Pakistan has informed the International Monetary Fund that it will introduce new public procurement rules by June 2026 to remove preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises and improve transparency in government spending.
The revised rules have already been approved by the federal cabinet and are awaiting formal notification. The changes aim to create a more competitive and transparent procurement system as part of broader governance reforms under the IMF-supported program.
Under the new framework, all procurement contracts exceeding Rs. 2 billion will require mandatory third-party evaluation. Contracts between Rs. 500 million and Rs. 2 billion will undergo third-party validation. The government will also establish independent grievance redressal and inspection committees, and pre-shipment inspections of goods will become compulsory.
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority will maintain a panel of independent experts to assist government departments in bid evaluation, validation, and inspections. Direct contracting will be restricted, and all procurement activities will shift to an electronic platform within 12 months.
The government plans to expand the e-Government Procurement and Disposal System, known as EPADS, to all federal agencies. The system will be integrated with public sector enterprises, tax records, national identity databases, and audit systems by June 2027. Provincial integration is expected to be completed by December 2028.
Quarterly public procurement monitoring reports covering both development and non-development expenditures will be introduced to strengthen oversight. Standard bidding documents are also being revised according to international best practices and are expected to be finalized by June 2026.
To improve professionalism in procurement functions, federal agencies have started establishing dedicated procurement cells. So far, 122 agencies have set up such units. Officials working in these cells must obtain certification under a competency framework developed by PPRA with support from the World Bank. Since July 2024, more than 2,200 officials have received training on procurement regulations and the EPADS platform.
PPRA has also enhanced its complaint-handling mechanism under the Grievance Redressal Regulations 2021, with decisions to be published online. Its monitoring and evaluation wing will conduct investigations and recommend corrective actions where necessary.
Further reforms being considered include the use of advanced data analytics for risk-based audits, automated red flags to detect possible collusion and unusual pricing patterns, and full integration of state-owned enterprise procurement into the electronic system.
Although these reforms were initiated in August 2024 following 24 directives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the IMF had previously highlighted weaknesses in Pakistan’s procurement system in its Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment.
