Petrol price: No relief for masses as govt set to hike OMCs Margin

Following a drop in fuel prices on the global market, the federal government chose to raise the margin for oil marketing firms (OMCs) rather than offer relief to the general public.

The margin for OMCs on petrol and diesel will be raised by Rs2.32 per litre to Rs6, according to sources, as part of a proposal to enhance the margin for oil companies by 63.04 percent. According to them, OMCs currently make Rs3.68 per litre on petrol and diesel.

The sources said that the approval in this regard will be taken from Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the federal cabinet.

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) and petroleum dealers will now have higher sales and distribution margins, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved on Thursday.

According to a reliable source in the finance ministry, the ECC meeting in Islamabad, which was chaired over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, accepted the demands of oil dealers OMCs by increasing their sales margin by Rs 7 per litre.

In response to rising business costs and inflation, the OMCs and petroleum dealers have been requesting an increase in their sales and distribution margins of about 6%.

The ECC approved an increase in the OMCs margin in December 2021, raising the profit margin on petrol and high-speed diesel from Rs2.97 to Rs3.68 at the present time. It is a Re0.71 increase that needs cabinet approval before the revision notification.

Separately, the profit margin on petrol for gas stations has increased from Re0.99 to Rs4.90, while the permitted margin for HSD is now Rs4.13 with an increase of Re0.83.