The Petroleum Division (PD) has announced that it has directed the gas utility companies to recover the first installment of the collected Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) from industrial and commercial consumers in the month of September.
“The Petroleum Division has started implementing on the Supreme Court’s August 13 decision about GIDC Act-2015,” the PD said on its official Twitter account.
الف) پٹرولیم ڈویژن نے 13 اگست کو جی آئی ڈی سی ایکٹ 2015 پر سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے پر عملدرآمد شروع کر دیا ہے- میڈیا میں، ڈویژن اور معاون خصوصی ندیم بابر کے خلاف آنے والے منفی پروپیگنڈہ کی سختی سے تردید کرتی ہے. فیصلے کی روشنی میں گیس کمپنیوں کو جمع شدہ سیس 24 اقساط میں وصول کرنے… pic.twitter.com/RiEZLfofIJ
— Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy (@Official_PetDiv) August 31, 2020
As per the apex court’s verdict, it said the directives had been passed to gas companies [SNGPL & SSGC) to recover the collected Cess (levy) in 24 installments.
In a landmark judgment on August 13, the apex court had rejected the appeals of several companies and directed them to pay Rs. 417 billion GIDC to the government.
The Petroleum Division said that the recovered amount will be utilized in execution of gas infrastructure development projects, which were being supervised by its top leadership.
The PD condemned negative propaganda carried out in media against the Ministry and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum, Nadeem Babar.
The ministry strongly refuted such stories and was of the view that the apex court judgment was a win-win case for both the government and the industry as “it gives an opportunity of six months to the government to start gas infrastructure development projects by utilizing the amount collected under this act.”
At the same time, the statement added, the judgment had not only stopped collecting the Cess further till spending the already collected amount but also waived off the late payment surcharge and “even allowed 24 monthly installments to the industry to pay back the outstanding amount”.
The Petroleum Division further clarified that it was actively considering all options to launch the North-South Gas pipeline and other projects by evaluating all possible options including international joint ventures.
