Petrol Prices to Remain Unchanged Despite a Massive Jump in International Prices

Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Monday, deferred the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) recommendation to hike the price of petroleum products. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Shahbaz Gill, took to Twitter to confirm the news. “The prime minister had not approved the summary of increasing petrol price by Rs. 11 and diesel by Rs. 14,” the SAPM wrote. He said that oil prices have increased in the international market due to rising inflation, but the government would do everything to protect the people from rising inflation. “Therefore, the prime minister has deferred this summary,” he said. He added that government would bear the burden of the increase in the price instead. In a separate statement, the finance ministry said that petroleum products were showing a substantial increase in the international market and were presently trading at the highest level since 2014. The ministry said that oil prices have witnessed an increase of 14.5 percent just in last month in the global market. The existing Sales Tax rate and Petroleum Levy on various petroleum products are much below the budgeted targets, it added. The statement said the government was bearing the revenue loss of around Rs. 30 billion fortnightly and Rs. 260 billion annually. It added that, “despite revenue losses due to rising petroleum prices globally, the prime minister has deferred the proposal by OGRA to increase up to Rs. 16.79 per liter in the petroleum product prices and desired that petroleum product prices shall remain the same from February 1, 2022, as notified earlier on January 15, 2022, for providing maximum relief to the general public.” “The premier has further desired to keep the prices at the same level through adjustments in Sales Tax, if required,” the statement said.