Najibullah alikhel, Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 1 : Amid the staggering inflation in Pakistan, the newly elected government announced a hike in the price of petrol by Pakistani currency (PKR) 9.66 per litre for the next fortnight, Dawn reported on Sunday. In the announcement that came ahead of Eidul Fitr, the Ministry of Finance said the new price of patrol would go into effect on April 1, as recommended by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).After this new hike, the price of petrol surged to PKR 289.41 per litre from the previous PKR 279.75, while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) decreased by PKR 3.32 to PKR 282.24 per litre. The ministry said the changes were due to a corresponding rise in petrol prices and a decrease in HSD prices in the international market. It added the change was in line with the government's policy of passing on price variations in the international market to the domestic market, Dawn reported.In its previous fortnightly review, the government kept the petrol price unchanged at PKR 279.75 per litre and reduced HSD's rate by PKR 1.77 per litre to PKR 285.56. The petrol price was estimated to go up, owing mainly to higher import premiums and global prices. On the other hand, the HSD price was down in the international market, and the import premium paid by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) remained unchanged at USD 6.50 per barrel. Thus, the rate of high-speed diesel was estimated to be down by PKR 1.30 to PKR 2.50 per litre, subject to the final exchange rate adjustment in pricing.For price calculations, officials said the price of petrol had gone up by about USD 4 per barrel to USD 94.5 over the last two weeks, while HSD's price inched down by about 60 cents per barrel to USD 98.4. The exchange rate has also improved, with the rupee gaining by about 1 per dollar to USD 278.6 over the fortnight, Dawn reported.The government is already charging a petroleum development levy (PDL) of PKR 60 per litre the maximum permissible limit under the law on both petrol and HSD. Under the commitments made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government set a budget target to collect PKR 869 billion in PDL during the current fiscal year, Dawn reported.It has already collected about PKR 475bn in the first half (July-December) and is expected to mop up about PKR 970bn by the end of the fiscal year, although the annual target has now been revised to PKR 920bn.Petroleum and electricity prices have been the key drivers of high inflation. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and directly affects the budgets of middle and lower-middle classes.At present, the government is charging about PKR 82 per litre tax on both petrol and HSD. However, there is no general sales tax (GST) on any petroleum product.Dawn reported that compared to PKR 60 per litre PDL on both products, the government is charging PKR 50 levy on high-octane blending component and 95 research octane number petrol. The government is also charging about PKR 19-20 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD.Both fuels are the major revenue spinners, with their monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes compared to 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.Also Read| Pakistan National Assembly session is set to convene todayDisclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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