*KARACHI: *The Supreme Court was told on Thursday that the actual price ofpetrol is Rs62.38 per litre and all the amounts charged above amounting toRs 35-40 were various forms of taxes.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing the casepertaining to the gradual increase in petrol prices. PSO Deputy ManagingDirector (DMD) Yacub Sattar was among others who appeared before the apexcourt.
“Through which laws and formulas are taxes being imposed?” Chief JusticeNisar asked. “People have been driven towards insanity due to the incessantimposition of taxes.”
The CJP also expressed his suspicions over the process of import ofpetroleum products. “The institution should inform the court about the ruleunder which the per liter price is fixed”, the CJP added.
The PSO deputy MD told the court that various institutions were defaultersof Rs300 billion. The chief justice asked why these institutions were notheld accountable and why had they not returned loans amounting to Rs300billion. He also asked whether these institutions were using bank loans towork.
Sattar informed the court that the actual price of petrol is Rs62.38 perlitre. He added that Rs9.85 per litre tax was levied on the commodity, andinland freight equalisation margin of Rs8.83 was also added to the price.
The PSO DMD further said that oil marketing companies were earning Rs2.55per litre while dealers were earning a commission of Rs3.35 per litre.
The federal government imposed a 15 per cent tax on petrol in May, whichwas reduced to 12 per cent in June, Sattar informed the court. “The priceof petrol, after levying tax is Rs91.96 per litre,” he said.
The chief justice observed that the collusion of Oil and Gas RegulatoryAuthority (OGRA) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to increase prices of petrolhad been brought to the apex court’s attention. He said that allinstitutions found responsible for increasing petroleum prices will be heldaccountable.
“All institutions will be held accountable,” Chief Justice Nisar said,expressing his dissatisfaction with PSO’s briefing on the matter.