Board of Investment Ordinance, 2001

This 2001 ordinance sets up the Board of Investment (BOI) as Pakistan's main government agency for encouraging and facilitating both local and foreign investment. Section 3 establishes the Board, which is chaired at the top by the Chief Executive/Prime Minister as its President, with the relevant Federal Minister as Vice-President, plus a Chairman and between seven and twenty-five other members, at least three of whom must come from the private sector with recognised expertise in fields like banking, business, engineering, or finance.

Section 4 covers the Chairman, who is appointed by the Federal Government, and Section 6 sets non-official members' terms at two years, renewable, though they can be removed if the government finds they have abused their position, after being given a chance to be heard. Section 7 requires the Board to meet at least once every three months, with meetings chaired by the President or, in their absence, the Vice-President or Chairman in turn.

Section 9 lists the BOI's wide-ranging functions: reviewing investment policy and laws, evaluating sector-specific investment proposals, coordinating with federal and provincial agencies, running a "one window" facility so investors don't have to deal with multiple departments separately, negotiating investment protection agreements with other countries, and maintaining a database of private-sector investment projects. The extract also shows later-inserted sections 10A through 10J establishing a Special Investment Facilitation Council with its own scope of work, committees, and powers, including a power to relax or exempt investors from regulatory compliance and an overriding-effect clause — these are clearly later additions to the original ordinance.

Other provisions cover finance (Sections 11-14, including grants, a dedicated fund, and an annual report), Provincial Investment Committees (Section 15), and general administrative matters like indemnity for BOI staff acting in good faith (Section 20) and rule-making powers (Sections 23-24).

Because the ordinance clearly shows later insertions (the entire Special Investment Facilitation Council framework in Sections 10A-10J appears to have been added well after 2001), this is a law that has been substantially amended over time, and anyone relying on specific powers or the Council's current scope should check the up-to-date official text.