Govt raises petroleum dealers’ margin to Rs9.98 per litre

According to Dawn, the Economic Coordination Committee of the federal cabinet approved a 15.5 per cent increase in petroleum dealers' margins on petrol and high-speed diesel, prompting the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association to call off a nationwide strike planned from Saturday. The increase adds Rs1.34 per litre to the fixed margin, taking it from Rs8.64 to Rs9.98, and the revised rate applies from Sept 1.

Dealers had sought a variable margin tied to retail prices, set at 8 per cent of the retail price, but the government did not accept that proposal. Officials told Dawn that the demand would have raised margins to roughly Rs26 a litre for petrol and Rs30 for diesel at current retail rates, a far heavier load for consumers. The margin for oil marketing companies stays at Rs7.87 per litre, while their proposed Rs1.22 rise remains tied to digitisation measures.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the meeting virtually on a public holiday, after dealers had announced a strike from Aug 15. The government kept the daily petroleum price revision mechanism even though dealers had asked for margins linked to retail prices. Dawn also noted that a Rs2.56 increase approved in December 2025 was later made conditional on digitisation targets.