ISLAMABAD: Petroleum dealers on Tuesday pleaded for the implementation of the government commitment to increase their sale margins by Rs1.40 to Rs2.20 per litre on petrol and diesel, which had been pending since July last year.

A meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Petroleum presided over by Syed Mustafa Shah asked the Petroleum Division, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association to present their detailed reports on the subject for a way forward.

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) presented its case before the committee and protested the non-implementation of the government committee. They said the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had decided in September 2023 to revise their sale margins by Rs1.64 per litre for dealers and Rs1.87 per litre for oil marketing companies in four phases that year based on PSO’s operating cost.

The government had also committed to annual revisions in line with the inflationary trend, the PPDA representatives said, adding that early this year, the dealers had worked out a Rs2.20 per litre increase in their margins. Ogra, however, proposed to the government an increase of Rs1.40 per litre in the existing rate of Rs7.87 per litre for dealers and Rs8.64 per litre for OMCs. However, it has not been notified over the past nine months of the fiscal year.

During the ensuing discussion, a proposal for converting CNG filling stations into petrol pumps also cropped up. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik clarified that such cases could be examined individually on a case-to-case basis under the existing petroleum policy, and there would be no immediate revision in the policy. The committee decided to defer further deliberation on this matter to its next meeting.

Addressing concerns regarding fuel quality, the minister pointed out challenges related to GST and LPG margins. He said Ogra was empowered to oversee these matters and that relevant issues would be addressed in the upcoming budget.

Ogra Chairman Masroor Khan informed the committee that petroleum prices were set every 15 days with the government approval and about 50pc of petroleum products demand was met by state-owned PSO.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2025