Dealers await answers as fuel subsidy rollout begins
• Petroleum dealers lament lack of clarity on payment mechanism, timeline • PM wants facilitation desks to help people trying to buy subsidised fuel • Ogra attributes hike to elevated crude prices despite decline in int’l rates ISLAMABAD: Even as members of the public who have signed up for the PM’s Fuel Relief Scheme queued up at fuel pumps late on Wednesday night, petroleum dealers were still…
Even as citizens signed up for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Fuel Relief Scheme, petroleum dealers remained unclear about the compensation mechanism, according to Malik Khuda Bakhsh of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA). The dealer association expressed concerns, as no fuel pump could afford to lose Rs100 per litre without knowing how they would be compensated.
The PPDA had been denied clarity from the petroleum ministry, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), and the finance ministry, with each party giving different assurances about payment methods. Ogra attributed the price hike to increased crude and petroleum product prices. The new fuel prices saw high-speed diesel rise by Rs5.62 per litre to Rs421.45 and petrol increase by Rs6.88 per litre to Rs391.22 per litre.
However, oil prices fell in the open market due to Saudi Arabia offering additional crude cargoes, easing concerns about Middle East supply disruptions. The facilitation desks, comprising administration officials, volunteers, and petrol pump staff, were set up to assist citizens in registering for the scheme, which requires only four pieces of information: CNIC number, vehicle number plate, province of registration, and vehicle registration date.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
