Business

Oil industry foresees petrol and diesel shortage, warns OGRA

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Oil Companies Advisory Council informed OGRA about looming shortage in a letter.
Under product review, deficit of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of petrol was worked out.
Says petrol import corresponding to anticipated sales volume and stock cover has not been booked.

KARACHI: The oil industry has communicated to the government about an expected petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) shortage in the coming days due to inadequate imports and limited local availability, reported The News.

The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), a representative body of the oil sector, has informed the regulator Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) about the shortage in a letter.

The OCAC said that motor spirit/petrol and HSD imports were finalised after extensive deliberation and allowed to oil marketing companies (OMCs) in line with their demand in product availability review of products for the month of November 2022.

Under product review, deficit of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of petrol was worked out. It was highlighted in the meeting that HSD imports in November might be challenging owing to limited availability in the international market and very high premiums; hence so far, only PSO has booked shipments of 220,000 MT & 10,000 MT by Flow Petroleum.

However, it is alarming to note that petrol import corresponding to the anticipated sales volume and stock cover has also not been booked. The import plan should have been finalised by the importers but, so far, there is a deficit in the import plan, the OCAC letter said.

This critical issue was also highlighted in the meeting held on November 1 with the industry representatives; however, no firm commitments have been received from the importing OMCs in writing, it said.

A few OMCs sales for October have been higher than they expected and have been continuously carrying low stocks since October 2022.

The OMCs, which were supposed to bring imports for use in October, received their shipments in the last week of October; hence, product was not available for use during the month it was intended for. Similarly, the OMCs which were allowed imports in the previous month for use next month have already consumed the parcels in advance, the letter noted.

“Keeping in view the ongoing sales trend and the number of days cover currently being maintained by the OMCs, we foresee product availability challenges in various pockets of the country in days to come, due to inadequate imports and limited local avails,” the OCAC said, requesting the regulator to issue necessary directives to the importing OMCs for strict adherence to import plans to avoid a shortage.

Business

FBR Reforms: PM Leading Reforms Process with Law Minister as Top Priority

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

According to Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Prime Minister Shehbaz is leading the entire reform process, and the Federal Government has made the reforms at the Federal Board of Revenue its top priority.

According to the law minister, who was speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, there are presently one billion rupees worth of tax cases pending in court. The parliament has for the first time passed legislation on tax tribunals in an effort to streamline and accelerate the legal process.

He stated that, strictly according to merit, there have already been a few postings and transfers in the FBR and that more are anticipated in the next few days.

Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar, who accompanied the Law Minister, stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is spearheading an effective foreign policy through productive meetings with world leaders.

He declared the premier’s trip to Saudi Arabia, where Shehbaz Sharif met with government representatives and corporate executives who indicated interest in investing in Pakistan, a success.

Atta Tarar also declared that a commercial team from Saudi Arabia would be visiting soon.

Business

Pakistan will host an IMF team in May to discuss a new loan.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

According to sources, negotiations on a fresh loan program have been set between Pakistan and the foreign lender. There will be two stages to the meetings: technical discussions and policy-level conversations.

Prior to the upcoming negotiations, Pakistan must overcome formidable economic obstacles, including the collapse of an IMF-proposed tax amnesty program.

Although it hasn’t worked, the federal government had promised to include 3.1 million merchants in the scheme’s tax net. The recent turnover of senior officials has placed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in an atypical position.

The negotiation process with the IMF will be difficult for the new and inexperienced FBR team. The significant drop in FBR’s tax collections would likely worry the IMF.

A day prior, Pakistan obtained the eagerly awaited $1.1 billion last installment from the IMF as a component of the $3 billion standby agreement.

Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 828 million, or $1.1 billion in worth, were given to the SBP “after the successful completion of the second review by the Executive Board of IMF under Stand By Arrangement (SBA),” according to the SBP.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated Islamabad might obtain a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July. Pakistan is seeking a new, longer-term, and larger IMF loan.

Although Aurangzeb has neglected to specify the specific program in question, Islamabad has stated that it is seeking a loan for a minimum of three years in order to support macroeconomic stability and carry out long-overdue and difficult structural reforms. Should it be approved, Pakistan would receive its 24th IMF bailout.

Business

In FY2024, SRB tax revenue soars to Rs 185.2 billion.

Published

21 hours ago

Farwa

In a statement released here, the SRB’s chairman, Wasif Memon, stated that he briefed Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah about the organization’s revenue collections during their meeting.

In comparison, the tax collection during the same period of the previous financial year 2022–2023 stood at Rs143.3 billion. This achievement represents a 29 percent year-over-year growth, according to the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), which recorded record revenue of Rs185.2 billion during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2023–2024.

The CM stated at the time that the SRB has shown tenacity and efficiency in revenue collection in spite of facing a number of difficulties, including the general economic downturn.

According to the statement, SRB’s monthly tax collection for April 2024 was Rs18.8 billion, a 23 percent increase from the Rs15.2 billion collected in the same month the previous year.