PPDA announces closure of petrol stations tomorrow

• Oil distributors say the tax will ruin the gas station business.
• The PPDA has demanded that the clause be removed from the Finance Bill.
• Sami Khan said no one was listening to them about the oil smuggling issue.

The association announced that it will shut all petrol stations on Friday (tomorrow) following the breakdown of talks between the government and petroleum dealers over advance tax. news report.

Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA), said: “We met government officials in Islamabad but the talks were fruitless, so we will go on strike as announced earlier.”

Oil dealers have demanded a withdrawal of advance income tax levied in the 2024-25 budget, saying the tax will ruin the petrol pump business. They say they are already running the petrol pump business on low margins amid high inflation.

Khan said they would be forced to shut down their businesses due to unfair taxation as “it is impossible for petrol stations to operate at a loss in the face of double taxation”.

The PPDA expressed concern over the 0.5% turnover advance tax in the budget, noting that the cost of every commodity transaction is taxed at the time of purchase and recorded in the books of petroleum marketing companies and dealers.

Therefore, PPDA requested that the clause be removed from the Finance Bill as soon as possible.

The PPDA chairman said in a press conference on Tuesday that he had told the Department of Finance that they should not be treated like other industries. He also warned that there would be serious consequences if their operations were terminated.

Expressing reservations on the issue of oil smuggling in the country, Khan said they contacted all relevant departments regarding Iranian oil smuggling but no one listened to them.

He said they wanted the government to sign a deal with Iran and tax its oil as it was the government’s responsibility to check smuggling.