Pakistan Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in pakistan, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Government
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Pakistani law requires that all government tenders be advertised in national newspapers and the Pakistan Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) website for a minimum of 15 days, except for government-to-government contracts. The procurement rules “Public Procurement Rules, 2004” are well defined and can be found on the PPRA website.

Pakistani law does not prohibit payment of commissions on commercial procurement of large amounts of military equipment. However, the Directorate General Defense Purchase (DGDP) requires that the foreign principal provide the following: ex-factory value of items supplied, FOB value of these items, and percentage or amount of commission/or any other fee for services provided by the local agent.  Commercial procurement of small to medium amounts of military equipment is generally made through local agents of overseas manufacturers and suppliers.  For government contracts, bidders are very often asked to submit refundable “earnest money,” “bid bonds” or bank guarantees along with their bids to demonstrate their seriousness in bidding for a contract.

Some government agencies, such as the DGDP and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) allow only exclusive agents to submit bids for tenders to ensure that they receive only one quotation from each supplier.

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government. Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information.

Further details are on the government tenders’ website.

Financing of Projects

Many governments’ public works projects are financed through borrowing from Multilateral Development Banks.  U.S. companies bidding on government tenders may also qualify for U.S. government advocacy. A unit of the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public sector contracts with international governments and government agencies. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts.  Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. government agencies.

Outline how major projects are financed and give examples where relevant. If your country is a borrower from a Multilateral Development Bank, insert the following text (otherwise skip this section):

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales. Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). A helpful guide for working with the MDBs is the publication Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (USDOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

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Many governments’ public works projects are financed.

Many governments’ public works projects are financed through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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