Federal government Wednesday night announced up to 10 percent increase in petroleum products'' prices for August following the recommendation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The government has approved an increase of Rs5.15 per litre in Motor Spirit (MS) price and Rs 5.65 per litre in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD). The price of Kerosene oil has been increased by 5.38 per litre and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs8.90 per litre.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has maintained the standard rate of 17 percent sales tax on MS, HSD, Kerosene and LDO for August. The new rate of sale tax is applicable till August 31.
The crude price had dropped by more than 12 percent in the Arabian Gulf to $65 per barrel on July 31 from $72 in April, but the government had been gradually increasing tax rates on POL. The new prices of MS has been increased by 4.57 percent from the current Rs 112.68 to Rs 117.83 per litre and HSD price by 4.45 percent from the existing Rs 126.82 to Rs 132.47 per litre. The price of LDO has gone up by 10 percent to Rs 97.52 per litre from Rs 88.62. The kerosene oil rate has been increased by Rs 5.38 per litre to Rs 103.84 per litre.
For July, adjusting sales tax on petrol and HSD upward and reducing the petroleum levy on HSD enabled the government to keep prices of both products unchanged. For July, the FBR has increased sales tax on Motor Spirit (MS) from existing 13 percent to 17 percent. Sales tax on HSD has also been increased from 13 percent to 17 percent. The standard rate of sales tax (17 percent) on Kerosene and LDO remained unchanged during July 2019. The government is currently charging 17percent GST on all petroleum products. Besides the GST, the petroleum levy ranging from Rs 14 to 18 per litre is being charged on petrol and HSD and Rs3 to Rs6 on Kerosene and LDO.
Petrol and HSD are two major products that generate most of the revenue because of their massive consumption. Total HSD sales have reached around 750,000 tonnes against monthly consumption of around 650,000 tonnes of petrol. The sales of Kerosene and LDO are around 10,000 tonnes per month.