PM fuel relief scheme approved: ECC okays draft agreement on refineries’ upgradation

Business Recorder reported that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet cleared Rs75 billion on Monday for the Prime Minister's Fuel Relief Scheme. The support is aimed at lower-income households facing higher petroleum prices, and the committee also endorsed a draft upgrade agreement for brownfield refineries under the Pakistan Oil Refining Policy. That agreement will set out how refinery upgrade projects and their incentives are implemented and monitored over a five-year completion period.

Under the scheme, two- and three-wheeler users would receive Rs500 a week, while cars up to 800cc would get Rs1,000 for ten days. Only non-commercial users qualify, and each person or owner can claim relief for just one vehicle. The Ministry of IT & Telecom will manage the Fuel Pass System, which is intended to deliver the relief digitally and transparently.

The committee also approved a proposal to settle input sales tax claims of oil marketing companies, left unadjusted for July 2025 to June 2026, through the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin. In addition, it endorsed an implementation framework for restructuring the ownership and management control of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC). Separately, permission to export 200,000 MT of surplus sugar was granted subject to safeguards designed to keep domestic prices stable.