Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has welcomed the suo motu action of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar for revising the prices of petroleum products enhanced twice by the caretaker government and hoped that interference of the Supreme Court in the matter would lead to positive outcome for the common man as well as for the overall economy.

ICCI President Sheikh Amir Waheed said that the caretaker government in a short span of time has doubled the prices of petroleum products with cumulative increase of Rs 11.80 per litre in petrol price, Rs 20.55 in diesel and Rs 7.82 per litre in kerosene oil price.

It would bring a new wave of inflation for the common man and badly affect the growth of business activities. He urged that instead of hiking prices of POL products, government should reduce heavy taxes on these products as government was currently charging tax of Rs 37.63/litre on petrol, Rs 52.24 on high speed diesel, Rs 22.90 on kerosene and Rs 17.19 on light speed diesel.

He said that the cost of doing business in Pakistan was already quite high while the recent increase in POL prices would further increase the production cost and make “our exports more uncompetitive in the international market”.

He stressed that the government should immediately withdraw the hike in POL prices in the larger interest of the people and the national economy.

ICCI Senior Vice President Muhammad Naveed Malik and ICCI Vice President Nisar Mirza said that Pakistan was generating a major share of electricity through furnace oil and increase in POL prices would make cost of manufacturing activities unviable for the private sector.

They said that increase in diesel price would further enhance transportation cost and create additional problems for the agriculture sector as most of the tube wells were running on diesel. They said the wise approach was that the government should cut taxes on POL products instead of increasing their prices that would facilitate the growth of business activities, promote exports, encourage investment, boost industrialisation and accelerate the growth of economy.

Published in Daily Times, July 7^th 2018.