The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Thursday warned that the operating licences (Form K) of fuel stations across the country will expire on February 12, raising fears of fuel supply disruption if the issue is not resolved.
The warning comes as the government has made it mandatory for all petrol pumps to install an auto-gauging digital system for the renewal of Form K. Authorities have cautioned that stations failing to comply with the requirement will not have their licences renewed.
Addressing a press conference, PPDA Chairperson Abdul Sami Khan said the licences were at risk due to the government’s failure to implement the auto-gauging digitalization framework properly. He said the federal government has linked Form K renewals to digitalisation, which would require an estimated Rs. 40 billion investment to upgrade petrol pumps nationwide.
According to the Chairperson, oil marketing companies would need to invest billions of rupees to install the auto-gauging system across outlets, calling the move financially unfeasible under the current structure.
He warned of strong resistance from dealers if the government initiated action against fuel stations. “If any coercive steps are taken, dealers across the country will respond forcefully,” he said, while also demanding an audit of oil companies to determine how much oil had been imported and sold.
Khan further pointed out that the dealer margin approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has yet to be implemented, adding to the financial pressure on pump operators.
Criticizing government policy, he also opposed the mandatory installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities at petrol pumps. He termed the move unjustified, noting that only two to three per cent of vehicles in Pakistan are electric.
“Nearly 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas. Who will use EV charging facilities at petrol pumps in those regions?” he questioned.
The PPDA urged the government to review its digitalization and compliance requirements to avoid a potential fuel supply crisis across the country.
Stay Connected with ProPakistani
Get the latest business news, market insights, and economic updates wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
It’s explosives department that’s responsible for this. They don’t directly transfer license to new company after lease agreement even if the old company goes to court without staying in the companies favor. And it’s open secret that explosive departure officers take bribes for transfers and even cite lamest excuses. They should automatically transfer the K forms to new companies whenever the old company has gone to litigation where the old lease agreement has expired and a new lease agreement in favor of the new OMC has been made and the stipulated time with grace period of 1 month from old lease agreement has completed. That would cripple the blackmail and also remove Dealers from blackmail and bribery to Explosives department staff would be removed.
This guy is a big liar as the cost of ATGS with Forecourt sales monitoring controller will cost around 13 Billion PKR since a 4 tank fuel station with 6 machines cost around 1.7 million and if there are 8000 fuel stations it will be 13-14 Billion or less. This guy Sami Khan is not even recognised by other petrol pump owners as head of All Pakistan Petroleum Dealers association.