ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has been requested to fix a date for hearing a petition challenging the imposition of a hefty petroleum levy (PL) and the increase in the prices of petroleum products.
Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta on Monday filed an application for early hearing of his petition, which he filed on May 1 this year. He has requested the FCC to direct the government to withdraw the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.
Chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, has filed a petition wherein the FCC has been requested to issue directions for constituting an independent, expert-assisted mechanism or commission to examine the constitutional, fiscal, economic, and federal implications of the present petroleum levy structure.
The Court has entertained both the petitions as the FCC Registrar’s Office did not raise any objection to either petition, and allotted numbers to them. The petitions have been filed under Article 175E of the Constitution.
Bhutta, in his plea, contended that the federal government has failed to reduce the petrol prices despite the fact that oil prices have been normalised. He further contended that due to high fuel rates, the prices of vegetables and food items, fares of public transportation, and children’s school vans have increased.
The government announced a petroleum and carbon levy under an iron-clad commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Petroleum Levy on both products has remained unchanged at Rs80 per litre each.
In the context of Pakistan, a petroleum levy is a federal tax imposed on petroleum products such as petrol (motor spirit), high-speed diesel (HSD), kerosene, and light diesel oil. It is one of the government’s most important non-tax revenue sources.
The petroleum levy is a fixed charge per litre that the government collects on fuel sales. Unlike sales tax, which is percentage-based, the petroleum levy is a specific amount per unit.
It is imposed under federal laws such as the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy) Ordinance, 1961, and subsequent finance laws. The federal government has the authority to adjust it through finance bills and statutory regulatory orders (SROs).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026