KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has welcomed the Federal Budget 2026–27 and said that crafted under significant fiscal pressure, IMF commitments, external imbalances and the residual weight of years of consolidation, this is a budget that shows restraint, some structural ambition, and meaningful forward movement in select areas.
“It is not a perfect budget which will magically bring FDI into the country, but in difficult times, it is not an unserious one,” it said.
FBR’s collection of Rs13 trillion as pointed by the Finance Minister is a milestone worth acknowledging. But the chamber must also state plainly that most of it was collected from those who were already paying.
Organized businesses, formal sector companies and salaried taxpayers bore the brunt, visible, reachable and compliant while the informal economy continued to expand unchecked.
The cash economy has grown from Rs9 trillion last year to Rs12 trillion this year, a 33 percent surge in a single year. That is not a rounding error; it is a policy failure. Inaction on formalization carries a measurable cost, and this number makes it undeniable.
The OICCI welcomes the partial rationalization of the super tax, abolition for income slabs between Rs150 million and Rs500 million, and a reduction from 10 percent to 8 percent for income above Rs500 million. It eases pressure on mid-sized formal enterprises and is consistent with the chamber’s long-standing advocacy. But the core corporate income-tax rate remains unchanged; the OICCI looks to the Finance Bill for further clarity and urges a broader rate reduction in due course.
The reduction in withholding and advance tax on export proceeds from 2 percent to 1.25 percent is a sensible step. Similarly, the rationalization of advance tax rates in the real estate sector — sections 236C and 236K reduced to flat rates of 2.75 percent and 1.5 percent respectively — is a constructive step to revive the economic activity. The IT sector and selected input categories also benefit from targeted relief. These are good measures, and the OICCI commends them.
The proposed National Faceless Assessment Centre and system-based assessment regime is among the more significant structural announcements in this budget. It promises to reduce taxpayer-officer contact, curtail field discretion and lower harassment risk for compliant companies, concerns OICCI members have raised for years. The intent is right; delivery will be what counts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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