Director General Trade Organisations extends licence renewal deadline for trade bodies
ISLAMABAD: Director General Trade Organisations (DGTO) Bilal Khan Pasha has set January 12, 2026 as the final deadline for all trade bodies across the country to submit mandatory documents for renewal of their licences, including audited financial statements for the year 2025.
The DGTO stated that licences granted to Trade Organisations (TOs) under Section 3 of the Trade Organizations Act, 2013 are conditional upon continuous compliance with the Act and the rules framed thereunder. Any breach of these conditions renders a licence liable to cancellation under Section 7 of the Act.
Under Rule 22 (Reporting Requirements) of the Trade Organizations Rules, 2013, every licensed TO is legally required to submit the following documents to the Regulator by December 31 each year: (i) annual financial statements audited by a firm of chartered accountants and approved by the Executive Committee; (ii) a plan of proposed activities, finances, and outcomes for the following year as required under Rule 23; and (iii) complete soft and hard copies of the membership roll as of November 30 to verify the representative character of the organisation under Rule 3.
According to the DGTO, the statutory deadline of December 31, 2025 has expired, and the Regulator has taken cognizance under Section 14 of the Act that a number of TOs have failed to fulfil these mandatory reporting obligations.
The DGTO has warned that such non-compliance constitutes a serious violation of the law and attracts immediate legal consequences. Failure to submit the required documents triggers Section 7(1)(h) of the Act for non-discharge of statutory obligations and Section 7(1)(f) for non-compliance with lawful orders.
Trade bodies have also been cautioned that upon cancellation of a licence, their registration under the Companies Act shall stand automatically cancelled under Section 8(1) of the Act, and the affairs of the organisation will be wound up immediately under Section 8(3).
Additionally, under Section 25 of the Act, a penalty of up to Rs 100,000 may be imposed for the contravention. In accordance with Section 26, this penalty will be levied personally on every Director, President, Secretary General, and office bearer of the defaulting TO, as the law assigns individual liability for corporate non-compliance.
The office-bearers responsible for licence cancellation due to non-compliance will also be debarred from holding any office in a trade organisation for a period of three years under Section 7(4). Moreover, failure to submit the plan of activities and audited financial statements will lead the Regulator to presume that the TO is non-operational under Section 7(1)(d) and financially unviable under Section 7(1)(m), providing further grounds for immediate licence revocation.
Exercising powers under Section 14 of the Trade Organisations Act, 2013, the DGTO has directed all defaulting trade bodies to submit their complete annual reporting requirements—including audited accounts, plans of activities, and membership lists — within seven days of the issuance of the notice, i.e., by January 12, 2026.
The DGTO has also instructed the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry to circulate the notice to all its member bodies immediately and submit a compliance report to the DGTO within 48 hours.
“Failure to comply by the extended deadline will result in the immediate issuance of formal show-cause notices for cancellation of licences and imposition of penalties without further correspondence,” the DGTO warned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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