The government on Friday slashed the prices of petrol by Rs12.63 per litre, taking the price to Rs224.80 per litre, Aaj News reported.

Further, the price of High-Speed Diesel has been cut by Rs12.13 per liter to Rs235.30.

Similarly, the price of Light Speed Diesel and Kerosene oil were reduced by Rs10.78, and Rs10.19, respectively.

The prices will come into effect from October 1.

Addressing his maiden press conference after assuming the charge, the finance minister also announced the extension in income tax returns filing till October 31.

The government last revised fuel prices on September 21 when it announced an increase of Rs1.45 per litre in the price of petrol. The high-speed diesel (HSD) price was kept unchanged by adjusting the petroleum levy (PL) and other margins on petroleum products with effect from September 21 till 30th.

On September 2, the federal government jacked up the rate of petroleum levy (PL) on petrol by 87%, ie, an all-time high to meet the condition of the IMF, in the fortnightly review of petroleum products prices for the first half of September 2022.

The rate of PL has increased from Rs20 per litre to Rs37.50 per litre on petrol while general sales tax (GST) has been kept at zero.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) notified an Rs17.5 per litre hike in the rate of PL on petrol with effect from September 1 and denied passing on relief to the public.

The government has budgeted to meet the target of Rs750 billion PL in the current financial year.