Amer Hilabi—AFP
The Government of Pakistan on Wednesday retained the current prices of petrol and high-speed diesel for the next two weeks—Dec. 1-15—but announced a reduction in the tariffs for kerosene oil and light diesel oil.
In a video statement, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government had decided to maintain the existing price of petrol at Rs. 224.8/liter, adding that the price of high-speed diesel would also remain unchanged at Rs. 235.3/liter.
However, he said, the price of kerosene oil had been slashed by Rs. 10/liter, now costing the consumer Rs. 181.83/liter, while light diesel oil had been reduced by Rs. 7.5/liter and would now be priced at Rs. 179/liter. The reductions of kerosene oil and light diesel, he said, were taken in light of the fuel requirements of flood-hit communities of the country, who were now facing additional problems with the onset of winter.
In his statement, Dar said the decision on fuel prices had been taken with the guidance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stressing the aim was to provide maximum relief to lower income groups.
In his statement, the finance minister also announced another extension to the deadline for filing tax returns, with the new date set at Dec. 15. He said the decision was taken due to demands by the business community.
This is the third time the government has extended the deadline for tax returns. The initial deadline was set at Sept. 30, but this was extended till Oct. 31, with the finance minister citing the devastation caused by floods as the reason. However, as the end of October approached, the government announced another extension, till Nov. 30. With the end of November, the deadline for filing tax returns has once again been extended, this time to Dec. 15.