Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail Thursday announced that the government has decided to increase the prices of petroleum products by Rs. 30 per liter, with the new prices set to go into effect at midnight.
After the hike, the price of petrol will be at Rs. 209.86, diesel at Rs. 204.15, and light diesel at Rs. 178.31.
However, the price of kerosene oil has increased by Rs. 26.38 per liter to Rs. 181.94.
It is pertinent to mention that the government has increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs. 60 in the past seven days.
The Ministry of Finance issued a statement stating,
The crude oil and petroleum prices are increasing substantially in the international market. Maintaining POL prices at the hugely subsidized rates results in increasing both budget deficit and imports. The subsidized rates of these POL products also pose supply chain risks. The current financial position and market prices leaves no option for the Government but to increase the prices. Therefore, Government has decided to increase the prices of petroleum products with effect from 3rd June, 2022, keeping Petroleum Levy and Sales Tax at zero. We note that the government is still losing money on Petrol, High-Speed Diesel and Light Diesel Oil.”
Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail during a press conference said that the government is still facing a loss of around Rs. 9 in petrol despite a hike of Rs. 30 as the government is still not collecting any tax on the fuel.
Miftah said that China has also agreed to refinance $2.3 billion in debt, providing a major financial relief to the government.
Earlier, Beijing had imposed very tough conditions but now has extended loans on soft conditions, he added.
While replying to a question, he said that government will reach an agreement with IMF in June. He added that IMF had demanded to withdraw subsidies on petrol and electricity.
“Our team is making negotiations with the lender on daily basis,” added the Finance Minister.
He claimed that government will not impose any new tax in the upcoming budget.
Source: Pro Pakistani