Guide
I want to close
a company
A company that has stopped trading does not stop existing. Until it is formally closed, it owes filings and can be fined for missing them. This page is about closing it properly: the routes, and what has to be settled first.
Where this applies This page covers companies registered in Pakistan. A branch of a foreign company is closed by a different route.
What this is about
There are two broad routes. A company with no debts and no assets can ask the regulator to strike it off. A company with something to settle is wound up: assets sold, creditors paid, what is left returned to the shareholders. Which route is open depends on what the company holds and owes.
The mistake is to walk away. A director who leaves a company open, unfiled, can find the regulator’s penalties waiting years later.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
Whether the company has assets or debts.
Whether the filings are up to date.
That all the directors and shareholders agree.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What is usually asked for.
- The company’s filings and accounts.
- Resolutions of the directors and shareholders.
- Tax clearance, where the route requires it.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Tells you which route is open, and what has to be settled first.
- Prepares the resolutions and filings.
- Sees the closure through with the regulator and the tax office.
What to ask before you agree
- Which route is open for this company, and what has to be settled first?
- Are the filings up to date, and what does it take to bring them up to date?
- When is the closure final with the regulator and the tax office?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Setting up and closing a company
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Also relevant
Words you will meet
- striking off
- The regulator removing a company with nothing to settle.
- winding up
- Settling a company’s affairs before it is closed.
- liquidator
- The person who sells the assets and pays the creditors.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.