Pakistan emerges among top 20 reformers in ease of doing business: World Bank

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27 (APP):Pakistan has emerged among top 20 reformers globally in Ease of Doing Business with six reforms, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, Illango Patchamuthu, said on Friday.

In a tweet, Illango Patchamuthu said, “We laud the collective action of Federal, Sindh, and Punjab governments for an impressive feat”.
The Wold Bank will release global rankings on ease of doing business on October 24.

Meanwhile according to the World Bank, Pakistan improved in six areas 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 work flows 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, the bank added.

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.

The other top reformers include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Djibouti, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, The Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Togo, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.