Govt raises petroleum dealers’ margin to Rs9.98 per litre
• PPDA calls off nationwide strike planned from today • Higher margin to take effect from Sept 1 ISLAMABAD: In a move aimed at averting a nationwide strike by petroleum dealers, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet on Friday approved a 15.5 per cent increase in dealers’ margins on both petrol and high-speed diesel, following which the dealers called off their protest…
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet has approved a 15.5% hike in the margins for petroleum dealers, lifting their margin on both petrol and high-speed diesel to Rs9.98 per litre. This move was made to prevent a nationwide strike that petroleum dealers had planned to launch from August 15. The decision, which takes effect from September 1, was made after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a virtual meeting of the ECC.
The Petroleum Division had originally proposed a margin increase of Rs1.34 per litre, but the ECC approved the proposal, raising the dealers' margin to Rs9.98 per litre. The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) had given the government a 72-hour ultimatum to honour its demands, which included a variable margin linked to the retail prices of petrol and diesel.
The ECC instead opted for a fixed margin increase, raising concerns about a higher burden on consumers. The margin for oil marketing companies remains unchanged at Rs7.87 per litre.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
