On the cards: FBR considering 5% levy on imported crude oil

Five per cent federal excise duty on domestic supply also on the cards.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is considering a proposal to impose five per cent customs duty on imported crude oil, The Express Tribune learned on Tuesday.

According to a document available with The Express Tribune, the FBR is also considering five per cent federal excise duty on the domestic movement of crude oil.

It said that the expected decision was part of Plan B that the FBR had prepared to achieve revenue targets for fiscal year 2011-12.

The document said that another option the FBR was considering involved maintaining the current level of oil prices in the domestic market while adjusting their decrease in the international market by imposing the petroleum development levy (PDL).

Sources said that the FBR collected sales tax of around Rs160 billion on petroleum products every year. They added that the amount was 25 per cent of the total sales tax that the FBR collected every year.

They said that the amount of sales tax collected by the FBR would decrease in case of a drop in oil prices in the international market.

Therefore, the sources said, the FBR was formulating Plan B to meet its annual target, as oil prices are expected to fall amid fears of a global double-dip recession.

Oil prices stood at $85.76 on Tuesday afternoon at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

However, the sources said, the FBR had not taken any final decision so far to impose new taxes.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th,  2011.