Govt increases petrol price by Rs2 per litre

ISLAMABAD: The government has increased the petrol prices by Rs2 per litre for September 2017, while prices of diesel, kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) have been kept unchanged. These new prices will be effective from today (Friday). With the government’s announcement, the price of petrol from September 1 will go up to Rs71.50 per litre from the earlier price of Rs69.56 a litre.

After keeping the prices of other petroleum products unchanged, the price of diesel will remain at Rs77.40 per litre and prices and of kerosene oil and LDO at Rs44/litre each. The government has announced the prices of petroleum products for the period starting from 1st September 2017 until midnight on 30th September 2017.

On the basis of the prevailing prices in the international market, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had recommended an increase of Rs2.35/litre in the price of MS 92 RON Petrol, increase of Rs0.75/litre in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD), increase of Rs15.79/litre in the price of kerosene oil and increase of Rs12.18/litre in the price of Light Diesel Oil (LDO).

A news statement issued here by the Ministry of Finance states that the finance minister discussed the matter with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. It was decided by the prime minister that the prices of HSD, kerosene oil and LDO will be maintained at the current level till 30th September 2017. In the case of MS 92 RON Petrol, it has been decided to increase the price by Rs2.0/litre, with effect from 1st September 2017 until 30th September 2017. The new price of MS 92 RON Petrol will be Rs71.50/Litre.

Interestingly, the government has been continuously increasing GST on petrol and diesel for the last several months. In July, the government was collecting 33.5 percent GST on High Speed Diesel and 20.5 percent GST on Motor Spirit excluding High Octane Blended Component (HOBC) while there is zero GST on kerosene and LDO. In August 2017, the GST on motor spirit was kept unchanged while increased this tax on diesel to 35.5 percent.