ISLAMABAD  -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the notification to impose levy under Section 3(1) of the Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Ordinance, 2025 on the consumption of natural gas or RLNG by captive power plants (CPPs) until 30th April, 2025. A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro conducted hearing of the case and after hearing the arguments of petitioners’ counsel noted that the submission made are worth consideration; therefore, issued notices to the respondents for 30-04-2025.

The petitioners are a limited liability company engaged in diverse business activities, including electricity generation from natural gas or LNG through their captive power plants, which are used for their consumption or to supply the surplus power to the third parties. The petitioners through, senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan, have challenged the notification dated 07-03-25 issued by secretary Ministry of Energy under Section 3(1) of the Off the Grid (Captive Power Plants) Levy Ordinance, 2025, which imposed a levy on the consumption of natural gas or RLNG by captive power plants. They have prayed the Court to declare the 2025 Ordinance unconstitutional and prohibit the respondents from taking any adverse or coercive actions for collecting and/or recovering the levy.

They cited Secretary Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), DG Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, CEOs Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company as respondents in the case. Makhdoom submitted that as per Section 8 of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, the federal government shall within 40 days of the advice referred in sub-section (i) and (ii), advise the authority of maximum charges, sale price of each category of retail consumer for natural gas for notification in official gazette by the authority of prescribed price as determined in sub-section (i) and (ii), that the tariff is to be determined and notified by OGRA under the Ordinance, 2002, that the levy is charged in addition to the price notified by OGRA under Section 8 of 2002.