Islamabad: In a bid to avoid the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) from international default on oil and gas payments, the government has decided to dole out Rs 30 billion as supplementary grants.
The decision was taken on Sunday in a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet.
The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail. The meeting was attended by Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, MNA Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Coordinator to PM on Economy Bilal Azhar Kayani, FBR chairman, OGRA chairman, federal secretaries and senior officers.
During the meeting, the ECC approved the clearance of the “outstanding payments accumulated during the tenure of the previous government and approved an amount of Rs30 billion as supplementary grant”.
The ECC further ordered the Power Division to “make prompt payments of the present outstanding sums of Rs20 billion” by August 1 and to disburse the Rs12.8 billion by August 4.
The ECC also directed the Finance Division and FBRto present a proposal for raising Rs 30 billion in taxes within a week.
Price adjustments were also considered during the meeting, and the ECC decided to examine reducing the price adjustments on a weekly or 10-day basis from existing fortnightly pricing to minimise price uncertainties. It accepted the proposal by the petroleum division to use the average exchange rate for the relevant period rather than the exchange rate of the last day for the current as well as future price determinations.
It further directed the Petroleum Division to submit a proposal within a week to regulate the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil after consultation with relevant stakeholders.
