KARACHI – The prices of petroleum products are likely to see a major upward revision in the month of April as the government is likely to pass on the impact of rising crude oil prices to consumers.
Assuming that the government does not tinker with the petroleum levy amount, price of HSD and MS should be increased by Rs 7.59 per liter and Rs 4.73 per liter, respectively.While the levy on HSD is currently negligible at just Rs 0.44 per liter, any increase in it to accommodate a higher tax collection could see its retail price spiral up in April.
Reduction in the amount of the deemed duty (DD) on HSD from the current 7.5 percent could help the government reduce the impact of the rising crude prices. According to estimates, a one percent reduction in DD could bring down the retail HSD prices by Rs 0.80 per litre, Ayub Ansari at Investfinance said.
