SC questions Rs40 tax on petrol

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday observed what the justification of Rs40 tax on one litre petrol was as the government had made a source of income.

During a hearing into a suo motu case on rising petrol prices in the country, a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar said raising petroleum prices is not a way for the government to make money.

The CJ said to fulfill the country’s requirements 85 percent of its fuel was imported. He asked whether there was any truth in statements that claimed that the country is getting oil from Saudi Arabia on loan. The managing director of PSO replied that they used to get petroleum products on loan from Saudi Arabia before but that has been stopped. “We need oil at the cheapest possible price,” said Justice Nisar. He asked why oil was imported from abroad through middle men lamenting that these middle men took commissions on these transactions. The PSO head said that oil producing companies did not market their products. The caretaker government reduced the price of petrol by Rs4.26 on Sunday a week after it increased the price by Rs7.5. The CJ had taken notice of the sudden rise in the POL prices and tax on them in the country.