Company Registration in Pakistan
The vehicle you register decides who carries the liability, how you are taxed, and whether an investor can put money in without restructuring the whole thing first. We advise on the structure, reserve the name, draft the constitutional documents, and register the entity through SECP eServices or with the registrar of firms. Then we finish the part most people underestimate: the NTN, the bank account and the opening statutory registers, without which you have a certificate rather than a working company.
Scope
What'sincluded
Everything below is in the standard engagement. Anything outside it is agreed in writing before the work starts, never after.
- Structure advice across private limited, single member company, LLP, and partnership or AOP
- Name availability search and reservation through SECP eServices
- Memorandum and Articles of Association drafted around your actual business objects
- SECP eServices accounts and PIN authentication set up for every subscriber and director
- Incorporation filing and Certificate of Incorporation
- Post-registration setup: company NTN, corporate bank account and the opening statutory registers
Who this is for
Built for three situations
- Founders incorporating for the first time
- Sole proprietors converting to a company
- Partners formalising an existing arrangement
Process
How thisactually runs
Structure advice
We recommend the right vehicle based on your ownership, liability exposure, tax position and funding plans, and tell you plainly what each one costs you later.
Name and documents
Name searched and reserved, constitutional documents drafted to your objects, and every subscriber set up to sign on SECP's portal.
Incorporation
The entity is filed and registered, with SECP for a company or LLP and with the registrar of firms for a partnership, and the certificate issues.
Made operational
Company NTN obtained, corporate bank account opened, statutory registers opened and the first board resolutions passed.
Deliverables
What you end up holding
- Certificate of Incorporation, or the registered partnership deed
- Memorandum and Articles of Association
- SECP portal access for all subscribers and directors
- Company NTN certificate and an opened corporate bank account
- Statutory registers: members, directors and charges
What we need from you
Documents required
- CNIC of all directors, subscribers or partners
- Three proposed company names in order of preference
- Proof of registered office address
- Shareholding or profit-sharing split between the subscribers
- Passport-size photographs of directors
Missing something? Tell us anyway. We can usually work around a gap, and it is better to know before we start.
Next step
Tell us your situation and we will scope it.
Scope, fee and dates confirmed in writing before anything starts.
Questions
AboutCompany Registration
Should I register an SMC or a private limited company?
A Single Member Company suits one owner with no plans to bring in partners. A private limited allows two to fifty shareholders and is what any investor will expect to see. Converting from SMC to private limited later is possible but is extra cost and paperwork, so if outside investment is plausible within two years, start as a private limited.
What is the difference between an LLP and a partnership?
A registered partnership under the Partnership Act 1932 is simple and cheap, but every partner is personally liable for the whole of the firm’s debts. An LLP is registered with SECP, is a separate legal person, and caps each partner’s liability at what they put in. If the business carries real financial exposure, the LLP is usually worth the extra filing burden.
Can foreign nationals be directors or shareholders?
Yes, with additional documentation and, in some cases, security clearance depending on nationality and sector. It adds time to incorporation rather than preventing it. Tell us upfront so we build it into the timeline instead of discovering it at the filing stage.
Do I need a physical office to register?
You need a registered office address in Pakistan where official correspondence can be served. It does not have to be commercial premises, and a residential address is acceptable, but it must be real and you must actually receive post there.
Is there a minimum capital to register a company in Pakistan?
No. SECP states there is no minimum requirement of authorised capital. The Rs 100,000 figure quoted on many pages is the lowest fee slab, not a capital you have to put in, so the capital should be set by what the business needs.
How many directors does a private limited company need?
Not less than two under section 154(1) of the Companies Act 2017, against at least one for a single member company. Only a natural person can be a director, and section 153 disqualifies anyone who does not hold a National Tax Number, so every proposed director needs an NTN before the filing.
Do I need to register for an NTN separately after incorporating?
No. Under the SECP and FBR one-window facility, registering through the SECP portal causes the company’s National Tax Number to be issued automatically to the company email address. SECP states that its eZfile system is integrated with FBR, EOBI and the provincial departments.
What has to be done in the first weeks after incorporation?
The subscription money for the shares must be paid within 30 days under section 17(2), or the shares are deemed cancelled and the subscriber is removed from the register of members. Its receipt must then be reported to the registrar within 45 days, with a certificate from a practising chartered accountant or cost and management accountant. It is easy to miss, and missing it changes who owns the company.
Our working
Read beforeyou decide
Our own writing on the subject, with every source named. Most people find their question answered here, and the ones who still want it done know exactly what they are asking for.
- Guide
Registering a Company in Pakistan on SECP eZfile
The real fee schedule, the sixty-day trap on your reserved name, and the two filings due in the first forty-five days that nobody warns you about.
- Guide
SMC, Private Limited or Sole Proprietor: Which to Register
What actually differs between the three, the audit thresholds everyone gets wrong, and the statutory points at which the answer changes.
- Guide
Registering a Partnership Firm in Pakistan
Why SECP is the wrong office, what the Registrar of Firms actually wants, and the twenty-partner ceiling that forces incorporation.
- Guide
What Your Company Owes SECP After Incorporation
The share money you have thirty days to actually pay, the form due within fifteen days of any change, and when an annual return is not required at all.
- Guide
How to Get an NTN in Pakistan: The Free, 15-Minute Version
Registration is free, a salaried person attaches no documents, and the step most people miss is the one that actually completes it.
- Calculator
Corporate Tax Calculator
Company income tax on yearly profit at the normal, small-company and banking rates, with the section 113 turnover floor applied where it bites.
- Calculator
Business and AOP Tax Calculator
Income tax for a sole trader, a partnership or a professional firm, on the non-salaried slabs, with the section 4AB surcharge where it applies.
Often taken alongside
- Corporate
Corporate Compliance
Every SECP filing after incorporation, run on a calendar: annual returns, director and address changes, registers and board minutes.
- Finance & Tax
NTN Registration
Your National Tax Number registered with FBR, completed to the step most people miss, for individuals, AOPs, companies and non-profits.
- Corporate
PSEB Registration
Registration with the Pakistan Software Export Board for freelancers, software houses and call centres, plus the annual renewal that keeps it alive.