- Petrol tax remains Rs 105.37 per litre, diesel Rs 55.24 per litre.
- The government must pay subsidies for petrol and diesel from 14.-20. March.
- Oil tax adjustments are part of the IMF commitments.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to maintain the petroleum tax (PL) on petrol and diesel and has issued a notification confirming the move.
Petrol will continue to pay a tax of Rs 105.37 per liter while high speed diesel (HSD) will remain at Rs 55.24 per litre.
The current prices will be kept unchanged for the time being.
The move follows a 25% hike in PL from Rs 84.40 per liter to Rs 105.37 on March 1, 2026, following the US-Israel war with Iran. The maximum ex depot price rose from Rs 266.17 on March 1 to Rs 321.17 per liter on March 7, with PL accounting for 32% of the depot price.
For HSD, the PL was reduced from Rs 76.21 to Rs 55.24 per liter on March 7, while the ex-depot price rose to Rs 335.86 per litre.
The government will pay a subsidy of Rs 23 billion to keep petrol and diesel prices stable from March 14 to 20. This includes Rs 49.63 per liter for petrol and Rs 75.05 per liter for diesel. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) will release the funds after auditing claims submitted by oil marketing companies.
The PL adjustments are part of the government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase non-tax revenues. GST on petrol remains at zero; if the standard 18% GST was applied, the total tax burden would exceed 40%.
The government has set a PL revenue target of Rs1.47 trillion for the current fiscal year, up from Rs1.28 trillion last year. Collections for the first six months (July-December) have reached Rs 822 billion.
Meanwhile, the price of kerosene oil has gone up by Rs 39.20 per litre, with Ogra fixing the new rate at Rs 358.01, up from Rs 318.81.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also approved a thrift fund, with the government’s Economic Coordination Committee allowing Rs 27.1 billion to be transferred to it.
