ISLAMABAD, Feb 13: The government talks with the oil marketing companies and dealers for increase in commission on sale of petroleum products remained inconclusive on Wednesday owing to non-availability of prime minister’s adviser on petroleum Dr Asim Hussain.
A senior government official told Dawn that the government side led by Secretary Petroleum Abid Saeed listened to the demands of the petroleum dealers and oil marketing companies (OMCs) in detail and promised to get back to them after taking up the matter with the petroleum adviser.
Representatives of the dealers, OMCs and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) attended the meeting.
He said Dr Asim Hussain was scheduled to preside over a meeting with dealers and OMC but he could not make up because of his engagements in Lahore where he had been called by President Asif Ali Zardari.
The representatives of the petroleum dealers association told the meeting that inflation had increased by about 22 per cent in last months and tax burden had increased, resulting in increase in the cost of business.
Therefore, the running of petrol pumps had become unviable.
They said the dealer margins used to be 4 per cent of the per litre product cost that had been reduced to 2 per cent in 2010 and then fixed in absolute terms at Rs2.30 per litre on petrol and Rs2.20 per litre on high speed diesel with a promise that these would be gradually increased.
The dealer margins remained fixed at that level while all other business costs had increased.
Therefore, the dealers demanded to increase the per litre margins to be increased by Re1 per litre both on petrol and high speed diesel.
The OMC also pleaded similar arguments to justify about Re1 per litre increase in their commissions from existing level of Rs1.58 on petrol and Rs1.76 per litre on high speed diesel.
The petroleum ministry informed the dealers and OMCs that their recommendations would be shared with petroleum adviser Dr Asim Hussain and convene another meeting on the issue within a week to resolve the issue.