ISLAMABAD: By lowering the price of gasoline and high-speed diesel (HSD), the government is anticipated to transfer the savings from down global costs to the general public.
On June 15, the rates will be reviewed every two weeks. Petrol is anticipated to decrease by approximately Rs9 and HSD by Rs5 per liter.
Sources claim that for the past two weeks, the price of gasoline and HSD has decreased by roughly $3.75 and $2.7 per barrel, respectively, on the global market.
This was on top of a price decline of almost $12 and $8 per barrel for gasoline and HSD, respectively, during the preceding two weeks.
While the price of HSD dropped to $95 per barrel from $98 per barrel, the price of gasoline decreased to just over $90 per barrel from over $94 per barrel.
In the past two weeks, the import premium on gasoline has dropped marginally, from $9.70 per barrel to $9.50. However, the value of the rupee has also stayed steady.
The final computation, which takes into account the inland freight equalization margin (IFEM), is expected to result in a reduction of Rs9 per litre for petrol and Rs5 per litre for HSD.
The Petroleum Development Levy (PDL), for which the government has already attained the highest legal limit of Rs60 per litre on both gasoline and HSD, will be included in the final price.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year that ends on March 31, this has added Rs720 billion to the government coffers.
In accordance with agreements reached with the International Monetary Fund, the government had set a budget target of Rs869 billion to be collected in PDL for the current fiscal year. This target has since been increased to Rs960 billion.
Currently, the government levies taxes on gasoline and HSD at a rate of around Rs80 per litre, plus an additional Rs19–20 for customs duties.
This is the case even though all petroleum goods are exempt from general sales tax.
With monthly sales of roughly 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes for gasoline and HSD combined, compared to approximately 10,000 tonnes for kerosene, these fuels are the main revenue generators.
The primary causes of the high rate of inflation have been the cost of power and petroleum. Gasoline is mostly utilized for personal transportation, compact cars, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and its cost directly impacts the middle-class and lower-class budgets.
However, because HSD is largely used in heavy-duty vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, its price is thought to be very inflationary. In particular, it raises the cost of vegetables and other food items.
