Business community urges govt to review PDL, daily fuel pricing

Business leaders have called on the Pakistani government to reconsider its daily review of petroleum product taxes and fuel pricing policies, citing the negative impact on the industry and consumers. According to KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput, daily price hikes are creating significant difficulties for businesses and contributing to economic uncertainty.

The recent surge in petrol and diesel prices—approximately Rs22 and Rs14 over three days—has added a burden to inflation-hit consumers. Government data indicates that taxes, duties, and levies account for about 37% of petrol prices and 31% of diesel prices. Rajput argued that the government should also review the existing tax and levy system, as well as the daily pricing policy.

He suggested that any decrease in international oil prices should be immediately passed on to consumers, while increases should not be delayed. Site Association of Industry President Abdul Rehman Fudda proposed a 15-day pricing cycle, which he believes would assist industrialists in assessing production costs and entering into commercial agreements.

The repeated price increases are particularly damaging for the country as it strives to boost exports, attract investment, and improve the ease of doing business. FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh expressed deep concerns over the volatile global oil markets and their impact on Pakistan's macroeconomic stability. He warned that successive international oil shocks, coupled with high domestic levies, are crippling the nation's export competitiveness, widening the trade deficit, and threatening industrial closures.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), already facing challenging operating conditions, are being pushed further into distress by these policies.