Dear readers, the registration process is very easy as you have to follow only the rules set by the government of Pakistan. The registration process of all companies is governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and are controlled by the Companies Ordinance Act of 1984. Moreover, the Registrar of Companies is also appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. According to the Companies Ordinance, 1984 there can be three different types of companies:

A company limited by shares A company limited by guarantee An unlimited liability company

There are certain rules that you have to follow for the registration of the company.

How to Register a Company in Pakistan?

Only six basic steps are involved in the incorporation of the company. So let’s discuss them one by one for your understanding and you will get to know how the firm registration process can be done.

1) Approval of the Company’s Name:

The first step of new company registration in Pakistan is to choose a name. When you choose the name for your company then keep it in your mind that you should not to use the inappropriate words. Any deceptive words or terms will be straightforwardly rejected by the SECP at the first place. Before choosing the name of your company, make sure that it is not identical with the existing companies’ name nor closely resembling. While selecting the name of your company the applicants have to look into the prohibitions and restrictions of SECP.

2) Fees Payment for incorporation and Register your company:

After the approval of the name of the company, you need to get a name availability certificate from SECP and for that, you have to file an application. Applicants have to pay fees to receive the name availability certificate from SECP. You can pay the fees by using any bank challans at designated Muslim Commercial Banks (MCB). After this, you have to submit the following document

Declaration of compliance Identification of the office’s location Particulars of directors, secretary, chief accountant, auditors and other Copies of  the Memorandum and Articles of Association with each member’s signature, where:

Memorandum of Association: Memorandum of Association tells your business sector of the company e.g. Institution, Travel agency, Trading or manufacturing, Supply or chain of stores. Or simply you can say that MOA tells about the relationship of your company with the rest of the world. Articles of Association: Articles of Association explains the day-to-day proceedings within the company i.e. what role CEO and directors would play, business concerned meetings and the appointments of employees. It highlights that how the company will run and give the details about the functions of the company. 3) DIGITAL SIGNATURE AND A COMPANY SEAL: The third step of business registration is to get the digital signature and a company seal. The signature can be obtained by using the electronic services of the SECP and is granted by National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT). After the issuance of a certificate of incorporation, the company representatives have to present a seal of the company, that depends on the where the business will be headquartered or started. Some states also require a corporate seal from the corporation, that is also sometimes referred as the company seal. 4) REGISTER FOR INCOME, SALES AND PROFESSIONAL TAXES The fourth step of firm registration is to register for taxes. For income tax registration, the applicants will have to apply for a National Tax Number (NTN) at the tax facilitation of the Regional Tax Office (RTO) of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The requirements for this application include

NTN form Proof of registration Memorandum and Articles of association Bank account number Copies of National Identity Cards (NICs) of companies’ Directors An attestation of business address

Sales tax can be registered by applying for a Sales Tax Number (STN) at the tax facilitation centre of the Regional Tax Office (RTO) of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The applicants should register with Exercise and Taxation (ET) Department of the District for the professional tax. 5) Need to REGISTER WITH ESSI AND EOBI The fifth step of private limited company registration in Pakistan is to register with ESSI and EOBI. The company will need to register with

Employees Social Security Institutions Employees Social Security Institution

Every business or a company with five or more employees have to be registered with the Federal Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI). 6) NEED TO REGISTER WITH THE LABOR DEPARTMENT OF THE DISTRICT: All companies are required to register with the District Chief Inspector of the labor department in each district in order to safeguard the labor standard of the workers. An employer needs to submit the application form A along with the relevant bank form for registration. Once you follow all of the above instruction strictly and full fill all the requirements of SECP, your company will get ready to become an independent operating body in Pakistan. The procedure of online company registration: For online company registration, the online procedure for submitting documents/returns through eServices is as under: Availability of Name

The applicants will connect to https://eservices.secp.gov.pk/eServices, to signup, if he or she is a new user. The applicants will receive an e-mail containing the user activation link. The user account will be activated by clicking on the link, The client will log in to eServices and will have to select “Fast Track” option in order to enter information and for the submission of the application. After that, the applicants have to pay the prescribed fee.

Incorporation of Company

The applicant will connect to https://eservices.secp.gov.pk/eServices, to log on to his/her account. In case name availability was obtained manually, then the applicant will require to get eServices User ID and Password by following the procedure given on the SECP website at http://www.secp.gov.pk, then login. The applicants require to create separate User IDs for all proposed Subscribers to get their digital signatures. The applicant will create additional User IDs, as required, via “Manage Company Users” button that is located on the top right-hand side of the web page. Get the required digital signature certificates for all Subscribers from NIFT https://secplive.niftetrust.com/secp by direct submission of the application to NIFT with necessary documents and fee. Currently, this process is manual. The SECP, in collaboration with NIFT has placed NIFT personnel at CROs Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad in order to help stakeholders. Application for digital signatures can be submitted at one of these CROs otherwise can be mailed to NIFT office. NIFT will inform the applicant directly on how to install the said signatures on their PCs.  The applicant will need to login to eServices and have to select “Fast Track” option, enter information. Other than that applicants need to attach the required documents, sign documents/forms using the digital signatures and submit process. It is important to note that every Subscriber will have to sign documents/forms by logging through his/her User ID separately. Finally, applicants have to pay the prescribed fees. Payment via fast Track Registration Services takes few hours and is usually settled in 1 day. This will cost you around 5000PKR.