The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has considered two constitutional challenges against the imposition of a huge oil tax and the increase in prices of oil products. The FCC registrar has assigned numbers to the petitions. The petition, filed by JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, asks the FCC to issue directions to constitute an independent mechanism or commission, assisted by experts, to examine the constitutional, fiscal, economic and federal implications of the current petroleum tax structure. The government announced a tax on oil and carbon within the framework of an ironclad commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The tax on petrol currently stands at Rs 117.41 per litre, while the tax on HSD is Rs 42.60 per litre. Likewise, the FCC has also considered a petition filed by lawyer Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta on May 1. The petitioner asked the FCC to order the government to withdraw the recent price increase on petroleum products. Both petitions were filed directly with the FCC under Section 175E of the Constitution. Interestingly, the FCC registration office did not raise any objections to any of the petitions. The court considered the petitions weeks after they were filed. The FCC was established by the current regime through the 27th Constitutional Amendment. In the context of Pakistan, a petroleum tax is a federal tax levied on petroleum products such as gasoline (motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), kerosene and light diesel. It is one of the government’s most important sources of non-tax revenue. The oil tax is a fixed per liter charge that the government collects on fuel sales. Unlike the sales tax, which is based on percentages, the oil tax is a specific amount per unit. It is imposed under federal laws such as the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Tax) Ordinance 1961 and subsequent financial laws. The federal government has the authority to adjust it through finance bills and statutory regulatory orders (SROs).
FCC considers POL tax and tariff requests
