ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday reduced prices of all petroleum products by up to Rs10 per litre for the next fortnight ending Dec 31.

The price cut at the rate of Rs10 per litre each in petrol, kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) and Rs7.50 per litre in high speed diesel (HSD) was announced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on national hookup through a pre-recorded message.

He said the government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had been trying to pass on maximum relief to people.

He said the price of petrol has been fixed at Rs214.80 per litre against the existing Rs224.80, down by Rs10.

The HSD price was cut by Rs7.50 per litre to Rs227.80 from Rs235.30.

The ex-depot price of kerosene was also reduced by Rs10 per litre to Rs171.83 from Rs181.83. Likewise, the ex-depot rate of LDO was cut by Rs10 to Rs169 per litre from the existing rate of Rs179.

The finance minister said the government had reduced the prices of petrol by Rs22.63 per litre during the quarter starting Oct 1, when it stood at Rs237.43 per litre. Likewise, he said the HSD price was cut by Rs19.63 during the quarter from Rs247.43.

The total cut in kerosene and LDO, according to him, amounted to Rs30.19 and Rs28.28 per litre during the quarter, respectively when compared to Rs202.02 and Rs197.28 per litre.

At present, the GST is zero on all the key products, including petrol, HSD, kerosene and LDO against the 17pc normal GST. The government is charging about Rs50 per litre petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol, Rs15 on LDO and Rs7 per litre on kerosene.

However, the PDL on HSD was increased by Rs5 per litre to Rs30 from the existing Rs25 per litre. Besides, the government is charging about Rs18 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD.

It also increased profit margin for oil companies by Re1 per litre on petrol.

Petrol and HSD are the major revenue spinners with their monthly sale of about 700,000-800,000 tonnes compared to just 10,000 and 2,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene and LDO, respectively.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2022