Construction is one of the most viable and productive businesses in Pakistan. Urbanization has triggered growth in not only sale and purchase of land, plots and houses but also rapid growth is seen in development of residential and commercial societies, construction of houses and buildings in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan, considering the potential in this sector, recently allowed important tax benefits and exemptions to persons engaged or willing to get engaged in this sector via the Finance Act 2019. Developers and builders have been given serious tax benefits on the development of societies and buildings.
There are three main steps of construction company registration in Pakistan with the SECP;
After registering your company with the SECP, you need to register your business with FBR for taxation. In order to apply for NTN, you will be required to submit the following documents and details.
For most businesses, the registration with FBR is the last step of the process. However, contractors need to register their construction companies with the Pakistan Engineering Council, better known as PEC, as well.
The Pakistan Engineering Council is the primary professional body that regulates the profession of engineering in the country. Constituted under the PEC Act, the main functions of this council include registration of engineers and constructors along with accreditation of engineering programs offered by higher education institutes and universities in Pakistan.
It is mandatory to register a construction company in Pakistan with PEC, as it cannot take on any civil or government construction projects without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the apex council.
There are eight different PEC registration categories for constructors and operators, namely C-A, C-B, C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5 and C-6. The Central Enrolment Committee (CEC) processes and approves the licensing of new companies that fall under C-A, C-B, C-1, C-2, C-3 and C-4 at PEC headquarters in Islamabad. Meanwhile, Regional Enrolment Committees (REC) process the registration of C-5 and C-6 companies at Regional and Branch Offices. These categories differ on the basis of a company’s net worth, the number of engineers and such.
Following documents have to be submitted to register a construction company in Pakistan with PEC.
The construction company registration process in Pakistan is divided into three parts:
Each of these procedures involves a number of steps with different requirements. In order to start a construction business, you first need to register your company with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Then, you have to register your company with the Federal Board of Revenue and apply for the National Tax Number (NTN). Once you have fulfilled all of these requirements, you will need to register the company with the Pakistan Engineering Council to finally start working as a contractor.