The government removes additional export development costs, reducing cost pressures on exporters

• SBP says all previous circulars related to the surcharge have now been withdrawn.
• It says all export goods are exempted from the surcharge with immediate effect.
• The Councilor says the move follows the formation of new private sector-led working groups.

The federal government has canceled the growth surcharge on all exports, the State Bank said on Tuesday, giving exporters some breathing room as they try to cut costs and remain competitive in global markets.

The Export Development Surcharge (EDS) was set at 0.25%.

“The federal government has exempted all exported goods from the Export Development Levy levied under sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Finance Act, 1991 with immediate effect,” according to an SBP notification.

The central bank said its previous circulars were withdrawn with immediate effect.

“A decision taken by the prime minister within days of forming the private sector-led focus task forces, to withdraw the Export Development Charge, among other key restructuring decisions,” said Khurram Schehzad, Adviser to Pakistan’s Finance Minister, in a post on X.

“The speed of decision-making and implementation showed the will and commitment of the Government of Pakistan to reduce [the] the cost of doing business while providing an enabling environment for investors and exporters,” Schehzad added.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by economic experts.

Earlier, the prime minister had set up a special Task Force on EDS, headed by Musadaq Zulqarnain, to review the Export Development Fund (EDF) and suggest reforms.

The group gathered private sector representatives along with Commerce Minister Bilal Azhar Kiyani, EDF Executive Director Mosharraf Zaidi, Shahzad Saleem, Misbah Naqvi, Khurram Mukhtar, Arif Saeed, Ahmad Umair and Sualeh Faruqi.