CNG outlets: Senate panel asks government to recover Rs 12 billion dues

The Senate Special Committee on Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) has recommended to the government to recover an outstanding amount of Rs12 billion against the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations. The committee held an in camera meeting here Tuesday with Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour in the chair to discuss the unresolved matters related to outstanding dues on account of GIDC against various clients including CNG stations, fertilizer plants, captive power plants and industrial sector.
According to reliable sources who attended the meeting, the committee has asked the government to direct those fertilizer plants which collected the GIDC from the consumers but didn't deposit it in national kitty. According to officials of Ministry of Petroleum and Ministry of Finance, Rs100 billion on account of GIDC are outstanding against various sectors including captive power plants (CPPs), compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, general industry and others.
Only against CNG stations' owners, an amount of Rs51 billion is outstanding of which the sector has paid Rs19 billion, while Rs32 billion are still outstanding against them. To resolve the issue, All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) and the Ministry of Petroleum held two rounds of talks, but failed to reach any decision as the CNG sector kept offering the government of paying Rs9 billion, while the government asked them to pay Rs16 billion out of Rs32 billion.
In final round of talks between the APCNGA and the government, the CNG association offered the government to pay Rs10 billion, while the government asked them to pay Rs13 billion, the matter was brought before the senate special committee meeting in December 2016, wherein the Ministry of Finance turned down the APCNGA's offer.
According to the Petroleum Ministry officials, at present the CNG stations in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Balochistan are collecting GIDC from the end consumers, but many of them are not submitting the amount in national kitty. The government has imposed GIDC on various gas consumers to finance gas infrastructure as it is laying gas related infrastructure worth Rs150 billion.
The representatives of All Pakistan CNG Association were also invited by the committee to get their version and they showed their willingness to pay the amount as it was decided in the second round of talks.