Finance ministry set to oppose summary on petrol subsidy scheme

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance is all set to sternly oppose a draft summary proposed on the provision of cross-fuel subsidy under which the POL prices will be hiked by Rs75 per litre for all vehicles of 1000cc and above for subsidising petrol to 800cc vehicles and motorbikes.

The Ministry of Petroleum has prepared the draft summary and circulated it among different ministries for comments before the upcoming Economic Coordination Committee meeting expected after the Eid holidays.

A top Finance Ministry official said the petrol scheme was still at the draft stage. The Petroleum Division had moved a draft summary to the ECC for comments, as per practice. “We are preparing our comments and also consulting the IMF. It is nowhere near approval,” he said, adding that the response of the Ministry of Finance would be known to everyone soon.

The official reminded me that such a scheme had been proposed during the PTI government but could not be implemented.

Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also allocated Rs48 billion on account of the Sasta Petrol Scheme in the last budget, but these resources were diverted towards flood affected-areas.

Such a scheme cannot be implemented in a transparent manner in Pakistan and the Ministry of Finance would send its official comments soon, he said.