The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has sent a summary to the Petroleum Division of the reduction in prices of petroleum products by up to Rs 44 from May 1. OGRA has proposed to reduce the petrol price by Rs 20.68 per liter from May 1.
The authority has proposed a reduction in the prices of high-speed diesel and light diesel oil by Rs 33.94 and Rs 24.57 respectively. The authority has also included in the summary a proposal to reduce kerosene by Rs 44.7 per liter. After the approval of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Finance Ministry will announce a reduction in prices today.
It should be noted that the federal government had reduced the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs 7 on February 29. Last month, a Rs 7 reduction was announced in the wake of a 20 percent drop in global oil prices, while prices of petroleum products were expected to fall further.
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But on the contrary, the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) tried their best to ensure that only half of the OGRA’s estimate was passed on to consumers and the rest was raised as an unexpected benefit by raising the tax rate.
Later on March 24, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a relief package for the people and various sectors to address the stagnation in economic activities and its negative effects due to the outbreak of the global epidemic Coronavirus in the country. He also announced a reduction of Rs 15 per liter.