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Pakistan’s economy has witnessed an impressive transformation from an agrarian character to a semi-industrialized stage. The industrial development initially was partly because of firm base of good quality raw cotton and partly because of a combination of quick entrepreneurial response to concessional taxation policies introduced from time to time by Government of Pakistan. |
The Industrial Policy, 1990 continued deregulation measures and no Government sanctions were required except where these were included on specified list or where major policy decisions were involved. The policy relating to foreign investment was also liberalized and foreign equity upto 100 percent was allowed without any approval subject to similar conditions as were applicable to local investments.
The cell created earlier, to sanction specified projects was abolished. A Board of Investment (BOI). (previously Investment Promotion Bureau (IPB), Ministry of Industries) under the Prime Minister Secretariat was created for promotion and facilitation of foreign investment and to provide assistance in coordinating investment proposals with other Government department and Agencies. The Board after the establishment of Ministry of investment, is now functioning under this Ministry. The Industrial Policy provides for the following on sanctioning procedures:
The Government has b en stressing the need for attaining self reliance in the engineering and technical industries since 1960. The objectives could not be adequately achieved due to non-existence of a coherent and practicable policy, providing adequate rewards for timely deletion and suitable penalties for default. In 1987, the Government introduced a comprehensive and well integrated deletion policy to encourage and boost indigenisation with a view to ensure transfer of technology provide employment opportunities, develop linkages between large and medium / small industries, save foreign exchange and create a broad based engineering sector.
The present deletion policy has an in-built system of reward and penalty to the entrepreneurs. A separate Cell has been set up in the Ministry of Industries for formulating and monitoring the deletion program of all the automotive, electrical engineering and other such industries, whether in the public or private sectors. So far deletion program for more than 576 industries/industrial units has been formulated. This list includes main industries such as cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, scooters, rickshaws , electric motors, water meters, refrigerators, deep freezers, diesel engines, pumps, video cassettes, audio cassette recorders, domestic appliances, air loading units and chillers.
The Government has also announced various and relief in respect of import duties and taxes on import plants machinery and row materials for certain specified industries. The industries eligible for these allowances and relief, are:
