LAHORE: The business community has urged the government to decrease prices of petroleum products by Rs 8.48 per litre cut, which was proposed by the Oil and Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to the Ministry of Petroleum.
In different statements, the traders’ representatives said that the finance ministry is bound to follow the directives of Ogra to announce the reduction in prices of petroleum products.
According to the summary sent to the ministry of petroleum by Ogra, recommendations have been made for scaling down the price of petrol by Rs 8.48 per litre, light diesel Rs 1.97 per litre, high speed diesel Rs 4.67 per litre, high octane Rs 2.98 per litre and price of kerosene oil by Rs 1.66 per litre.
GCCI President Samee Ullah Ch said that the slight cut in the petroleum prices is not a reflection of the huge drop of more than 50% in the international market. He also warned the government of refraining from enhancing general sales tax (GST) on the petroleum products. He said the government should also announce a cut in power tariff in line with reduction in oil prices, as around 70% of electricity was being generated through oil. He said major commodities and services were relatively more sensitive to changes in oil prices.
