ISLAMABAD - The upward journey of LPG, the fuel of poor, prices is continuing as the government on Monday increased the rates of indigenous LPG gas cylinder of 11.8kg by Rs59.8 or 3.7 percent.

OGRA has increased the price of LPG by Rs59.8 over previous month and set the new price of Rs 1673.24 for the domestic cylinder that would be effective from today (Tuesday), said a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) here.

According to the notification issued here by OGRA, the producers’ price of LPG (propane 40 percent and butane 60 percent two components of LPG) has been determined at 81,528 per metric ton (MT). This producers’ price included excise duty of Rs85/M.Ton while excluding Petroleum Levy. And under this head, the producer price of 11.8 kg cylinder has been worked out at Rs962.

Marketing/distribution margin has also been set while a petroleum levy of Rs 4669 per MT will be also charged which will be Rs55.09 for 11.8 kg cylinder.

Chairman LPG Distributors Association Pakistan  Irfan Khokhar said that currently the import of LPG is stand still that’s why the prices of local LPG is going up. He said that government has failed to issue tax reduction notification as agreed with the LPG importer association and that is the reason that LPG association is reluctant to import LPG. He said that if the government issued the notification for the tax reduction on imported LPG then the prices of LPG will come down by Rs 200 per cylinder.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government has directed OGRA to conduct an audit of the LPG companies however it is unlikely to achieve any milestone unless the LPG policy 2016 is implemented in letter and spirit. The non implementation of LPG policy 2016 and the imposition of regulatory duty on the imported LPG gas landed the LPG consumers in the current crises. The LPG prices were doubled in the country since August this year.