39,704 firms declared ‘inactive’
ISLAMABAD: For the first time, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has marked 39,704 companies “inactive by registrar” for failing to file annual returns and/or financial statements for four years.
Encouraged by the increase in registered firms, the SECP has used the clause to gradually remove inactive companies.
The corporate register continues to grow. Pakistan had 317,002 registered companies as of Sept 30. The SECP registered 43,559 new companies in FY26, up 24pc from the preceding year.
Company name reservation and incorporation are now fully digital, and 99.9pc of new companies are registered online.
Marking non-filing companies as inactive will make the corporate register more reliable and help prevent dormant companies from being misused.
Chairman SECP Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said that a clean and credible registry is the bedrock of trust in the corporate sector. SECP is protecting the integrity of the financial system while giving companies a clear opportunity to return to compliance.
The inactive status will appear in the SECP’s system and be visible to banks and other stakeholders too.
These companies will not be able to open new bank accounts until they file their overdue documents with the SECP and regain active status.
They will also be unable to access financial services or register changes in their directors.
The inactive companies include 13,927 in Lahore, 13,859 in Islamabad, 4,868 in Karachi, 2,031 in Peshawar, 1,861 in Multan, 1,384 in Faisalabad, 1,102 in Gilgit, 436 in Quetta and 236 in Sukkur.
Filing annual returns and, where required, financial statements is required under the Companies Act 2017.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2026
