39,704 firms declared ‘inactive’

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has designated 39,704 companies inactive after they failed to submit annual returns or required financial statements for four years, Dawn reported on November 1. The regulator said this is the first time it has applied the status at this scale, as it works to remove non-compliant entities from the corporate register.

Pakistan had 317,002 registered companies on September 30, while 43,559 new firms joined the register in FY26, an increase of 24pc from the previous year. Incorporation and name reservation are fully digital, and 99.9pc of new firms are registered online. Inactive status will be visible to banks and other stakeholders; affected firms cannot open new bank accounts, use financial services or change directors until they file overdue documents and regain active status.