Company Registration Cost in Pakistan — SECP Fees Explained

Company registration cost in Pakistan is made up of two separate components that most guides blur together: SECP's own government fee (which scales with your authorized capital) and the consultant's service fee for handling the actual incorporation process. Understanding the split matters — it's the difference between a quote that's genuinely all-inclusive and one that adds a surprise government charge midway through.

The Two Separate Costs Inside "Company Registration Fee"

Every company registration quote in Pakistan is really two numbers stacked together, and a lot of confusion comes from consultants quoting only one of them:

• SECP's government fee — paid directly to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan for name reservation and incorporation filing. This is set by SECP's own fee schedule and scales with your company's authorized share capital — a company registering with a small authorized capital pays less than one registering with a large one. Because it depends on your specific capital structure, we don't quote a single fixed number for it here; it's confirmed once you tell us your intended authorized capital.
• The consultant's service fee — this is what Kamboh Associates charges for preparing your Memorandum and Articles of Association (MOA/AOA), handling the SECP e-Services portal filing, following up on any SECP query, registering your company NTN, and assisting with opening a business bank account. This is the Rs. 15,000+ figure on our pricing page.

A quote that only mentions one of these two numbers is incomplete — always ask whether SECP's government fee is included or separate before comparing prices.

What Kamboh Associates' Rs. 15,000 Service Fee Includes

The published starting fee for Private Limited company registration covers the full service, not just the SECP filing:

• Company name availability search and reservation on SECP's e-Services portal
• Drafting the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA)
• Complete SECP e-Services filing for incorporation
• Following up on any SECP query, objection, or resubmission request until the Certificate of Incorporation is issued
• Company NTN registration with FBR once incorporation is confirmed
• Assistance opening the company's business bank account, including preparing the documents banks typically require

What this fee does not include is SECP's own government filing charge (see above, quoted separately based on your capital), and it does not include recurring post-incorporation compliance like your first corporate tax return or monthly sales tax filing — those are separate ongoing services once the company is live.

What Actually Increases Company Registration Cost

Beyond the base Rs. 15,000 service fee and SECP's capital-based government charge, a few specific situations genuinely increase total cost:

• Higher authorized capital increases SECP's government fee directly — this isn't a consultant markup, it's SECP's own fee structure
• Foreign shareholding or a foreign director adds documentation requirements (attested foreign documents, additional SECP disclosures) that increase the service-side workload
• Multiple directors requiring individual digital signatures for SECP e-Services can add a small per-director cost if signatures need to be newly issued
• Registering an AOP or partnership instead of a Pvt Ltd company is a different, lighter process — priced as part of the AOP registration service (Rs. 8,000 for the annual return package including registration), not the Pvt Ltd fee
• Sole proprietorship registration (no SECP involvement at all — just trade name, NTN, and bank letter) is the lightest and cheapest structure at Rs. 5,000, worth considering if you don't specifically need limited liability

None of these should be presented as hidden add-ons after work has started — a proper quote asks about your capital, shareholder structure, and director count upfront and prices accordingly before any filing begins.

Cost by Business Structure — Which One Actually Fits

A common, costly mistake is registering a Pvt Ltd company by default when a sole proprietorship or AOP would have served the same business need at a fraction of the cost and ongoing compliance burden — this is worth a direct conversation before you commit to a structure.

What Happens (and Costs) After Registration

Company registration is a one-time event, but a Pvt Ltd company carries ongoing compliance costs that a sole proprietorship doesn't — worth factoring into the real total cost of choosing this structure:

• Corporate income tax return — Rs. 18,000+ per year, filed annually regardless of profit or loss
• Monthly withholding tax statements — Rs. 2,500/month if the company has employees or makes payments subject to WHT
• Monthly sales tax returns — Rs. 3,000/month if the company is sales-tax registered
• SECP annual return filing — a separate recurring SECP compliance requirement, distinct from the one-time incorporation

These recurring costs are the real reason company registration cost shouldn't be evaluated as a single one-time number — see our monthly retainer cost guide for what ongoing compliance for a small Pvt Ltd company typically totals.

The Registration Process, Step by Step

1. WhatsApp your intended company name (2-3 options) and structure to 0328-4675162
2. We check name availability on SECP and confirm your authorized capital and shareholder structure
3. You receive the exact total quote — service fee plus SECP's government charge, confirmed before any filing
4. We draft the MOA/AOA and file for name reservation, followed by full incorporation filing
5. Once SECP issues the Certificate of Incorporation, we register your company NTN and assist opening a business bank account

Documents Required for Company Registration

Company registration needs more documentation than an individual registration, since SECP is establishing a separate legal entity, not just recording a person:

• CNIC of every proposed director and shareholder — SECP requires this for each individual involved, not just the primary applicant
• 2-3 proposed company name options, in case your first choice is already reserved or too similar to an existing registration
• Registered office address — this does not need to be a commercial property; a residential address is acceptable for most Pvt Ltd companies
• Proposed authorized capital and shareholding percentage for each shareholder, which determines both SECP's government fee and each shareholder's ownership stake
• Digital signatures for directors, if not already issued — these are required for e-Services filing and can be newly issued as part of the process if needed
• Business activity description, since this determines which sector-specific SECP requirements, if any, apply

A Worked Example: Two Founders Registering a Pvt Ltd Company

Two founders in Islamabad want to incorporate a small software services company with Rs. 100,000 authorized capital split 60/40. They WhatsApp three candidate names; the first is too similar to an existing registration and is rejected on the availability check, so the second option is reserved instead — a common first-round outcome, which is why starting with two or three options rather than one saves a round trip. Both founders' CNICs and digital signatures are collected (one founder already has a digital signature from a previous venture; the other needs one newly issued, adding a short delay only for that founder's side). MOA/AOA are drafted reflecting the 60/40 split, filed via SECP e-Services, and the Certificate of Incorporation is issued nine days later — within the typical 7-10 day window. Company NTN registration follows within a day of incorporation, and bank account opening assistance begins immediately after. Total service fee: Rs. 15,000, plus SECP's government fee for their specific authorized capital, confirmed and paid before filing began — no number was added afterward.

Common Mistakes That Slow Down or Complicate Registration

A few recurring issues account for most of the delays we see in company registration:

• Choosing a name too similar to an existing SECP registration — this triggers an objection and resubmission cycle that adds days to the timeline. A quick name-availability check before you fall in love with a specific name avoids this entirely.
• Setting authorized capital without understanding the fee impact — a higher authorized capital increases SECP's government fee directly, so it's worth deciding capital based on actual funding need, not an arbitrary round number.
• Registering a Pvt Ltd company when a sole proprietorship or AOP would have served the same purpose — this is the costliest mistake in relative terms, since it means paying substantially more (both in registration and ongoing compliance) for a structure the business didn't actually need.
• Delaying NTN registration after incorporation — some newly incorporated companies operate for weeks without a company NTN, which blocks opening a proper business bank account and creates a compliance gap from day one.
• Not budgeting for the recurring compliance that follows registration — treating the Rs. 15,000+ fee as the only cost, when monthly and annual compliance (see our monthly retainer cost guide) is the larger ongoing cost of the Pvt Ltd structure.

Frequently Asked Questions