After a 14-day shutdown, CNG supply was restored in Karachi and other parts of Sindh after improvement in gas supply, said the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on Monday.

The SSGC in a statement said that due to marked improvement in the overall gas supply situation, all CNG stations are open for the general public.

“In view of the improvement in natural gas availability, gas supply to all general industries including captive power has been resumed,” said the SSGC.

Meanwhile, the All Pakistan CNG Association has issued a deregulated price after which the rate of CNG has been fixed at Rs 140 per kg, a hike of Rs 16 while in other districts of Sindh it has been kept at Rs 135, reported local media.

According to the CNG Association, this decision has been taken due to the increase in import duty on LNG from 5% to 17% implemented in the recently announced budget. The association added that GCV (gross calorific value), sales tax and withholding tax are being levied on CNG.

Proposed LNG tax hike: CNG price to go up by Rs6-9 per kg: APCNGA

Earlier, the All Pakistan CNG Association, in a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, said that CNG will become more expensive with the price increase expected to go up between Rs6 to Rs9 per kg after additional taxes are proposed on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the budget 2021-22.

The association argued that the imposition of new and additional taxes of LNG will increase the price of CNG from Rs6 to Rs9 in various regions The government proposed an increase in general sales tax on RLNG.

This will close down hundreds of CNG stations and leave hundreds of thousands of employees jobless, the APCNGA stated.

Levying gas development surcharge and increasing other taxes will hurt investment worth hundreds of billions in the CNG sector, and send a negative message, said Ghiyas Paracha, Chairman APCNGA.