Royalty on oil, gas: Centre refuses to clear Sindh's dues worth Rs 13 billion

The federal government has refused to pay the dues of Sindh government worth Rs 13 billion under the head of Gas Development Surcharge (GDS) and royalty on oil, Business Recorder learnt Wednesday. According to sources, the centre has refused to clear Sindh's dues on grounds that the oil and gas companies working in the province were yet to pay the dues of the federal government.
Sources also said that out of the total due amount of Rs 13 billion, at least Rs 7 billion are the dues of GDS, Rs 4 billion of royalty on oil and Rs 2 billion of royalty on the natural gas for the year 2009. The finance department of Sindh has long been demanding of the center to clear the dues so that it could overcome the financial crises, however no positive response had so far been received, they added.
Interestingly, the federal authorities, quoting oil and gas companies, also informed that the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) are yet to pay their dues of billions of rupees to the oil companies, they said.
Moreover, the sources alleged that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) had withheld the amount in an attempt to transfer this money to the Wapda to resolve Sindh government-Wapda dispute over inflated bills of Rs 22 billion.
A dispute between the provincial authorities and the power utility was going on over the issuance of inflated electricity bills issued to the Sindh government's offices located in the interior parts of the province, they informed. They said that the Sindh government was ready to pay off the actual amount of bill ie Rs 2 billion, however the Wapda authorities were claiming Rs 22 billion for the electricity consumed, and added that the federal authorities had time and again warned to deduct the amount at source. Furthermore the sources said that the Sindh government has also directed the oil and gas companies working in the province to send all the details to the finance department as they did to the federal government.