Traders flay 5pc tax on oil

LAHORE: Progressive Group (PG) of traders strongly condemning the government decision of imposing five per cent additional sales tax on petroleum products Friday said presently when whole world is trying to pass on the benefit of reduced prices to its people and industry but our government is once again taking it as an opportunity to mint money.
In a statement, , the Progressive Group President Khalid Usman, Vice President Dr. Muhammad Riaz and Secretary Information Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer and others stated that reduction in the prices of petroleum products in the international market was a welcoming sign and the industry had a sigh of relief as its cost of production came down.
It can enable our producers to be compatible to other nations to some extent if the whole relief is passed on to the industry. They termed it as a good omen that the government announced reduction in the prices of electricity courtesy reduced prices of furnace oil. However, they said that the government should have controlled electricity pilferage and recover the dues so as energy crisis could be resolved. They said in the wake of more than 48 per cent decline in oil prices in the international market, the people were expecting from the government to pass on its full benefit to them, but the further hike in GST on POL products would deprive them of any such relief.
They claimed the government was collecting more than Rs8 billion per month from petroleum levy which ranged from Rs6/per liter to Rs14/per liter while the imposition of 5 per cent more tax in addition to 17 per cent GST would significantly dilute the beneficial impact of reduced POL prices and greatly enhance the transportation cost thus badly affect the business activities.
They said 17 per cent GST in Pakistan was amongst the highest in the world as compared to the average of around 12 per cent GST in Asia and there was a dire need to bring down this indirect tax to single digit level in order to facilitate the growth of business and economic activities. However, the government has further increased this tax on POL products taking it to 22 percent, which has no precedent in the world.
They said that the Progressive Group is contemplating to challenge this decision of the government in the court so as to ensure relief for the masses. They said that a lawyer had been approached in this regard which was studying the decision and its impact on the masses and the economy so as to fully resist this move of the government.