BOI seeks raw material reserves

According to The Express Tribune, Federal Minister for Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh has urged economic managers to widen incentives for strategic oil reserves so that other critical raw materials are covered too. The proposal came up at a recent Economic Coordination Committee meeting, where the minister backed extending a scheme that allows imports on a foreign supplier's account through customs bonded storage. The Petroleum Division hoped the initiative would contribute to energy security and create a buffer against external shocks.

The Petroleum Division told the committee that the policy was approved in June 2023, but no foreign supplier has yet set up a bonded storage facility under it. Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had exposed the country's vulnerability, so the division was focusing on indigenisation, strategic petroleum reserves and bonded storage. A committee set up by the petroleum minister sought input from major traders and suppliers and drafted revised guidelines, which went to stakeholders on June 15, 2026 and were amended again before recirculation on July 23, 2026.

The FBR promised that legislative and operational changes would be started with the Law and Justice Division, but it kept its reservations over provisions under the Customs Act 1969 and Sales Tax Act 1990. The cabinet committee then approved the proposal and directed that the required legislative and procedural amendments be initiated.