Ordinance empowers govt to increase PDL

A presidential ordinance issued late on Tuesday empowered the federal government to increase the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on the petroleum products at will and removed the maximum ceiling that had capped it to Rs70 per litre.

The ordinance abolished the Fifth Schedule for the levy on petroleum products, which authorised the government to impose any levy at any rate. The ordinance came as the government increased the PDL on petroleum products, instead of reducing the oil prices following reduction in the global market.

The government increased the levy on petrol by Rs8.2 per litre to Rs78.2 per litre. Similarly, the levy on diesel was increased by Rs7.1 per litre to Rs77.1 per litre – exceeding the previous cap of Rs70 per litre, according to sources. Later, the government issued a notification to maintain the prices of petroleum products.