The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has launched a dedicated facilitation initiative to help steel businesses register as companies after the Finance Act, 2026, made incorporation essential for accessing preferential tax treatment.

The special facilitation desk has been established on the instructions of Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, while SECP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu is supervising the initiative. The desk will provide guidance to steel businesses seeking to convert into companies and expedite the processing of incorporation applications.

The move follows amendments to the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, introduced through the Finance Act, 2026. Under the revised tax framework, steel businesses must be incorporated as companies to qualify for specified tax concessions.

Businesses operating as Associations of Persons (AOPs) or other unincorporated entities will no longer be eligible for the same tax treatment and will face a comparatively higher tax burden.

The Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) requested the SECP’s assistance after the tax changes, seeking a streamlined mechanism for converting AOPs into registered companies.

The regulator said the incorporation process is fully digital, allowing applicants to complete user registration, reserve a company name, submit digitally signed documents, and pay the prescribed fee online. Where all required documentation is complete, incorporation can be completed in as little as four hours.

The SECP currently registers more than 3,500 companies every month. To facilitate the transition, the regulator will also hold a joint awareness webinar with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on July 8 to explain the new tax requirements and guide steel businesses through the incorporation process.