With ever increasing prices of daily use items, a little relief to the masses in form of price reductions is always welcomed by all- except, ofcourse the government itself, which if does not have any political interests would hardly try and work on reducing prices of petroleum, gas, and other day-to-day use items. Even worse is the case when you have little option but to pay the unbelievably high prices for the must-buy-things like food, fuel and fast-moving consumer goods. Petrol and CNG come under this category of must-buy things, yet Pakistanis do not always get what they need, even on the prices they deem unnecessary high. Why? Because they say there isn’t enough of it. There isn’t electricity and gas to fulfill the needs of the people. So the prices continue to rise but the supply side remains low, countering the basic economic market rules of increase in supply coming along with the increase in prices. Yet this is how we roll, this is how we live and thrive.
I am not sure whether to be happy or bewildered about the recent decision of Supreme Court, cutting down the prices on CNG declaring the nine per cent additional general sales tax on compressed natural gas as illegal. Not that this decision is not a source of happiness or something but the fact that I cannot actually get my car filled with CNG is an utter disappointment for me. Yes, it is winter and like every season has some perks and downs in Pakistan, winter comes with its own surprises of no gas and CNG. Electricity too has its mood swings continuing in winter as well. Yet, when we need the gas most, we don’t always get it because, well, welcome to Pakistan.
However, what is to be appreciated is that though we Punjabis might not get CNG at all and our fellow-nationals may face serious supply shortages in other provinces, however Supreme Court as a facilitator of the masses has reduced the CNG prices all over the country, after declaring the additional GST on CNG as illegal.
According to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Tuesday, “the reduction in prices became necessary after the Supreme Court declared a nine per cent additional general sales tax on compressed natural gas as illegal”.
Prices have been reduced by Rs1.23 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Potohar and Balochistan division, with the revised prices being Rs74.25 per kilogram. The prices for Punjab and Sindh have been reduced by 61 paisa with the revised prices being Rs66.14 per kg. The old rates have been revised with immediate effect. The government was previously charging 26pc GST on the sale of CNG instead of 17pc but not anymore- thanks to SC. The Supreme Court ruled last week that “additional 9pc GST should be withdrawn forthwith and the amount so collected by the government since announcement of the budget in June be deposited in the court because the levy was a violation of the constitution”.
