By Ayesha Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Dec 23 (INP-WealthPk): The Government of Pakistan has announced the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy to promote around five million businesses through tax facilitation, access to finance, provision of land, facilitation in registration, and reduction in regulatory interference. Addressing a press conference, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar said that under the SME Policy 2021-25, 30,000 businesses would be given unsecured loans up to Rs10 million at a lower interest rate of 9%. In addition to the provision of access to finance, 4,200 acres of land have been allocated for SMEs in the industrial estates on easy installments. This was for the first time in Pakistan that an all-inclusive SME policy had been approved by the federal cabinet, Bakhtiar said. The policy addresses all issues that prevent the development of the SME sector together with a robust implementation mechanism. Bakhtiar said it is estimated that there are more than 5 million SMEs in Pakistan. Massive employment opportunities (78%) exist in the SME sector which plays a significant role in promoting economic growth and exports. Elaborating on the policy initiatives, the minister said there was no need for the startups or low-risk businesses to obtain No-Objection Certificates (NOCs), while the medium-sized enterprises, including leather, light engineering, auto parts, and cutlery, can get the NOC approval within 30 days. He said the government had also developed a web portal to promote transparency and reduce the chances of human intervention and corruption. Only 2 percent of self-declarations would be inspected physically. The policy also includes tax facilitation for SMEs. Under the policy, tax has been reduced to 0.25 percent for businesses with a turnover of less than Rs100 million and 0.5 percent for those having a turnover of Rs100 million-Rs 250 million. However, if someone is not interested in turnover tax, then they have to opt for income tax mode, which would be 7.5 percent for businesses with a turnover less than Rs1 million and 15 percent for those having a turnover from over Rs100 million to Rs250 million. Women entrepreneurs will be largely supported concerning access to finance, training and advisory services, and requirements of regulatory compliance. In case of business failure, 40-60 percent loss would be borne by the government and commercial banks. The government has already allocated Rs23.5 billion for the cost-sharing purpose. The regulations have been revised to permit greater participation of SMEs in the procurement of goods and services in the public sector.