By Moaaz Manzoor

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a set of facilitation measures for IT exporters and freelancers, simplifying export realisation procedures, standardising documentation requirements, setting transaction timelines and revising reporting forms to improve the ease of doing business in the digital services sector.

According to the central bank, the new measures aim to support faster processing of inward export receipts and outward remittances, while also strengthening complaint resolution mechanisms for IT companies and freelancers.A key change is that IT exporters and freelancers will no longer be required to submit Form “R” for every individual export transaction.

Instead, they will provide a one-time declaration specifying the nature of services offered overseas at the time of opening a new account, while existing customers will furnish it as and when required. Authorised Dealers (banks) will tag the relevant service and purpose code with the exporter’s account for reporting and processing transactions, unless advised otherwise by the exporter.

SBP has also introduced a maximum turnaround time of one working day for processing inward export receipts and outward remittances from Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs), a move expected to address delays faced by the IT sector in banking transactions.

In addition, documentation requirements for outward remittances from ESFCAs for acquiring services from abroad have been standardised to ensure clarity and consistency across banks. Banks have also been instructed to establish effective internal systems for the timely resolution of complaints raised by IT companies and freelancers.

In its EPD Circular Letter No. 06 of 2026, SBP said the amendments were made with reference to Para 12 of Chapter 12 of the Foreign Exchange Manual, which contains instructions for handling export receipts and outward payments on behalf of IT companies and freelancers. The central bank said the revised para has been issued for meticulous compliance by Authorised Dealers and advised them to devise internal mechanisms for timely complaint resolution.

Separately, in EPD Circular Letter No. 07 of 2026, SBP revised Form “M”, Form “R” and the Inward Remittance Voucher (IRV) to align the prescribed formats for invisible payments and receipts with current regulatory reporting requirements and remove redundancies.

The revised formats cover Form “M” under Appendix V-7, Form “R” under Appendix V-121, and IRV under Appendix V-122 of the Foreign Exchange Manual. The threshold for obtaining Form “R” and IRV has also been raised to above $25,000, or the equivalent in other currencies, providing further convenience to exporters and importers of services.

SBP has directed Authorised Dealers to use the revised formats with immediate effect for capturing details of inward and outward remittance transactions. Banks have also been advised to strictly observe the bifurcation of responsibility regarding the provision of information in Appendices V-7 and V-121.

To further improve customer convenience, Authorised Dealers have been instructed to digitalise the process of seeking information from customers through Appendices V-7 and V-121 by June 30, 2026, with auto-population functionality for basic customer data to reduce procedural burden.

The central bank has also advised banks to bring these developments to the notice of all their constituents and ensure meticulous compliance. SBP said it expects these measures to enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality and support the growth of Pakistan’s IT exports.

Credit: INP-WealthPk