The Petroleum Division has sought approval for a Rs. 75 billion fuel relief package for 11.8 million users of motorcycles, three wheelers and cars with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
The division submitted a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee on Sunday, requesting a Technical Supplementary Grant for the three month scheme. It also sought Rs. 1.73 billion to develop and operate a digital Fuel Pass System, taking the total proposed funding to Rs. 76.73 billion.
The proposed package follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s direction to provide assistance to lower income groups affected by rising fuel prices. The Petroleum Division said the increase had created a severe economic shock and added to inflationary pressures, while warning of growing public pressure and unrest.
The government estimates that the scheme could cover 10 million motorcycle users, 800,000 three wheeler users and one million users of cars with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
The estimated monthly subsidy cost is Rs. 20 billion for motorcycles, Rs. 1.6 billion for three wheelers and Rs. 3 billion for small cars, bringing the total to Rs. 24.6 billion. The proposed three month package would therefore require Rs. 73.8 billion in subsidies, with the remaining amount covered by the requested technical grant for the scheme.
The relief would be provided to vehicle users rather than registered owners. Each user would be allowed to register one vehicle, with the Computerized National Identity Card number, vehicle registration number and mobile phone number used for verification.
The scheme would be managed through a digital Fuel Pass System developed and operated by the Ministry of IT and Telecom. The system would register beneficiaries, issue fuel tokens, validate transactions and generate digital records for payments and account settlement.
Under the proposed mechanism, the IT ministry would send the Petroleum Division daily records of fuel tokens used at petrol stations. The division would then authorize the State Bank of Pakistan to make payments to participating petrol pumps based on the previous day’s transactions.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority would provide the bank account details of participating petrol stations, while the Finance, Petroleum and IT ministries would jointly finalize the payment mechanism.
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