ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance and Revenue Minister Miftah Ismail has clarified that the government had no intention to pass on the full amount of petroleum development levy (PDL) as incorporated in the Finance Bill 2022-23 to the consumers.
Under the Finance Bill the government has changed the cap on PDL from Rs30 per litre to Rs50 per litre and reports suggest that it has also assured the IMF of gradually increasing PDL to Rs50 per litre.
However, the minister said that this was not the case.
The National Assembly Wednesday approved raising the cap during para-wise approval of the Finance Bill.
Speaking at the National Assembly on Wednesday the finance minister said that the government had got permission from the House to impose up to Rs50 per litre levy on petroleum products “but there is no hope and intention to take the levy up to this figure.”
Miftah also said that at present there is zero petroleum levy on petroleum products.
Last year, the PTI government assured the IMF of jacking up PDL to RS30 per litre, but it reduced the levy to zero as soon as it became clear that the then-opposition was planning to table a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.