Imran approves price hike, petrol at Rs 117.83/l

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan might have brought down the price of the staple flat breads for his countrymen but he has approved the recommendation of the Oil and Gas Development Authority (OGRA) to increase petrol prices by Rs 5.15 per litre that will bring the cost to Rs 117.83 a litre.

The federal government increased the prices of all petroleum products for the month of August amid a slight reduction in the international crude price in a meeting held on Wednesday, as reported by Dawn newspaper.

The price of petrol was hiked by Rs 5.15 per litre, and Rs 5.65 increase was for High Speed Diesel (HSD). Similarly, the price of kerosene was increased by Rs 5.38 and Rs 8.9 for Light Diesel Oil (LDO).

Earlier on Tuesday, the regulatory authority had moved a summary to the government containing calculations on petroleum prices on the basis of higher general sales tax and petroleum levy.

According to an official, the crude price had dropped by more than 12 per cent in the Arabian Gulf to $63 per barrel on July 30 from $72 on April 28, but the government had been gradually increasing tax rates.

The government increased the ex-depot rate of HSD to Rs 132.47 per litre, from Rs126.82, showing an increase of about 4.45 per cent.

Likewise, the government increased the ex-depot price of petrol to Rs 117.83 per litre from Rs 112.68 -- up about 4.6 per cent.

Similarly, the ex-depot price of LDO was fixed at Rs 97.52 per litre - up more than 10 per cent over the previous rate of Rs 88.62. The kerosene price was fixed at Rs 103.84 per litre, showing an increase of about 5.5 per cent over the previous rate of Rs 98.46.

The government is charging 17 per cent general sales tax (GST) on all petroleum products. Besides the GST, the petroleum levy ranging between Rs 14-18 per litre was being charged on petrol and HSD and Rs 3-6 on kerosene and LDO.

Petrol and HSD are two major products that generate most of the revenue because of their massive and yet growing consumption in the country. Total HSD sales are touching 800,000 tonne against monthly consumption of around 700,000 tonne of petrol. The sales of kerosene and LDO are generally less than 10,000 tonne per month.