ISLAMABAD: Starting on March 16, it is anticipated that oil prices would mostly stay unchanged for the ensuing two weeks, according to reliable sources.
They claimed that although the premium on imported gasoline had gone up to $12.15 per barrel from $10.45 in February, the foreign product prices and currency rate were still within range. The $6.50 per barrel tariff on the import of high-speed diesel (HSD) has not altered. According to the estimates, this means that while HSD will decrease by less than Re1 per litre, the price of gasoline will rise by around one rupee.
As a result, the government had room to adjust the two projects’ inland freight equalization margin (IFEM) and currency rate to keep both prices stable. Kerosene and light diesel oil costs are anticipated to stay steady as well.
The maximum amount allowed by law, which is Rs60 per liter for both gasoline and HSD, has already been reached by the government. In accordance with its commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government had set a budget objective to collect Rs869 billion in petroleum levies on petroleum products during the current fiscal year.
Despite a steady increase in the per-litre fee, it has already earned almost Rs475 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, which runs from July to December. Although the reduced target has now been set at Rs920bn by end-June, the government is still anticipated to collect over Rs970bn by year’s end.
Currently, the government taxes gasoline and HSD at a rate of roughly Rs82 per litre. The government charges Rs60 per litre PDL for both petroleum products, even though there is no general sales tax (GST) on any petroleum product.
