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Pakistans business community has urged the government to review the existing taxes and levies on petroleum products and reconsider its policy of revising fuel prices on a daily basis, saying frequent changes are making it difficult for industries to calculate production costs and determine product prices.
Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said repeated fuel price increases were creating serious difficulties for businesses and adding to economic uncertainty. He said petrol and diesel prices had risen by around Rs22 and Rs14 respectively over three days, placing an additional burden on consumers already facing inflationary pressures, as reported by Dawn. Rajput said government data showed taxes, duties and levies accounted for about 37 per cent of petrol prices and 31 per cent of diesel prices. He called for a review of the existing taxation structure, arguing that the impact of international petroleum price movements should not be transferred directly to consumers and industry without examining domestic levies. He also stressed that any decline in international oil prices should be passed on to consumers without delay. According to him, increases should not be reflected immediately while reductions are deferred. SITE Association of Industry President Abdul Rehman Fudda called for an end to daily petroleum price revisions and proposed a 15-day pricing cycle. He said a predictable system would help industrialists assess production costs and negotiate commercial agreements with greater certainty, as per the reports of Dawn. Fudda said repeated fuel price increases were particularly concerning as the government sought to expand exports, attract investment and improve the ease of doing business. Meanwhile, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh warned that volatile global oil prices, combined with high domestic levies, were placing growing pressure on Pakistans economy. He said successive oil shocks were hurting export competitiveness, widening the trade deficit and raising the risk of industrial closures. SMEs, he added, were already facing difficult operating conditions and were being pushed further into financial distress. The business community called for a transparent and predictable fuel pricing mechanism to protect consumers, businesses and economic stability, as cited by Dawn. (ANI)
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