KARACHI: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has demanded that Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) immediately withdraw arrears from the gas bills of all its member mills and cease all coercive recovery measures, including disconnections, surcharges, adverse credit entries, or legal actions related to the arrears.
In a letter to SNGPL, APTMA Secretary General Shahid Sattar emphasized that the textile sector, which includes industrial and export-oriented gas consumers, has been directly impacted by the multi-year RLNG arrears recently billed by SNGPL in July 2025.
The dispute stems from the federal government’s 2015 decision to place RLNG under the petroleum products framework following the commencement of LNG imports. This decision, along with subsequent actions in 2015 and 2016, delegated the monthly pricing mechanism to OGRA, with adjustments to be made only after the final cost components were verified.
However, APTMA claims that SNGPL issued RLNG “actualization” bills in July 2025, consolidating alleged adjustments for the period from June 2015 to June 2022 into a single billing cycle, which was due on August 12, 2025. This deadline was later extended to August 22, 2025, following protests from industry stakeholders. APTMA argues that the arrears were imposed without prior notice, detailed calculations, or any opportunity for reconciliation, violating legal provisions under the OGRA Ordinance, 2002.
APTMA also pointed out that during much of the period in question, RLNG rates were capped at USD 6.5/MMBtu or USD 9/MMBtu, but no explanation has been provided on how these ceilings were incorporated into the retrospective adjustments.
The association stressed that such retrospective billing without transparency could severely harm an already struggling industry and put entire manufacturing operations at risk. APTMA has requested a 20-day deferment to allow for reconciliation of consumption records with the amounts billed and for all consumers to be provided with detailed consumption data and breakdowns of the adjustments.
The APTMA has also raised concerns about the legality of the arrears. They cited the Lahore High Court’s judgment in Ejaz Textile Mills Ltd vs Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2020 Lah 261), which prohibited multi-year retrospective RLNG adjustments. The APTMA further argued that SNGPL’s actions contradict the OGRA Ordinance, which allows only prospective tariff determinations, and violate constitutional guarantees of due process.
