Under monthly review, the regulator has suggested a decrease of Rs 6 paisa per liter or 0.1 per cent for petrol. However, it has recommended an increase of Rs 2.47/litre (1.9 percent) for high speed diesel (HSD). The price of light diesel oil (LDO) which is an industrial fuel may be increased by Rs 1.10 per liter or 1.3 percent. The price of kerosene oil has been recommended to be decreased by 66 paisa/liter (or 0.7 percent).

The government is charging 17 percent general sales tax (GST) on all petroleum products. Apart from it, the government is also collecting Petroleum Levy (PL) on these products.

Currently, the government is charging Rs18 per liter petroleum levy on diesel, Rs 15 on petrol, Rs 6 on kerosene oil and Rs 3 on LDO. During the previous government, the Petroleum Levy was charged up to Rs 10 per liter on these products; however, the GST was higher than the current rate.

AN official said that Ogra has sent the summary to the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) which would be then forwarded to the Finance Ministry for approval. The government would take decision on it on Friday.

If the government accepts this recommendation, the petrol price will go down from the existing Rs 116.60 per liter to Rs 116.54/ liter, and HSD price will increase to Rs 129.73/liter from the current Rs127.26/liter.

The price of LDO will increase to Rs 85.61 per liter from 84.51/liter. Kerosene oil price will come down from the current Rs 99.45/liter to Rs 98.79 per liter. Kerosene is used for cooking purposes, especially in remote areas where LPG or pipeline gas is not available.

Since July 2019, Pakistan has also receiving monthly Saudi oil supplies worth $275 million on deferred payment. Under this arrangement, Pakistan would get this oil facility to the tune of $9.9 billion over the next three years.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020