Incentives to deserving classes: Ogra, ministry asked to elucidate mechanism

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance has directed the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to find a practical way to provide incentives to deserving classes other than providing subsidies at petrol stations or introducing two rates for different classes of society.

The inaugural session of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was convened at the Parliament House to review and finalise the recommendations on the Finance Bill, 2024, which contains the Annual Budget Statement presented in the house on June 12th.

During the session, the committee directed the Ogra and the Ministry of Petroleum to elucidate the mechanism behind levy rate development in the amendment of Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy).

Fuel prices likely to decline again

The chairman Ogra briefed the committee on the proposed increase in the petrol levy in the Financial Budget 2024-25.

Senator Saleem Mandviwalla presided over the meeting, which was attended by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, along with committee members including Senator Sherry Rehman, Mohsin Aziz, Anusha Rahman, Ahmad Khan, Shazaib Durrani, Farooq Hamid Naek, Faisal Vawda, and Manzoor Ahmed Kakar.

Commencing the session, the chairman welcomed the participants and received a comprehensive overview of the Money Bill 2024 from the committee members. Senator Anusha Rahman advocated for the removal of all taxes from digital applications, highlighting the significant number of youth engaged in online freelancing and social apps, which also contribute to international remittances.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024