The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry has called upon the government to pass on the full benefit of reduced oil prices to the people as the price of crude oil in international market has witnessed around 29 percent reduction from September 2018 to September 2019 but the government has made insufficient cut in petroleum prices from 1st September 2019 that was not a right approach.
Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that PTI government twice increased POL prices during 2019, but provided slight relief to the people by making a meagre cut in POL prices for September. He said that crude oil price in September 2018 was $78/barrel that has come down to below $55/barrel showing a reduction of around 29 percent. Therefore, he stressed that government should reduce POL prices in proportion to the fall of crude oil price in the international market to pass on full benefit of reduced prices to the people.
Ahmed Hassan Moughal said that government has made petroleum products an important source of tax revenue collection as it was currently receiving 17 percent GST on all POL products besides charging petroleum levy of Rs.14 per litre on petrol, Rs.18 per litre on HSD, Rs.3 per litre on kerosene and Rs.6 per litre on LDO, which was unjustified. He stressed that government should make significant cut in taxes on POL products that would provide good relief to the business sector and the general public.
Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that while in opposition, Imran Khan had been severely criticizing the then government for hiking prices of POL products and levying taxes on them, but now in power, he was following the similar approach that was heavily burdening the businesses and the general public. They said that petrol was a key input for many industries while diesel was key input for transport and agriculture sectors. They said that further reduction in petroleum products would directly bring down the cost of doing business and reduce inflation for people.
They said that repeated hike in POL products, gas and electricity tariffs has eroded Pakistan’s competitiveness in international market due to which the country was losing exports, investment and economic growth. This approach has also significantly squeezed the purchasing power of the common man due to which business activities were suffering. They urged that government should immediately pass on the full benefit of reduced oil prices to people that would reduce production cost, decrease inflation and help in improving trade and industrial activities.