In its first fuel price revision announcement, the newly elected government on Thursday maintained the price of petrol but slashed diesel the for the next fortnight.
In a late-night announcement, the Ministry of Finance announced the new prices for the next fortnight, starting from March 16, as recommended by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
The new price of petrol remains Rs279.75 per litre, according to a notification from the Finance Division.
The price of high-speed diesel was decreased by Rs1.77 to Rs285.56 per litre. Since this fuel is mostly used by the transport sector, a hike in its price would have been considered inflationary.
Previously, informed sources said the petroleum prices were estimated to generally remain stable as the premium on petrol import had increased to $12.15 per barrel from $10.45 in February but exchange rate and international product prices remained range bound. The premium on the import of high-speed diesel (HSD) has remained unchanged at $6.50 per barrel.
The government has already achieved a Rs60 per litre petroleum levy — the maximum permissible limit under the law — on both petrol and HSD. The government had set a budget target to collect Rs869bn as petroleum levy on petroleum products during the current fiscal year under the commitments made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
It has already collected about Rs475bn in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year although the per litre levy was gradually increased. The government is expected to mop up about Rs970bn by the end of the year although the revised target has now been set at Rs920bn by end-June.
At present, the government is charging about Rs82 per litre tax on both petrol and HSD. Although the general sales tax (GST) is zero on all petroleum products the government is charging Rs60 per litre PDL on both products.
