ISLAMABAD, August 17(ABC): The federal government has decided to increase the petroleum levy on petrol and diesel from September as it has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
In the Letter of Intent sent to the IMF — after the prime minister and finance minister signed it — Pakistan has assured the global lender that it will phase-wise increase the petroleum levy to Rs50 per liter.
According to reports, the levy on petrol will be increased by Rs10 from September 1. This will take the total levy on per liter of petrol to Rs30.
Similarly, the petroleum levy on diesel will be increased by Rs5 to Rs15/liter.
In the coming months, it will be increased by Rs5 each month to take the levy on petroleum products to Rs50 by January 2023.
The imposition of petroleum levy was one of the conditions for the resumption of the IMF loan program.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail expressed hope that the IMF board meeting will be held on August 29.
Ismail said the IMF disbursement will begin shortly after the board meeting is held.
“The IMF program has already begun,” he said, highlighting how the rupee has been appreciating against the dollar over the past few days.
The PML-N leader pointed out that the strongest currency from August 1 till August 15 was the Pakistani rupee, whereas the Karachi Stock Market was the fastest moving stock market in the world.
