Pakistan among Top-20 improvers in Doing Business 2020: Report by World Bank -

Top-20 improvers in Doing Business Economies are selected based on the number of reforms and on how much their ease of doing business score improved by world bank. Two factors are importantly counted in this list, 1-Regulatory changes making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the number of those making it easier. 2- Doing Business sorts these economies on the increase in their ease of doing business score due to reforms from the previous year.

Pakistan improved in six areas reaching among Top-20 improvers in Doing Business measured by Doing Business—starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders—reflecting the country’s development of an ambitious reform strategy including the establishment of national secretariat and Prime Minister’s reform steering committee.

Pakistan made starting a business easier by expanding procedures available through the online one-stop shop.

In addition to improvements in property registration, obtaining a construction permit became easier after the Sindh Building and Control Authority and the Lahore Development Authority streamlined approval workflows and improved the operational efficiency of their one-stop shops.

The launching of online portals for new commercial connections made getting electricity easier, and tariff changes are announced in advance.

Moreover, tax compliance became easier through online payment modules for value added tax and corporate income tax, and a lower corporate income tax rate. Pakistan made trading across borders easier by enhancing the integration of various agencies into an electronic system and by improving coordination of joint physical inspections at the port.

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