Govt urges SMEs to make full use of EFS

November 04, 2026 (MLN): The government has made it clear that the eligibility criteria for inclusion in any category of the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) will be applied uniformly, with no exemptions from standard operating procedures, while urging small and medium-sized exporters to make full use of the scheme.

Authorities were also directed to clarify and simplify the rules on importing capital goods and manufacturing machinery for exporters, as the government reviews existing exporter schemes to align them with trade needs, cut export overheads, encourage local value addition and support domestic manufacturing.

The direction came from Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, who chaired a consultative meeting of the Prime Minister’s Committee to Review the Export Facilitation Scheme at the Finance Division, said a press release issued.

The meeting was attended by the Commerce Secretary, special secretaries of Finance and Commerce, senior Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials, and representatives of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) and Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while prominent exporters joined via video link.

Participants went through various proposals to streamline the scheme, improve its efficiency and adapt it to changing trade dynamics, and also reviewed amendments aimed at lowering export costs.

Bilal Kayani reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boosting exports and improving the ease of doing business, and added that schemes would be tailored to exporters’ needs to deliver better results.

The meeting ended with a consensus to keep consulting stakeholders and trade bodies to support export growth and speed up economic activity.

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