The federal government has raised the petroleum levy instead of passing on the benefits of falling global oil prices to the public. This increase has been enacted through a presidential ordinance.
Under the new measure, the government has hiked the petroleum levy by Rs. 8.02 per litre for petrol and Rs. 7.01 per litre for diesel. With this increase, the petroleum levy on petrol now stands at Rs. 78.02 per litre, while diesel is taxed at Rs. 77.01 per litre.
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This change comes just one day after the government announced that the prices of petroleum products would remain the same for the next 15 days. The Ministry of Finance confirmed that petrol will continue to cost Rs. 254.63 per litre and diesel Rs. 258.64 per litre.
Despite the drop in global oil prices, the government has offset these savings by raising the petroleum levy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously stated that although global oil prices have fallen, the reduction will not benefit the public. Instead, the additional revenue will be used for development projects in Balochistan.
