ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the government to end the powers of the Board of Investment (BOI), Board of Approval (BOA), and existing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to grant tax incentives through the upcoming federal budget.
In a conversation with Business Recorder, Federal Minister for Investment Qasier Ahmed Sheikh clarified that while new structural benchmarks will be imposed on future SEZs, existing zones remain exempt from these updated requirements.
The Minister further noted that Pakistan’s SEZ incentives remain exceptionally intact. No other country currently under an IMF programme offers such comparable level of benefits to investors in SEZs.
According to the IMF report, Pakistan has agreed to amend laws governing Special Economic Zones and Special Technology Zones to gradually phase out existing fiscal incentives as part of broader reforms aimed at creating a more transparent and competitive investment regime.
The proposed reforms include shifting from profit-based incentives to cost-based incentives, discontinuing the authority of the BOA, BOI, and SEZ authorities to independently grant tax concessions, and phasing out all fiscal incentives for Special Technology Zones by 2035.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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