0
LAHORE: The suspension of the recently-imposed Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on locally-produced Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday would rationalise the prices of fuel for the common man.
“This is for the second time that the LHC intervened on behalf of the LPG consumers nationwide and we are grateful to the apex court,” said LPG Association of Pakistan spokesman Belal Jabbar on Monday.The LPG demand had dropped some 30 per cent since Rs11,486 per ton levy was imposed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources on Jan 16 this year. The ministry's decision to impose the levy on locally-produced LPG, despite protests from the industry concerned and consumers had made it the country's most expensive fuel.
“Suspension of the levy will improve access to the product and stabilise the market, which had been ruined by policy inconsistencies,” said Jabbar.
The All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association said that the LHC decision would benefit all stakeholders across the value chain and also provide relief to LPG consumers across the country.
“Imposition of the levy had forced LPG consumers to switch to cheaper alternatives and had put tens of thousands of jobs in the sector at risk,” said All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association spokesman Ali Haider.
The levy was imposed to make LPG imports viable by forcing an artificial increase in the prices of locally-produced LPG.
Some 95 per cent of all LPG consumed in Pakistan is produced within the country. The all-time record high Saudi Arabian export price of $1,028 per ton and the imposition of Rs11,486 per ton as levy had rendered LPG uncompetitive with other fuels. As a result, there were no imports during the current month and LPG marketing companies and LPG producers had started seeing their inventories rise.
The Lahore High Court had suspended the PDL as well as the LPG Policy 2011 in total to last year.
The levy was re-imposed by the government last month after amending the rules governing the LPG sector. The prices of locally-produced LPG would now continue to remain equated with Saudi Arabian export prices, notified on a monthly basis.
