ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Tuesday said CNG industry will go bankrupt, if gas tariff for this sector was increased by 31pc.

If the proposal of the government is accepted, it will lay waste to the CNG industry where trillions of rupees have been invested besides leaving millions unemployed, it said in a statement.

Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, leader of the CNG sector, said the decision to increase gas tariff from the current Rs980 per mmbtu to Rs1,283 per mmbtu will ruin the CNG sector in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The government should reconsider the decision as the CNG could not endure more taxation measures.

Ghiyas Paracha said CNG sector should not be subjected to discrimination and the recent proposal should be reversed as the government had already increased gas tariff by 40pc six months ago.

Appreciation in the value of dollar has brought the price of CNG closer to petrol and further taxes would end the difference between petrol and gas prices, he said, adding that the collapse of CNG industry will also put the government in trouble as it will not be able to recover their bills.

He demanded the government to reverse the decision to increase the gas tariff and invalidate the decision to slap customs duty on import of LNG.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2019