ISLAMABAD: The government has announced a decrease of Rs2 per litre in petrol and diesel prices for the month of December.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Finance Minister Asad Umar said the government has decided to minimise the burden on the public by absorbing substantial impact.
The cut in petrol prices will take the rate from the current Rs97.83 per litre to Rs95.83 per litre.
The government has also decided to decrease kerosene oil prices by Rs3, taking the price from the existing Rs86.50 to Rs83.50 for December. Kerosene oil is used in remote areas including northern Pakistan where LPG is scarce and not available for cooking purpose.
Contrary to the announcement of reducing oil prices, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had recommended increasing the price of petrol by Rs6.21 per litre due to multiple rounds of rupee depreciation against the dollar.
Ogra had proposed an increase of Rs6.21 per litre in petrol, Rs2.00 per litre in high speed diesel (HSD), Rs9.91 per litre in kerosene oil and Rs7.79 per litre in light diesel oil (LDO). The regulator had calculated these prices based on 17% general sales tax. Currently, the government is charging 4.5% general sales tax on petrol, 12% on HSD, 1.5% on kerosene oil and no tax on LDO.
In November, the government increased the prices of all petroleum products with immediate effect by up to 8.5%. It decided to absorb the substantial impact of increase in the prices of petroleum products and partially pass the increase on to the consumers.
