The National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum discussed the increase in the petroleum levy and the use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds during a meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by Committee Chairman Mustafa Mahmood. Additionally, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum, and committee members also attended the meeting.
Petroleum levy
During the meeting, committee members raised concerns over the continuous increase in the petroleum levy. They said that the levy has reached Rs118 per litre and is putting a heavy financial burden on the public.
Chairman Mustafa Mahmood said that the committee would discuss the petroleum levy in detail after completing the remaining agenda items. He further said that all of the aspects of the issue would be reviewed.
The committee also discussed the non use of CSR funds in Sindh and Balochistan. Members expressed concern that the funds have not been used for years.
CSR funds
Officials told the committee that CSR funds started being released in the financial year 2020-21. However, the money could not be used because there were no clear policies or guidelines.
According to officials, around Rs3 billion in CSR funds for Balochistan is still unused. They said that many development projects have become late because the procedure for releasing and using the funds is still unclear.
Committee member Talal Badr also questioned the use of CSR funds by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
He said that there were reports that the money was being used to pay the consultants. He asked under which law and for what purpose these payments were being made.
At the end of the meeting, the committee asked the Ministry of Petroleum and other relevant authorities to submit a detailed report on the petroleum levy. And of the distribution of CSR funds, and how the funds are being used. It also asked the officials to give a complete briefing at the next meeting.
