Stay order: Court stops OGRA from taking action against LPG firms

“Ogra’s notification only made matters worse as it forced importers to delay shipments,” says Jabbar

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday extended relief to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) companies as it restricted the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) from taking any coercive measures against them till January 11, 2013 which is the next date of hearing of the case.

The LPG firms challenged Ogra’s notification dated December 8, 2012 in which the price of imported LPG had been capped below its cost. This leads to all import plans being put on hold which further fueled the price of the product in the market.

However, following the relief granted by the court on December 13 orders for imports were once again confirmed.

“Ogra’s notification only made matters worse as it forced importers to delay shipments,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesperson for the LPG Association of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2012.