Govt considers parliamentary vote on petroleum levy amid public backlash

Business Recorder reported that the federal government is weighing a parliamentary vote on the petroleum levy in the coming National Assembly session. The idea was raised by Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Naveed Qamar during a Standing Committee on Petroleum meeting chaired by Mustafa Mehmood. It comes as Jamaat-e-Islami leads protests demanding the levy's abolition to ease the strain of expensive fuel.

Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has warned that his party will step up its campaign and resume its march towards Islamabad if the levy is not withdrawn. Qamar argued that the levy sits in the non-tax revenue category and is approved indirectly through the federal budget rather than by a separate vote. He added that parliamentary approval has traditionally covered grants and spending, not non-tax income such as this levy.

For FY27, the government is targeting Rs1.676 trillion from the levy, a figure built on an assumed average of Rs80 per litre across petrol and high-speed diesel. That goal is Rs109 billion higher than the Rs1.567 trillion collected in FY26. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik said the levy was included in the budget to help sustain the primary fiscal surplus. Separately, technical talks with the IMF in Islamabad on fiscal targets under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility reportedly touched on the levy and alternative income options.