WASIM IQBAL

ISLAMABAD: The federal government in a slight readjustment Thursday increased the prices of motor spirit (petrol) and high speed diesel (HSD) for November 2019.

In a statement, the Finance Division announced an increase of Re 1 per liter in petrol price and Rs 0.27 per liter increase in HSD price with effect from November 1, 2019. A decrease of Rs 2.39 and Rs 6.56 in per liter prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO), respectively, has also been approved.

According to the statement, “The government has decreased the prices of kerosene oil and LDO and slightly readjusted the prices of other petroleum products for the month of November as per recommendations of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).” On Wednesday, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) worked out some adjustments in the costs of various imported petroleum products.

After the approval from the federal government, the ex-depot price of petrol has been increased to Rs 114.24 per liter from the existing rate of Rs113.24, an increase of 0.88 percent. New price of HSD is Rs 127.41 per liter against Rs 127.14, showing an increase of 0.2 per cent.

The ex-depot price of LDO now stands at Rs 85.33 per liter against the existing rate of Rs 91.89, a reduction of 7 percent. The ex-depot price of kerosene oil has been fixed at Rs 97.18 per liter instead of Rs 99.57 at present, which shows a reduction of 2.4 percent.

Sources said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) maintained the rate of General Sale Tax (GST) at 17 percent on all the POL products at the level of previous month of October. The standard rate of 17 percent sales tax would be applicable on all POL products during November 2019. However, the FBR did not issue notification on the revision of sales tax on POL products till late night.

The government has kept the rate of petroleum levy on HSD at Rs 20.76 per liter instead of Rs 8 per liter, while levy on petrol has also been kept at Rs 17.18 per liter instead of Rs 10 per liter. The petroleum levy on kerosene oil has been fixed at Rs 4.98 per liter from Rs 6 per liter and Rs 5.06 per liter from Rs 3 per litre on LDO. The levy remains in the federal kitty unlike the GST that goes to the divisible pool.

The decision was taken on Thursday by the Finance Division after the approval of the Prime Minister.

The government had kept the petroleum prices unchanged for October 2019, earning a revenue of over Rs 5 billion. The regulator had proposed a 2.6 percent reduction in the prices of POL.