ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has initiated deliberations with the Islamabad capital territory administration to abolish stamp duty on the memorandum and articles of association aimed to facilitate incorporation of companies and to accelerate business activities.

As proposed by the SECP, the stamp duty on companies has already been abolished by the provincial governments of Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan, said an official announcement issued here on Thursday.

The promoters of companies in the provinces had to face a lot of difficulties in fulfilling this requirement. “This is yet another facilitative measure taken by the SECP to reduce time as well as costs in the company formation process, so as to make it more convenient for promoters.”