Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has directed the authorities concerned to deeply deliberate the demands of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) after holding detailed meetings with the association officials and present recommendations to reduce taxes and improve supply.
A delegation of APCNGA, led by APCNGA Group Leader Ghiyas Paracha, called on the Finance Minister on Monday to discuss the APCNGA’s outstanding issues and find out their solutions.
Ghiyas Paracha briefed the Minister on their problems and suggested long-term and short-term solutions, including freezing of RLNG prices for the CNG stations on the level of August-March in addition to the reversal of 12 percent increase in the sales tax. He also demanded abolishing Customs Duty on gas imports.
He informed the Minister that the gas consumption showed that imports would have to be doubled from 100 mmcfd to 200 mmcfd.
He emphasized that an increased import of gas would help the government save $350-$700 million in two years. “India and European countries are increasing utilization of gas in the transport sector due to increasing prices of petroleum products in the international market, while we already have the best system available which should be utilized,” he underlined.
Ghiyas Paracha said that the private sector should be allowed to import gas, as it would reduce the risk facing the government. He asserted that the circular debt would get reduced and the urban pollution would also decrease, as 1.8 million trees had been planted in the cities. He said that gas sector liberalization would end gas outages, leading to creation of half a million jobs in the transport and industrial sector. He added that production costs would go down, fares to be reduced, and cheap fuel to boost the energy sector while providing relief to the masses.
On the occasion, Finance Minister Tarin said the government was trying to reform and liberalize the gas sector so that it could rapidly develop. He directed the Secretary Finance, Secretary Petroleum, Chairman FBR, Chairman OGRA, and other officials to hold meetings with APCNGA officials, look deeply into their demands, and present recommendations to reduce taxes and improve supply.
The APCNGA delegation comprised APCNGA Central Chairman Khalid Latif, Fali-e-Muqeem Khan, Pervaiz Khattak, Syed Sajjad Haider, Irfan Ghouri, Babar Aftab Qazi, and Ch. Salahuddin.
