The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has reapproved the declaration of warehousing and logistics as an industry.
The ECC directed the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) to notify the decision.
On January 6, 2025, the Industries and Production Division informed the ECC that the committee had previously approved the proposal on August 15, 2024. At the time, the ECC had instructed MoI&P to provide a report detailing the concessions availed by other sectors declared as industries and to ensure that all applicable benefits were extended to the warehousing and logistics sector. Following this, the Federal Cabinet, on August 20, 2024, directed MoI&P to prepare a comprehensive plan for declaring warehousing as an industry.
To comply with the Cabinet’s instructions, the ministry drafted a detailed plan and shared it with stakeholders for feedback. MoI&P also reached out to the Warehousing & Logistics Association and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on December 4, 2024, for data on the sector’s scale, number of establishments, turnover, and financial implications. A reminder was sent on December 11, but responses are still pending. Similarly, comments were sought from the Petroleum Division regarding the impact on gas tariffs, which are also awaited.
The Cabinet Division later shared ECC’s November 27, 2024, decision, which highlighted the need to incorporate warehousing into a dynamic industrial policy. However, the ECC directed MoI&P to submit a detailed summary in the subsequent ECC meeting after aligning it with the Cabinet’s recommendations.
In the recent meeting, the ECC noted that its earlier decision from August 15, 2024, approving the declaration of warehousing and logistics as an industry, had already been ratified by the Cabinet on May 20, 2024. Following discussions, MoI&P sought the ECC’s nod to implement the comprehensive plan and formally designate warehousing and logistics as an industry.
The move is expected to provide the sector with concessions on power tariffs, credit facilities, and incentives for setting up operations, aligning it with benefits offered to other industries.
