Islamabad, Nov 26: The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) has urged the Petroleum Division to increase oil marketing companies’ (OMCs) margins, criticizing OGRA’s proposed hike of Rs. 1.35 per litre as significantly lower than the recommended Rs. 4.78 per litre.
In a letter to the Director General (DG) Oil, OCAC requested raising OMC margins from Rs. 7.87 to Rs. 12.65 per litre to address rising costs such as maintaining a 20-day stock cover, turnover tax, handling losses, and sales tax financing.
OCAC also rejected OGRA’s allocation of only Rs. 0.5 per litre from the proposed increase for fuel pump digitization. With an effective margin adjustment of just Rs. 0.85 per litre, OCAC argued this is insufficient to counter inflation. The sector is further burdened by issues like petroleum product smuggling, high financing costs, and turnover taxes, putting OMC operations at risk.
The council has called for an urgent meeting with stakeholders to align OMC margins with actual costs and warned that the sector’s viability is in jeopardy if these concerns are not addressed.
