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Islamabad [Pakistan]Feb 17 (ANI): The Pakistani government on Wednesday raised the general sales tax (GST) from 17% to 18% along with the federal excise tax, while adding fuel to the woes of consumers, Pakistan Dawn reported.
Despite the recovery in the value of the Pakistani rupee (PKR), the country’s manufacturers have yet to give consumers any respite on prices.
Umer Islam Khan, secretary-general of Vanaspati Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, estimates that ghee and cooking prices will rise by PKR 3-5 per kg/litre after the GST hike.
Commercial banks are still reluctant to open letters of credit for imported cooking oil, he said. Normally, after the opening of the letter of credit, it takes about 45-60 days for the goods to arrive at the port of Karachi, Dawn reported.
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“If this continues, the industry will not be able to meet the Ramadan demand for ghee/oil,” he said.
Hours after unveiling its tax-included mini-budget, Pakistan hiked petrol and gas prices to record highs late on Wednesday to reassure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of releasing key loans, Geo News reported.
Petrol prices have risen to PKR 272 per liter after an increase of PKR 22.20, a finance ministry press release said, noting that oil prices had surged due to the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.
The price of high-speed diesel has risen to Rs 280 a liter after a rise of Rs 17.20. Kerosene is now priced at PKR 202.73 per liter after an increase of PKR 12.90. At the same time, the price of gas oil and gas oil rose by PKR 9.68 to PKR 196.68 per liter.
The new prices will take effect from 12 noon on Thursday, Geo News reported. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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