LAHORE: Pakistan LPG Marketers Association (PLPGMA) has appealed to the federal government to end the ‘discriminatory’ taxes and petroleum levy on locally produced liquefied petroleum gas.

“Domestically produced LPG carried 17 per cent general sales tax and petroleum levy of Rs4,669 per metric ton, whereas the imported one is subject to only 10pc GST and is exempt from petroleum levy/regulatory duty,” said Farooq Iftikhar, association chairman, at a press conference on Tuesday.

“LPG is a poor man’s fuel and is used by people living in rural and far-flung areas of Pakistan that do not have access to Sui gas. It is used by people with meagre incomes who want to cook with a clean fuel and not use wood or biomass,” he said.

Approximately 70pc of Pakistan’s LPG requirement is met through indigenous LPG production from refineries and gas fields whereas the remaining 30pc is imported. The price for indigenous production is indexed to the highest international price benchmark of Saudi Aramco Contract Price, whereas most of the LPG imported to Pakistan is available at a discount to Saudi Aramco CP. By reducing the GST on imports and waiving off the regulatory duty, the federal government has provided an indirect subsidy of over Rs6 billion on imported product. The LPG producing fields have been forced to shut down their operations and curtail production on several occasions as they have been unable to compete with cheaper imports, he said.

“We understand that there is a need for imports to meet the shortfall, and [we] are fully supportive of the essential supplies that need to be maintained. However facilitating imports and offering it a price advantage over local production amounts to depriving the country of its own natural resources and is unjustified,” said Mr. Iftikhar.

The government is contemplating an increase in petroleum levy only on domestic LPG production while exempting imports from any such duty. This will further widen the difference between the prices of local and imported stuff, he said.

“We appeal to the government to apply a uniform rate of GST and petroleum levy to both domestic and imported LPG,” said Mr. Iftikhar.

LESCO: A Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) team on Tuesday launched a search operation in various parts of Nankana circle and detected power theft.

According to a press release, the team during operation disconnected electricity supply, charged over 47,000 units to power thieves besides initiating legal action against them.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2020