Govt keeps petrol rate unchanged

It was expected the prices would go up by Rs8.98 per litre

LAHORE:

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the petroleum prices will be "maintained as they are" and will remain unchanged for the remaining 15 days of January.

"Petroleum prices will remain as they are at Rs214.80 per litre. Diesel is being sold for Rs227.80 per litre and will remain as it is. Kerosene oil is currently priced at Rs171.83 per litre and that will also remain unchanged. Further, light diesel oil (LDO) is presently priced at Rs179 per litre, and that too shall remain unchanged for the next 15 days," the finance minister said while addressing media persons on Sunday.

#Live: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar talking to media in Lahore https://t.co/X9sci4XnEF

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) January 15, 2023

The government was to announce the new fuel prices to be implemented from January 16 to January 31, however, the finance minister said that no changes would be introduced "in accordance with the advice of Nawaz Sharif".

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Previously, it was expected that the price of petrol would go up by Rs8.98 per litre while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) may rise by Rs1.06 per litre in the fortnightly revision of petroleum product prices.

However, sources in the Petroleum Division had said that the government could keep prices unchanged at current levels for January 16 to 31 by adjusting the rate of petroleum levy.

At present, the government is charging consumers Rs50 per litre in petroleum levy on petrol and Rs32.50 per litre on HSD. However, no general sales tax is collected on the sale of petroleum products which include petrol, HSD, high octane blending component, kerosene oil and light diesel oil.

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Apart from the petroleum levy, the inland freight equalisation margin had been fixed at Rs3.51 per litre on the sale of petrol and at Rs0.81 per litre on the sale of HSD.

Further, oil marketing margins of Rs5 per litre are collected on the sale of petrol and HSD while the commission of dealers has been set at Rs7 per litre for the two petroleum products.

The exchange rate adjustment for major oil importer Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is estimated at Rs5 per litre on petrol and Rs3.50 per litre on HSD.