Govt hikes POL prices by up to Rs 8.14 per litre

November 5, 2021 (MLN): The government has increased the price of petrol by Rs 8.03 per litre, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a relief package of Rs 120 billion whereby he warned that the POL prices would have to be increased further.

The announcement was made in a late-night notification. The new price of petrol has been fixed at Rs145.82 per litre for the next fortnight, after an increase of Rs8.03.

Similarly, the price of high-speed diesel (HSD), the most widely used fuel in the country, has been increased by Rs8.14 to Rs142.62 per litre. 

Prices of other petroleum prices, Kerosene (SKO) and Light diesel oil also went up by Rs6.27 and Rs5.72 to Rs116.53 per litre and Rs114.07 per litre respectively.

The revised prices have come into effect from today, November 5.

This increase in POL prices is on account of the promise with the IMF to increase taxes. Because international Oil prices are now stable, not increasing, and are at the same level for the last one to two months now.

While the Finance Division in a notification has offered an explanation to justify the price hike but has ended up stating that the price hike was to maintain the government's revenue from petroleum products.

The notice further clarified that “in the previous petroleum prices, already a significant relief was provided to the consumers. The Government is cognizant of its responsibility to provide maximum relief to the consumers. This has dented the Petroleum Levy budget of Rs. 152.5 billion during July-September, 2021 as compared to Rs. 20 billion realized only.”

Foregoing in view, prices of petroleum prices have been increased partially as compared to the prices being worked out by OGRA. If the Government had accepted OGRA's recommendation, the new prices would have been much higher. In fact, the Government has absorbed the bulk of the pressure after making adjustments in the Sales Tax and Petroleum Levy. It is pertinent to mention that Petroleum Levy collection is far short of its fixed target for the first quarter of the FY 2021-22, it added.

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