IPO budget rises 81 percent to Rs1.07 billion in seven years

Islamabad: The Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan disclosed a sharp rise in its annual budget; official records show the organization’s allocation increased from about Rs591.5 million in 2020-21 to more than Rs1.07 billion in 2026-27.

The disclosure came after a Right of Access to Information case filed by the applicant before the Pakistan Information Commission. The IPO submitted its detailed response to the Commission, providing figures on its budget, salaries, stationery, furniture, vehicles, vehicle maintenance, official travel and the pay package of its chairman.

The figures show that IPO’s budget increased from Rs591,541,790 in 2020-21 to Rs1,071,560,000 in 2026-27. This represents an increase of about 81 percent over seven years.

The records also reveal significant spending on official travel. According to the IPO response, Rs1,017,562 was paid as travel allowance for the Chairman from January 2025 to the latest available period. During the same period, Rs1,093,068 was paid as travel allowance to the Director General.

Together, the travel payments for the Chairman and Director General amounted to Rs2,110,630.

The documents show that the Chairman received travel payments for visits to Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Several payments were made for visits to the same cities, including separate payments recorded on the same date.

The Director General’s travel payments included official visits to Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Multan, Sargodha and Peshawar.

The disclosure also gives details of the salary package of the IPO Chairman. The Chairman is placed in the Management Position MP I pay scale. The basic monthly pay is Rs629,230, while house rent is Rs146,450 and utilities amount to Rs28,500.

In addition, the Chairman receives a monthly transport monetization amount of Rs95,910.

According to the IPO response, MP I officers are also entitled to official travel allowances, medical facilities and gratuity according to the applicable government rules.

The organisation currently has 12 vehicles, according to the information provided to the Commission.

The fleet includes four Toyota Corolla cars, including two 2018 models and two 2009 models. It also includes several Suzuki Cultus cars, mostly 2017 models, with vehicles located at the IPO headquarters in Islamabad and its offices in Lahore and Karachi.

The official response also reveals spending on vehicle repair and maintenance between 2020 21 and 2025 26.

At the IPO headquarters in Islamabad, vehicle maintenance costs stood at Rs950,205 in 2020-21 and rose to Rs2,764,715 in 2025-26. During the six-year period, the headquarters alone spent more than Rs14.9 million on vehicle repair and maintenance.

The records further show that the percentage of the IPO budget spent on staff salaries increased from 27.70 percent in 2020-21 to 39.66 percent in 2024-25. It stood at 37.51 percent in 2025-26, while the figure for 2026-27 was still ongoing when the information was provided.

Spending on stationery remained a relatively small part of the overall budget, although the figures varied between offices.

At IPO headquarters in Islamabad, stationery spending accounted for 0.51 percent of the budget in 2025-26. At the IPO Lahore office it was 2.25 percent, while the Trademark Registry Karachi spent 1.20 percent, the Copyright Office Karachi 0.70 percent and the Patent Office Karachi 0.43 percent.

Furniture spending also varied considerably. The records show that the Trademark Registry Karachi spent 3.47 percent of its budget on furniture purchases in 2024 25, while the Copyright Office Karachi spent 3.08 percent in 2020 21.

The latest response has emerged after the Pakistan Information Commission had earlier ordered the IPO Chairman to provide the requested information within 10 days.

The earlier Commission order followed the failure of the IPO to appear before the Commission despite two notices. The Commission observed that the information sought was public record under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017.

The latest disclosure has brought into the public record a detailed picture of how the organisation’s budget has changed, how much is spent on salaries and official travel, and what facilities are available to its senior officials.

The figures are contained in the IPO’s formal response submitted before the Pakistan Information Commission in Appeal No. 5828-07-2026.