ISLAMABAD: The government was in negotiation with the compressed natural gas (CNG) sector to settle outstanding amount on account of the gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC), Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Friday.

The government could not waive any tax on its own as any settlement regarding recovery of the outstanding GIDC could only be made through parliament, he informed the Senate Special Committee Monitoring Implementation of the GIDC Bill of 2015.

He said CNG stations had collected the GIDC as per notified tariff of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), but they did not pay it to the government.

Representatives of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA), led by Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, apprised the body that they had held meetings with officials of the ministries of petroleum and finance, and offered to pay Rs10 billion against the total Rs32bn outstanding amount to settle the GIDC payment issue.

The chairman of the Senate committee, Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, believed that GIDC was meant for gas infrastructure development but it was not being utilised appropriately.

Mr Abbasi brushed aside the impression and said that GIDC was being spent judiciously, adding that a gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore was being laid at an estimated cost of Rs1.5 trillion to transport re-gasified liquefied natural gas.

The body discussed that the bill should be treated sector-wise and noted that all sectors were ready to pay but not retrospectively.

However, the ministry took the stance that the GIDC Act of 2015 provided that the cess collected by the company from gas consumers under the GIDC Act of 2011 and GIDC Ordinance of 2014 would be valid under the latest act’s provisions. “Therefore, the question of not paying the cess retrospectively does not arise.”

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2016