The federal government on Wednesday announced it is boosting the Climate Support Levy (CSL) by 100% on both petrol and diesel, going from Rs. 2.5/liter to Rs. 5/liter, while decreasing the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) by the same amount to maintain retail fuel prices.
In a notification, the Petroleum Division said the revised levies came into effect from July 2. According to the notification, the CSL on petrol, diesel and high-octane blending component has been fixed at Rs. 5 /liter.
To offset this increase and maintain prices for consumers, the government has reduced the PDL on petrol, high-speed diesel and high-octane blending component by Rs. 2.50/liter. In effect, there is no change for the consumer despite the revision to the tax structure.
Last week, the federal government maintained the prices of petrol and diesel at Rs. 299.50/liter and Rs. 311.47/liter, respectively, after a weekly price review. However, it remains unclear if the review would remain weekly, as the notification announcing the unchanged rates said they would continue “until further orders.”
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has defended the stagnant pricing amidst declining global rates by claiming the government gave a higher-than-expected relief the previous week. In its previous review, announced after Iran and the United States agreed to a peace framework, the government cut petrol prices by Rs. 74/liter and diesel by Rs. 67/liter.