ISLAMABAD – In a bid to manage the worrisome financial affairs, the cash-starved govern- ment has finally decided to increase the existing surcharge on various sectors including CNG, IPPs, fertilisers and others, a move which would further push down the already hard-pressed people.
“The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources (MP&NR) has decided to further increase the imposed Gas Infrastructure Development Surcharge (GIDS) on five different sectors, including CNG, up to Rs 159 per mmbtu; resultantly, the CNG will be Rs 15 per kg expensive in the country,” well-placed sources in the Ministry of Finance revealed.
They added that the MP&NR had sought the approval of Law Division regarding the huge surge in the surcharge. However, they said, the approval for increasing the ratio of imposed surcharge would be obtained from the Parliament through Finance Bill 2012-13.
Sources further said the proposal was an attempt to materialise the multi-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines.
The decision will increase the surcharge on CNG by Rs159/mmbtu for Khyber Pk, Balochistan and Potohar regions, while Rs121/mmbtu in Sindh and Punjab.
Similarly, it has also been decided to impose a surcharge worth Rs 103/mmbtu on the fertilizer sector, while the figures for the industrial sector and IPPs (including the Karachi Electric Supply Company) are Rs87/mmbtu and Rs 30/mmbtu respectively.
According to details, the surcharge for the Khyber Pk, Balochistan and Potohar regions will be increased up to Rs 300 per mmbtu and Rs 200/mmbtu in Sindh and Punjab.
Furthermore, the GIDS for the fertilizer sector will jump from Rs197/mmbtu to Rs300/mmbtu with this decision of the ministry. Similarly, the surcharge imposed on the industrial sector will also see an increase from Rs 13/mmbtu to Rs 100/mmbtu, while the figures for the KESC, including the Wapda-run power plants, are going to be hiked from Rs 27/mmbtu to Rs 100/mmbtu. Again, the imposed surcharge on IPPs will surge from Rs 70/mmbtu to Rs 100/mmbtu.
It is to be noted that the Finance Ministry will earn a hefty amount of Rs 55 billion from the move for the IP and TAPI gas pipeline projects, which in total would stand at Rs 102 billion as annual revenue.