Billions Lost As Hundreds of Challans of Oil and Gas Companies Go Missing

The Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) has revealed that hundreds of payment challans submitted by private oil and gas companies have gone missing, which has resulted in losses exceeding Rs. 15.8 billion to the national exchequer. According to the latest audit report, the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has repeatedly flagged the issue of missing challans in previous years, but no corrective measures were taken. Sources told ProPakistani this problem was rampant and caused huge losses during the fiscal year 2024-25 as well. The report discloses that 131 crude oil royalty challans have been lost, causing a financial loss of more than Rs. 6.21 billion. In addition, 199 gas royalty challans went missing, leading to a further loss of over Rs. 9.59 billion. Audit authorities have now dissolved the existing challan pool system due to the recurring discrepancies. Moreover, DGPC has also reported that lease rent invoices related to company licenses have been circulated without proper documentation. This issue was also highlighted in the AGP’s audit report for FY 2021–22, which pointed to the disappearance of similar financial records, yet no significant remedial action has been taken to date.