access it from SECP.
It isn’t that easy to receive this company seal. The signatures of all the directors of the company is needed to receive this company seal. In the end, you will get a certificate of incorporation from SECP if all your documents are valid. It will be provided to you in physical form or digitally. When you finally receive the incorporation certification from SECP, you can start your business. Registration of a company in Pakistan is very easy nowadays. It takes very little time. It used to be difficult for people to register companies back in the days and would take month and months for their company to get licensed. We should be grateful we live in a digital world also thanks to SECP who made it easy for the people of Pakistan to register their own companies and start their own business without any legal issues. The SECP has become efficient and reachable.
CONCLUSION
We provided you a step by step offline and online procedures for registration of a company in Pakistan and the documents required to register a company in Pakistan. We would highly recommend you to use the online SECP (Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan) system to register a company in Pakistan these days because of the covid 19 waves. Stay home and register your company. We hope that now have all the knowledge of how to register a company in Pakistan.
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