By Sarah Nazir

On Tuesday, the Special Investment Facilitation Council's (SIFC) Executive Committee held its fifth meeting to review steps taken to strengthen the investment environment, address macroeconomic issues, and promote economic growth. In addition to adding new initiatives to the forum, plans were also finalized to address challenges relating to four major industries (agricultural, information technology, minerals, and energy). The ministries provided thorough proposals for removing bottlenecks that affect businesses and enhancing the ecosystem to attract foreign investment. The Committee also discussed numerous enforcement measures taken to combat the threat of smuggling, hoarding, and the gray/black market; several routes of action were discussed in order to come to a consensus-based approach.

The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a facility to serve as a "single window" to assist shareholders, determine interaction among all Government departments, and expedite project development, was approved by the Government of Pakistan on June 20, 2023. With domestic and foreign investments, it seeks to take advantage of Pakistan's hidden potential in important sectors like energy, mining, agriculture, and defense production. Under the direction of the apex committee, the SIFC has already demonstrated a number of projects that were sent by several ministries to entice foreign investment in important sectors like agriculture, equine, mining, minerals, information technology, and energy.

The SIFC is a platform government uses both vertically and horizontally, with full involvement from the federal and provincial governments and all major state agencies and ministries. The campaign slogan of subsequent governments has always been the creation of a one-window facility. Businessmen, however, are unable to locate any such facility.

The most significant issues that SIFC is going to address are convoluted institutional structures, complex and lengthy procedures, and extensive corruption. Even while Pakistan's corporate sector has improved significantly in recent years, there are still significant issues. For instance, to form a corporation, an investor has to collaborate with many organizations, and foreigners need no-objection certificates, by enforcing SIFC, the whole process will become easy. One of the major barriers to encouraging foreign direct investment is the inconsistency of provincial tax regulations. Policy inconsistency is another issue that undermines businessmen’s and industrialists' confidence in government but SIFC will ensure free and fair investment with a quick process.

In addition, the agriculture and service sectors struggle to pay their fair share of taxes, leaving businesses with the responsibility of paying the bulk of taxes after the average person. But SIFC is keen to make the system crystal clear and make the process easy for individuals to invest in the country’s prosperity. The SIFC’s focus on agriculture reveals its dedication for tackling these problems and inviting foreign investment to modernize the sector, increase productivity, and enhance export capabilities. The initiative is likely to result in a paradigm shift in land management and agricultural development, bringing about a revolution in the system. These projects, a carefully thought-out initiative that promises to bring equity, efficiency, and transparency to the system, have the potential to completely transform land management in Pakistan.