Business rules being curtailed

The government is pursuing 581 regulatory reform initiatives, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan said at a Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference, according to The Express Tribune. He described reducing unnecessary regulations, repeated inspections, multiple approvals and government procedures as important for economic stability and the development of industry and trade.

Khan also said proposals were under consideration to bring federal, provincial and local laws together in a centralised system. The comments outline a broad effort to simplify rules, but the report did not specify a timetable, the initiatives’ individual measures or which laws could be consolidated. For investors, the proposals are relevant to the operating environment for industry and trade, although no listed company or specific sector was named.