The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that government had increased the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs.6 per litre from 1st April 2019 and now the OGRA has again proposed to hike the price of petrol by Rs.8.53 per liter and diesel by Rs.8.99 per liter that was against the interests of business and economy, therefore, it called upon the government to turn down this proposal in order to save the businesses and people from further troubles.
Ahmed Hassan Moughal President, Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the price of crude oil in international market has come down from $72/barrel to around $67/barrel and instead of recommending reduction in POL prices, OGRA has proposed further hike, which was not justified. They said that the people were already suffering from high inflation and proposed hike would bring a new wave of inflation that could be unbearable for the common man.
Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President said that government was charging 12 percent GST on petrol and 17 percent GST on POL products. He said government has also jacked up the petroleum levy from Rs.8 to Rs.18 per litre on HSD and Rs. 10 to Rs.14 per litre on petrol due to which the consumers were paying high prices for POL products. He said the cost of doing business in Pakistan was already quite high and proposed hike in POL prices would make the survival of businesses unviable causing further slump in economic activities. He urged that government should reduce high taxes and charges on POL products and reject the proposed hike in their prices in order to save the businesses and the general public from further problems.
Rafat Farid and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi said that proposed hike in POL prices would further enhance transportation cost of private sector. They said the industrial sector will be the immediate victim of further hike in POL prices as it was one of the major raw materials for industries. They said the move would also reduce the competitiveness of Pakistani goods in the international market and foil the government`s efforts for revival of exports. They said the economy of Pakistan was already facing many challenges due to rising deficit, falling exports and heavy cost of debt servicing. In these circumstances, government should focus on reducing the cost of doing business and creating conducive environment for business activities. They emphasized that instead of hiking POL prices, government should focus on reducing taxes and duties on POL products and control non-developmental expenditures.