Pakistan declares 39,704 companies inactive over failure to file reports — Dawn

Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) has for the first time marked 39,704 companies as inactive by order of the registrar. The reason was their failure to submit annual returns and/or financial statements for four years, Dawn reports.

Restrictions for companies

The inactive status will be displayed in the SECP system and will be accessible to banks and other interested parties. Such companies will not be able to open new bank accounts until they submit overdue documents to the commission and restore their active status.

They will also be unable to use financial services or register changes to their boards of directors. The submission of annual returns and, where required, financial statements is provided for under the Companies Act 2017.

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Corporate registry data

The largest number of companies with the new status is in Lahore — 13,927, Islamabad — 13,859, and Karachi — 4,868. Another 2,031 companies are in Peshawar, 1,861 in Multan, 1,384 in Faisalabad, 1,102 in Gilgit, 436 in Quetta, and 236 in Sukkur.

As of September 30, 317,002 companies were registered in Pakistan. In fiscal year 2026, the SECP registered 43,559 new enterprises, 24% more than a year earlier. According to the commission, 99.9% of new companies are registered online, while name reservation and the incorporation procedure are fully digitized.

SECP Chairman Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said that a clean and reliable registry is the foundation of trust in the corporate sector. According to him, the commission seeks to protect the integrity of the financial system while allowing companies the opportunity to restore compliance with requirements.