Petrol price hiked to Rs110.69 per litre

Published June 16, 2021
The government on Tuesday increased the prices of all petroleum products by up to four per cent for next 15 days to pass on partial impact of increase in international prices. — AFP/File
The government on Tuesday increased the prices of all petroleum products by up to four per cent for next 15 days to pass on partial impact of increase in international prices. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday increased the prices of all petroleum products by up to four per cent for next 15 days to pass on partial impact of increase in international prices.

According to a notification issued by ministry of finance, the ex-depot price of petrol has been increased by Rs2.13 per litre and that of high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs1.79 per litre. The ex-depot price of kerosene has been increased by Rs1.89 per litre and that of light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs2.03 per litre.

As such, the ex-depot rate of petrol has been fixed at Rs110.69 per litre instead of Rs108.56 per litre at present, showing an increase of 1.96pc. Likewise, the ex-depot HSD price has been set at Rs112.55 per litre from existing rate of Rs110.76 per litre, up 1.6pc.

Similarly, the ex-depot price of kerosene has been fixed at Rs81.89 per litre instead of existing rate of Rs80, showing an increase of 2.36pc. The ex-depot price of LDO has been set at Rs79.68 per litre instead of Rs77.65, up 3.9pc.

The government had to reduce its tax on petrol and diesel to allow a minimum increase. Otherwise based on existing rates, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had worked out significantly higher prices. For example, it had worked out the price of HSD to go up by Rs5.58 per litre and that of petrol by Rs4.27 per litre. Similarly, Ogra had worked out an increase of Rs3.77 and Rs4.05 per litre in kerosene and LDO prices, respectively.

The government had already collected higher than targeted revenue on petroleum products through petroleum levy in the 11 months of the current fiscal. Therefore, it was comfortable with minor adjustments in petroleum levy.

According to the ministry of finance, the collection on account of petroleum levy had amounted to Rs370 billion in first nine months of the current fiscal against annual target of Rs450bn. The actual collection through petroleum levy has now been revised to Rs500bn as part of budget 2021-22.

Over the last two years, the government has been tweaking with petroleum levy rates instead of GST as the levy remains in the federal kitty while GST goes to the divisible pool taxes and thus about 57pc share is received by the provinces.

Petrol and HSD are two major products that generate most of revenue for the government because of their massive and yet growing consumption in the country.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2021

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.