ISLAMABAD: The oil tanker owners have threatened to go on a countrywide strike from March 22 against the preferential treatment to National Logistic Cell tankers and sales tax regime on the oil business.
“The preferential treatment to NLC, ambiguous sales tax regime by the provinces and nonpayment by the oil marketing companies are hurting the oil business. If these issues are not properly addressed, the oil tankers will halt their operation and block the supply to all over the country from March 22,” said the Oil Tankers Contractors Association (Otca) in a letter addressed to the petroleum secretary.
NLC tankers are not required to queue up for loading and unloading in all regions of Pakistan while the tankers of other contractors wait for the NLC to fill its tankers, said All Pakistan PSO Carriage Contractors Association (APPCCA) General Secretary Nauman Ali Butt, talking to media persons. “Besides not lining up for loading and unloading, the NLC is not paying the NOC fee of Rs 4 million whereas the private oil tankers are paying Rs 4 million for the NOC/guarantee while no such guarantee money which is transferable and refundable is being charged from NLC,” he said.
It was also stated that the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has been giving undue favour to National Logistic Cell as Otca has been asked to bring standard vehicles for oil transport whereas NLC has no vehicles that meet the required standards. The NLC tankers which have no PSO-specified colour are given out-of-turn loading and unloading facility, he regretted, warning they will be going on strike and halt their operations.
“The association has been making hectic efforts for provincial sales tax (sales tax on services). On September 13, 2017, a meeting was held with government officials in Islamabad, which decided that the registration will be made in each province, but the provinces have not so far devised the laws. Due to ambiguity in laws of the provinces, various companies have withheld payment of billions of rupees to the OTCA. We are in financial crisis as the oil marketing companies have not been paying our billions of rupees for the last three months,” Butt asserted.
