PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is going to establish, regulate and manage a one-window business facilitation portal to streamline regulatory approval and enhance ease of doing business in the province.
For this purpose, a draft bill ‘KP Aasan Karobar Act, 2025 has been introduced in the provincial legislature, which is aimed at reformation of the regulatory regime applicable to businesses, trade and investment has been tabled in the provincial legislature.
Under the legislative act the provincial government will establish Ease of Doing Business Directorate under the Board of Investment and Trade to provide one-window business facilitation to trade and business in the province.
The proposed directorate will be consisted of a Technical Reforms Unit and KP Operating Unit. The Board of Investment and Trade (BoIT) will appoint a director to lead the directorate, who will an officer of BS-19 or a person with private sector appointed through a competitive process, on a prescribed terms and conditions.
The government will appoint such persons, including technical experts, as may be required, from amongst the officers of government or the private sector. The government may also where deem necessary, second officers for a prescribed period from participatory agencies, or other relevant entities to the Aasan Karobar Portal (AKP) operating unit through a competitive selection process to support the implementation and operation of the Aasan Karobar Portal.
The KP operating unit may enter into partnerships, including public-private partnerships, or itself develop, procure, or acquire fully or partly the requisite software, hardware, system code, data, infrastructure, or anything ancillary thereto for the effective functioning of the portal.
The functions and powers of the Ease of Doing Business Directorate will include mapping Registration, Licensing, Certifications and Other Permits (RLCOs) throughout the province to establish and maintain the KP Regulatory Registry and ensure the entry of all RLCOs of the province in it.
The directorate will coordinate with federal entities, when required, for mapping RLCOs for entry into and compatibility with any applicable national registry established at federal level; review laws and RLCOs for the purpose of assessing the burden imposed on businesses; coordinate with provincial entities to eliminate, simplify and modernize RLCOs and their associated processes; conduct business process re-engineering amid at modernizing, digitizing and improving government procedures relating to the processing and issuance of RLCOs; draft proposals for reforms in laws, rules, regulations and administrative procedures for submission to government; propose inclusions or modifications to the Aasan Karobar Portal to further enhance ease of doing business; engage with federal and provincial entities to enhance ease of doing business at national level and any other function assigned to it by KP BoIT.
Similarly, the functions of the ease of doing business directorate’s KP Operating Unit include to develop, deploy, operate, maintain, expand, upgrade and enhance the Aasan Karobar Portal and its allied systems and services; negotiate and enter into Service Level Agreements with participating agencies, maintain a grievance redressal mechanism; developed Unified Applications; develop and maintain a facility on the Aasan Karobar Portal; maintain and operate e-payment system.
Under the proposed legislation, the provincial government will also establish Aasan Karobar Portal to facilitate RLCOs required by businesses operating within the province. The portal may adopt and apply any technological means available, or that may become available in the future, to enhance its operational efficiency, enable digital integration, and facilitate paperless processing of business-related approvals.
The Aasan Karobar Portal will function as the single-entry point for the submission, processing and issuance of RLCOs, streamlining RLCOs required for business operation through digital processing; reduce human intervention in approval and standardize inter-agency workflow; provide a real-time tracking mechanism for applications; provide business regulatory compliance and management tools for customers; provide a coordination mechanism for participating agencies to conduct routine inspections jointly; incorporate an e-payment system for efficient payment and processing of all fees and charges relating to RLCOs, service charges, or other payments; establish an effective and time bound grievance redressal mechanism for applicants; and any other function assigned to it by the government.
There will also be a powerful Steering Committee for the purpose of ease of doing business with Chief Minister as its chairperson. Members of the Steering Committee will include Chief Secretary, Secretary Finance, Secretary Industries, Secretary Labour, Secretary Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Secretary Science & Technology, Vice Chairperson of the KP-BoIT, president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) and president Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
