The federal government has officially withdrawn the one-year-old decision restriction imposed in July 2024 that limited bureaucrats to receiving no more than Rs1 million in remuneration for serving on company boards.
The restriction, initially announced in July 2024, had stated that government employees serving on boards and entitled to fees could retain only up to Rs1 million in remuneration per fiscal year, with any excess to be remitted to the government. The confusion surrounding its implementation led the Finance Division to issue a follow-up memorandum on August 1, 2024, reiterating these instructions.
Under the initial decision, some bureaucrats could receive as much as $5,000 for attending a single board meeting, with most government-owned enterprises offering fees ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of rupees per meeting. At the time of the decision, both the prime minister and deputy prime minister had expressed concerns over high board fees, particularly those exceeding Rs1.4 million for a single meeting. Entities such as Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) were among those paying close to or over Rs1 million per meeting.
The Finance Division (Regulations Wing) issued an office memorandum (OM) on June 22, 2025, confirming the cabinet’s decision to revoke the earlier stipulation.
This decision follows the Finance Division’s letter from July 10, 2024, which had imposed the cap on government servants appointed to boards of companies and organisations. The rule had required officials to deposit any amount exceeding Rs1 million into the government treasury.
The withdrawal of this cap reflects a reversal of the government’s earlier stance on restricting officials’ compensation from board memberships.
On June 22, 2025, the cabinet division issued a notification withdrawing the earlier decision. The notification, issued by the finance ministry this month, confirmed the cancellation of the previous directive, which had mandated that any board fees exceeding Rs1 million be deposited into the government treasury.
