Shahbaz Gill, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, said on Twitter that the price of petrol was increased by Rs1.71 per liter on the suggestion of Ogra, but the price of diesel remained unchanged since it harmed the ordinary man and farmers.
As fuel inventories fell to three to five days’ use across the nation, except Sindh, the government raised the price by Rs1.71 per liter and decided to modify the berthing order of various oil boats.
The country’s total gasoline stockpiles had dipped below 260,000 tonnes, which equated to fewer than 10 days of use. After eliminating Sindh, where fuel supplies are sufficient for around 30 days, the product is available in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for fewer than five days, and in Balochistan and the northern provinces for three days.
Higher consumption, high tide at sea, and inadequate planning and stock management were identified as major causes of the shortfall.
To deal with the problem, the Petroleum Division asked the Ministry of Maritime Affairs on Friday to prioritize the berthing of vessels carrying motor fuel (petrol).
Interestingly, Ogra had worked out a reduction in the price of high-speed diesel of Rs2.27 per liter, but at the request of the Finance Division, the drop was offset by an identical rise in the petroleum levy.
The ex-depot price of fuel was raised by 1.5 percent to Rs119.80 per liter, up from Rs118.09 previously. Kerosene prices have risen by 35 paise to Rs87.49 per liter. According to Mr. Gill’s tweet, the pricing of high-speed diesel (HSD) and light diesel oil (LDO) remained constant at Rs116.53 and Rs84.67 per liter, respectively.
The Oil Marketing Association Pakistan (OMAP), a representative body of oil marketing companies, on the other hand, asked the government on Friday to remove the anomaly in the levying of turnover tax applicable to the oil marketing sector by linking it to margins earned by oil marketing companies and lowering its rate to 0.25pc.
In a letter to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, OMAP Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ilyas Fazil stated, “The rate of turnover tax (currently at 0.75pc) should be rationalized/aligned to remove all elements of discrimination and be reduced to 0.25pc to provide much-needed relief to cash flows and profits.” Furthermore, because OMCs have a very small government-regulated margin, the minimum tax should be tied to gross margins rather than revenues.”
