Pakistani regulator marks almost 40,000 corporate entities inactive over missing filings

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan marked 39,704 companies as inactive on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Investify reported that the regulator took action after the affected entities failed to file their required annual returns or financial statements for four consecutive years. [1]

Investify reported that the regulator implemented the measure to make the corporate register more reliable. The regulator stated that marking non-filing firms as inactive will also help prevent dormant companies from being misused. [1]

The regulator noted that the inactive status will be visible in its system to banks and other stakeholders. Companies with inactive status will not be able to open new bank accounts, access financial services, or register changes to their directors until they submit their overdue paperwork and regain active status, according to Investify. [1]

The enforcement action comes amid broader oversight of corporate entities operating alongside the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which is headquartered in Karachi. The exchange was established in 1947 as the Karachi Stock Exchange before merging with regional exchanges in Lahore and Islamabad in 2016. [1][4]