ISLAMABAD - Amid announcement of country-wide strike on July 5, as a protest against the imposition of advance tax on petroleum dealers and distributors, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association has proposed that to discourage smuggling of Iranian oil the government should enter into an agreement with Tehran and tax the Iranian oil.
“We represent 14000 dealers and we will go on strike by shutting down the pumps across the country on July 5, Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA), Abdul Sami Khan said here.
While addressing a news conference following meeting with the official of Finance, Petroleum and FBR, he said that the government should withdraw its decision of advance tax immediately.
In the budget 2024-25, the government has imposed 0.5% advance tax on turnover tax.
This tax will destroy the petrol pump business, chairman PPDA claimed. “We are already running petrol pumps with minimal profit margins owing to high inflation,” Khan said.
Due to unfair taxation, there is no option but to close your business, he said.
He said that he met with Finance Minister Mohammad Auranzeb for the resolution of the matter, however “he had no answer to our questions.”
“We told him to clear the issue of advance income tax in four days,” Abdul Sami said. “We have clearly told him (the finance minster) that we will take strict action… it will have dire consequences and then don’t blame us,” Khan added.
The government policy is to “suck everyone,” he said adding that it is not the way how business works.
Chairman PPDA claimed that they are representing 14000 dealers across the country. On July 5, we will go on strike by shutting down the pumps across the country, Abdul Sami Khan said.
“We are already paying a lot of taxes, and no the government resort to double taxation which is unacceptable,” Abdul Sami said. Double taxation does not exist anywhere in the world, he argued. “We are being forced for the closure of our pumps,” he added.
Chairman PPDA further said that oil is being smuggled from Iran and no mechanism is in sight to ban it. “We approached every institution but no one listened to us,” Khan said. It is government’s responsibility to stop smuggling, Khan said.
While demanding legalisation oil import from Iran and discourage smuggling he proposed that “we want an agreement with Iran for the oil import and a taxation of the Iranian oil.”
The earlier division that existed between two groups of PPDA has apparently now vanished, as both are on the same page for July 5 strike.
When contacted another leader of PPDA Hassan Shah, who had previously issued a statement opposing the strike, said that they had the misconception that the government will withdraw 0.5 per cent advance tax, which didn’t happen. “We had a separate meeting with chairman FBR and conveyed our concern to him, which he realised and assured to look into the matter,” he added. Now if the government doesn’t withdraw the tax in next two days then there will be strike, he added.