The government on Thursday announced another hike in prices of petroleum products, taking the cumulative amount of all hikes since May 26 up to Rs. 132 per liter.
According to the notification issued by the Finance Division, petrol will now be priced at Rs. 248.74 per liter, followed by high-speed diesel at Rs. 276.54 per liter, kerosene oil at Rs. 230.20 per liter and light diesel at Rs. 226.61 per liter. The new prices will come into effect from midnight tonight.
As per the notification, Rs. 10 petroleum levy has been applied on petrol and Rs. 5 each on all other products.
“In view of the fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and the exchange rate variation, the government has decided to apply a petroleum levy partially and revise the existing prices of petroleum products as agreed with the development partners,” the Finance Division said in a statement.
GST and Petroleum Levy
It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government has set a target to collect Rs. 750 billion on account of the petroleum development levy (PDL) in fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23).
The government has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a schedule to increase the prices of petroleum products by imposing a 17 percent general sales tax (GST) and PDL of Rs. 50 per liter during FY23.
The government and IMF have agreed on a schedule to impose GST and PDL on petroleum products from 1st July 2022 to June 2023 for the revival of the stalled loan program.
Background
Giving in to the insistence of the IMF to abolish the subsidies on petroleum products, the government had raised the prices of all petroleum products by Rs. 30 per liter on May 26.
This was followed by another hike of Rs. 30 per liter merely days later, followed by the third hike on June 15.
Before the increase on May 26, the price of petrol and high-speed diesel was Rs. 149.86 and Rs. 144.15 per liter, respectively. Similarly, the price of kerosene and light diesel oil was Rs. 125.56 and Rs. 118.31 per liter, respectively.
Source: Radio Pakistan