ISLAMABAD: Finally, prime minister, Imran Khan, has taken a conscious decision of not approving the increase in petroleum product prices by rejecting a summary moved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) seeking major upward revision in their rats for the current fortnight .
The prime minister rejected the summary of OGRA that had recommended 16.76 % increase in the petroleum product prices for next two weeks.
The prime minister while rejecting the increase in petroleum product prices noted that the government will take hit of Rs 30 billion to avoid further financial burden on the masses in the form of up ward revision in petroleum product prices.
The Finance ministry issued a statement late Monday night, saying the prime minister has not approved further increase in the rates of the petroleum product prices hence their rates will remain unchanged till February 15, 2022. The government reviews petroleum product prices twice a month.
As per the Finance ministry notification, the petrol price will stay unchanged at Rs 147.83 per liter. Kerosene oil price will stay at Rs 116.48 per litre. The rates of high speed diesel and light diesel will remain unchanged at Rs 144.62 and Rs 114. 52 per litre respectively. According to the Finance ministry,
the rates of petroleum products have gone up 15.4% in the last one month in the international market. According to the pricing mechanism, the government revises the rates of all petroleum products on the basis of change in brunt rates in the international market for each fortnight, but in special cases, it takes decision in this regard on the basis of the ground realities.
According to the Finance ministry, the government will take hit of Rs 30 billion by not adjusting the prices of petroleum products at par with the rates of brunt in the global market. The handout issued here by the Finance ministry said the government will face a shortfall of over Rs 262 billion in terms of less collection of revenue on the sale of petroleum products in the current fiscal year.