January 13, 2002	Sunday	Shawwal 28, 1422

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PESHAWAR, Jan 12: The NWFP received over Rs120 million from the Centre as its share in the general sales tax on services and another amount of Rs10 million as royalty on crude oil, official sources told Dawn here on Saturday.

Islamabad released over Rs130 million funds to the province under the said two heads during the first five months of the current financial year.

The NWFP is projected to receive a total of Rs273.5 million as GST on services and another Rs52.31 million as royalty on crude oil during the 2001-02 financial year.

The money released to the province so far makes over 44 per cent of the total annual share the province has been promised for the current financial year.

During the last financial year, the province was released just over Rs243 million against the initially projected share of Rs928 million.

After the poor recovery of GST on services during the last financial year - the first year of its introduction - the federal government has, this time round, reduced the provincial share in line with the total target which has also been set at a benchmark much less than the last financial year.

In its budget for the current financial year, the NWFP government has laid a claim to Rs52.31 million as its legitimate share on account of royalty on crude oil - being produced at the Shakkar Dara oil producing plant near Kohat.

The province had received around Rs5 million royalty on crude oil during the first three months of the current financial year.

However, after receiving the second tranche, the total amount released by Islamabad to NWFP under the head of royalty on crude oil by the end of the fifth month of the current financial year stood at over Rs10 million, said the sources.

The NWFP government, said the sources, had laid claim to royalty on crude oil - against the Shakkar Darra crude oil productions - in line with the 1997 National Finance Commission award’s recommendations over the issue.

The 1997 NFC award included federal transfers (to provinces) on the basis of the criterion adopted in the 1990 award thereunder, said the sources, apart from payment of royalty and excise duty on natural gas to the provinces possessing the assets, payment of net hydel profit and royalty on crude oil had also been covered.